Why it matters: DOGE has forced out tens of thousands of employees, shuttered agencies, canceled grants and contracts and upended how the U.S. does business — changes the publictellspollsters they don't generally like.
The U.S. gave Hamas a new proposal through Qatari mediators in an effort to release American hostage Edan Alexander and break the stalemate in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, one U.S. official and one Israeli official said.
Why it matters: It isn't clear if Hamas will accept the proposal that hinges on releasing Alexander in return for a statement by President Trump calling for calm in Gaza and resuming negotiations over a broader ceasefire deal.
The state of Wyoming is testing its stablecoin on multiple blockchains, state officials confirmed Wednesday.
Why it matters: As the U.S. government gets closer to passing laws establishing a legal framework for stablecoins, more entities are seeking to launch these instruments.
The federal judge hearing the lawsuit over the Trump administration's Signal chat scandal set a Monday deadline for the government to explain how it will preserve the vanishing messages in question on the app.
The big picture: Public watchdog American Oversight sued to preserve the records after top security officials inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to their chat on Signal, which deletes messages after a set period of time.
The arrest of a Tufts University student by hooded Homeland Security agents in plain clothes — caught on video on a suburban Boston street — is raising fresh questions about the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on immigrants over the opinions they've expressed.
Why it matters: The administration's push to quickly scoop up, detain and deport college students with pro-Palestinian views has stunned civil libertarians, who say it violates American traditions of free speech and due process under the law.
After months dominated by infighting, bad headlines and even worse national polling, Democrats feel they finally have Republicans on the run in at least one area: Special elections.
Why it matters: Things have gotten to the point where President Trump said he pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) nomination for U.N. ambassador in part because he didn't want to "take a chance" on a special election for her seat.
The big picture: Federal immigration enforcement has turned to college campuses, where it is targeting those who have expressed pro-Palestinian views in a strategy First Amendment and immigration advocates say is stifling free speech.
The Trump administration will leave Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in the House, just days before the Senate was finally ready to move on her nomination as UN ambassador.
Why it matters: Stefanik has waited for months on her nomination due to the House GOP's tiny margin. The Florida special elections are Tuesday, but the administration has gotten cold feet about its margin ahead of crucial votes.
The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit over the Trump administration's Signal chat scandal scheduled the case's first hearing for Thursday afternoon.
Why it matters: News that Trump officials discussed military plans over a Signal chat that inadvertently included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic has rocked Washington, sparking calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to be ousted.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is privately proposing articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It would be the most escalatory Democratic response yet to Signalgate, in which a journalist was mistakenly added to a Signal chat in which top Trump officials discussed military strikes in Yemen.
Louisiana has become ground zero for some of the Trump administration's most boundary-pushing immigration cases,including those of several international students and at least one U.S. green card holder.
Why it matters: The administration is pursuing high-profile cases against purportedly "pro-Hamas" activists legally in the U.S., which promise to define the limits of President Trump's deportation powers.
Why it matters: That report by the Penn Wharton Budget Model — seen first by Axios — finds faster economic growth, less federal debt and higher wages for all income groups if more visas are allocated to college-educated immigrants and those working in STEM-related fields.
Senate Democrats are proposing a sprawling investigation into Trump officials' use of a Signal group chat to discuss a planned military attack in Yemen, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Top Senate Republicans also have issued calls to investigate the incident, even as the White House aggressively dismisses the scrutiny.
Why it matters: The White House's efforts to downplay the explosive report from The Atlantic have so far failed to quell the controversy, even as White House officials initially said they believed it would die down.
The Health and Human Services Department said Thursday it plans to slash 10,000 full-time employees across the nation's foremost health agencies.
Why it matters: The cuts will dramatically reduce the capacity of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), among others now overseen by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Executives in heart of the U.S. oil patch offered a brutal — if anonymous — verdict on Trump 2.0 trade policies and uncertainty they create for producers.
Why it matters: The Dallas Fed's latest survey highlights problems facing the White House's simultaneous push for a drilling surge, new tariffs, and lower costs.
The Trump administration is canceling billions of dollars in grant funding to state and local health departments without warning, throwing their programs into disarray.
Why it matters: The move casts doubt on states' ability to continue substance use disorder support programs and prevent emerging infectious diseases, among other efforts.
In Virginia, the state health department has already begun laying off staff as a result of the funding cuts.
An unstoppable force — President Trump's famed "never back down" mentality — has met an immovable object: the cold, hard Signalgate receipts published by The Atlantic.
The Trump administration is discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are "pro-Hamas," senior Justice and State Department officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: The effort — which could include grand jury subpoenas —marks another escalation of Trump's aggressive crackdown on immigration and antisemitism that civil libertarians say stifles campus speech and has led to several lawsuits.
It's not just theSituation Room or Signal — senior Trump administration officials bypassed a range of secure government systems when they decided to discuss plans for an upcoming attack in Yemen on a commercially available app.
Axios spoke to one current senior U.S. official and five former senior U.S. officials — all of whom have taken part in communications around similarly sensitive overseas operations — about the secure channels through which these conversations are supposed to happen, why turning to Signal could seem appealingly expedient, and why doing so is potentially dangerous.
Without President Trump on the ballot, signs of MAGA weakness are popping up all over.
Why it matters: Any surprise upset is huge for Democrats after all their recent losing — and a letdown for Republicans praying the mega-MAGA coalition outlasts the Trump presidency.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday visited El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where Venezuelans the Trump administration alleges are gang members were deported to from the U.S.
Why it matters: The administration's decision to defy a court order and deport the 238 Venezuelans and subsequent legal battle marks a test in the limits of President Trump's hardline immigration enforcement powers.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro must stand trial over an alleged coup plot to overturn his 2022 election loss to successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the country's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The big picture: Bolsonaro has denied accusations of such a plan that prosecutors allege included a plot to kill Lula and he's accused investigators of political persecution.
The Senate voted Wednesday 70-28 on a House resolution to repeal a rule promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service last year, extending the definition of a "broker," for purposes of tax reporting.
Why it matters: The move fits into the larger Republican strategy of acting as the party moving to support the blockchain industry's contribution to the U.S. economy.
Canadian politicians and industrial leaders blasted President Trump's new auto tariffs on Wednesday and vowed a swift response, including a backstop for Canada's largest companies.
Why it matters: One of America's closest allies three months ago is now preparing for an all-out trade war, with profound implications for both economies.
Behind closed doors Wednesday,Senate Dems hatched an attack plan to pummel the GOP on budget reconciliation.
Why it matters: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is under no illusions that Dems can unilaterally stop the Senate GOP, which can lose three votes and still pass the bill.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) is telling his colleagues that he'll announce his campaign for New Hampshire's open Senate seat early next month, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: Pappas wants to put down a marker he'll run to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), regardless of who jumps into the race.
Some of Senate GOP leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) lawmakers are demanding more — in details, time and spending cuts — before they accept his accelerated clock on budget reconciliation.
Why it matters: In the Senate, speed doesn't necessarily kill. But deliberation does, as Thune knows.
Federal agents took Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral candidate at Tufts University, into custody Tuesday night.
Why it matters: Friends and supporters suspect Ozturk is the first Boston-area college student detained by federal agents over pro-Palestinian activism.
