Axios

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has hired the prominent Republican consulting firm Axiom Strategies to run his primary campaign against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Paxton's challenge of the four-term senator — which he announced Tuesday on Fox News — is expected to be the GOP's most expensive primary in 2026.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday challenged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to a "one-on-one debate" on the House floor about Republicans' budget resolution.

Why it matters: It could happen, with Johnson telling reporters he is "happy to debate" his Democratic counterpart "anytime."

The Supreme Court is clearing away many of the speed bumps lower courts have put in President Trump's path.

The big picture: The court said Tuesday the administration does not have to comply with a lower-court order directing it to rehire thousands of fired federal workers.

The Trump administration is pulling nearly $4 million in funding from Princeton University, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.

The big picture: The cuts come days after the administration already paused dozens of Princeton's research grants following similar federal funding reviews or revocations at other Ivy League schools like Columbia and Harvard.

President Trump signed executive orders Tuesday that use Energy Department emergency authorities and a wartime law to boost the sagging coal industry.

Why it matters: The White House is seeking to lean on coal-fired power —which has been in a steady decline in the U.S. over the last 15 years — to feed rising energy demand driven by artificial intelligence.

House Democrats are moving forward with their plan to try to force a vote on killing the across-the-board tariffs President Trump rolled out last week.

Why it matters: Trump is almost certain to veto the measure if it passes, but Democrats want to force House Republicans to choose between their loyalty to the president and uneasiness with his trade policy.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a lower-court order reinstating thousands of fired probationary federal workers.

Why it matters: The ruling gives the administration at least a temporary win in it controversial purge of the federal workforce.

The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to share the personal information of undocumented taxpayers with immigration authorities, a new court filing shows.

• "DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it," according to the document.

Why it matters: Immigrants without legal status contribute billions in tax revenue every year. The IRS has previously kept their tax returns, which include home and work addresses, private.

The feds are expanding their revocation of student visas nationwide, sidestepping the regulations governing visa status, attorneys say.

The big picture: The Trump administration has moved beyond penalizing international students over pro-Palestinian activism and stripped scores of students' visas without explanation, university officials and attorneys say.

Elon Musk escalated his war of words with Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday, calling him "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" over comments about Musk's businesses.

Why it matters: The gloves are off, and Musk — who has already challenged Trump's trade policy publicly — is now getting increasingly personal with the architect of that policy, too.

The government of South Sudan said Tuesday it would accept a deportee from the U.S. who it previously denied entry, despite contending the man is not South Sudanese.

The big picture: The decision comes amid an ongoing back-and-forth with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the U.S. would revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and restrict further issuance, citing the "failure" of the African nation's transitional government to accept repatriated citizens in "a timely matter."

The surprise firing of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command's top leader last week may open the door for the Trump administration to split up the two agencies' long-shared leadership structure.

Why it matters: Detaching the military command could unleash its operatives for more offensive cyber strikes against foreign adversaries — and also risk crippling the country's own espionage efforts.

The man charged with attempting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, according to court documents.

The big picture: The plot on Kavanaugh's life came during a growing wave of threats of violence against judges and other public officials.

Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was among the 381 books that were recently removed from the U.S. Naval Academy's Nimitz Library, according to a list released by the Navy Friday.

The big picture: As part of the Trump administration's anti-DEI blitz, the president has called for the end of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in schools, threatening funding for colleges and K-12 institutions during the purge.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, who served as the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee, the Pentagon confirmed to Axios.

The big picture: Chatfield joins a growing list of women and people of color who served in top military roles who have been ousted as President Trump and top officials conduct a purge of so-called "wokeness" in the military.

House Democrats' campaign arm is laying out an ambitious list of 2026 targets that includes some Republicans who have widely been considered to have secure reelection prospects.

Why it matters: It's essentially the codification of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) newfound bullishness that Trump-induced stock market turmoil is opening the door to a potential wave election next year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said trade negotiations can lead to "good deals," but insisted that a posture of being open to those talks had nothing to do with last week's stock market plunge.

Why it matters: The market doesn't much care about the motivations — the mere fact that the conversations are happening at all is causing stocks to surge after days of uncertainty and mounting recession fears.

President Trump's social media celebration of falling oil prices highlights how — intentionally or not — his policies favor lowering fuel costs over boosting output. For now, anyway.

Why it matters: The swoon should send consumer gasoline costs downward, which Trump ran on.

The S&P 500 has fallen more than 15% since Donald Trump's inauguration, the worst showing for a new administration since George W. Bush was in office during the dot-com bust.

Why it matters: Trump usually touts stock market performance as an indicator of his success, and in his first term as president, he backed off on policies that sparked market sell-offs.

President Trump has a much different vision of the future than the tech titans who raced to shape and support his economic agenda.

Why it matters: The collision of those visions helps explain the most glaring private and public fights inside the Trump coalition over tariff strategy.

In less than one week, many Americans will no longer be able to apply for Social Security benefits over the phone, setting the stage for disruptions and upheaval for millions of seniors.

Why it matters: The abrupt change, implemented at breakneck speed at White House request, increases the likelihood that some eligible people will miss out on benefits; others could simply not get them at all.

Immigration agents are the "principal" deciders on whether a detainee is linked to a gang and should be deported immediately, border czar Tom Homan told Axios in an exclusive interview.

• If agents determine the answer is yes, Homan said, the Trump administration believes that detainee's rights to due process are limited.
• Not so fast, the Supreme Court said late Monday. The court signaled that detainees designated as "enemies" of the U.S. could be deported, but should have some way to challenge their removal.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) is perhaps the only Democrat on Capitol Hill willing to defend President Trump's new tariffs to the hilt. In fact, his main concern is that the president will back down from his trade policy.

Why it matters: It's one vote House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) can't count on as he makes opposition to the tariffs a new centerpiece of House Democrats' anti-Trump messaging.

China's government said Tuesday it will "resolutely take countermeasures" if President Trump carries out his threat to impose an extra 50% tariff on Chinese goods.

Why it matters: In a sign that the trade war with Beijing will not end any time soon, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement carried by state media: "China will fight until the end if the U.S. side is bent on going down the wrong path."

President Trump praised Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for being "very smart" during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday and suggested he could work as a mediator between Israel and Turkey.

Why it matters: Critics including Republican Against Trump slammed the president's praise for "autocratic leader Erdoğan" — a charge that's been leveled against Turkey's president for moves including last month having his main opposition rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, detained along with over 100 other officials, which rights groups said was "politically motivated."

The National Park Service rewrote — then restored — the Underground Railroad story and reposted a deleted photo of abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Why it matters: The initial rewriting of abolitionist sites and history, first reported by the Washington Post, comes amid a massive purge of articles about people of color on government websites following President Trump's executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Republicans acknowledge the stress they're feeling from President Trump's tariffs. Their Wall Street donors are feeling it too, with some giving top GOP lawmakers an earful this weekend.

Why it matters: Trump is making it clear he won't tolerate any limits on his ability to impose tariffs, Axios scooped Monday. But rattled GOP donors wanted lawmakers to help convince the president that tariffs are crushing the economy.

President Trump's across-the-board tariffs, and the stock market chaos that has ensued, are spiking the blood pressure of many Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Why it matters: To say a stock market collapse is bad politics is an understatement, and some Republican lawmakers are desperate to see Trump at least nudge the breaks and calm the markets.