The White House has launched a new Drudge Report-like website devoted to promoting pro-Trump news stories.
Why it matters: The site, called White House Wire, represents the administration's latest effort to circumvent the mainstream media and present itself in a positive light.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday she is considering a bid to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
Why it matters: The 35-year-old progressive superstar is seen as a likely frontrunner should she vie for the role, even as several others on the panel say they are also running for it.
The Senate on Wednesday killed a resolution that would have effectively reversed President Trump's 10% tariffs on all imported goods, with just three Republicans joining with Democrats in support of the measure.
Why it matters: The vote is a win for Trump and Senate Republican leaders, who lobbied lawmakers against backing the resolution and handing Democrats a messaging win.
President Trump followed up the weak first GDP report of his second presidency with a Cabinet meeting full of spin on policies from his first 100 days.
Why it matters: The U.S. economy shrinking represents the first contraction in three years, a step backward from which Trump is eager to divorce himself.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said Wednesday she is ruling out a run to be the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee after briefly entertaining the idea.
Why it matters: The 87-year-old is the second most senior member of the panel, though her age would have undoubtedly been a significant obstacle.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority Wednesday indicated it would be open to allowing the country's first religious charter school, with some hesitancy from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Why it matters: The Oklahoma bid, which centers on a proposed Catholic virtual school, challenges the U.S. doctrine of separating church and state.
President Trump appeared to acknowledge Wednesday that toy shortages are possible as his tariff hikes ripple through the economy.
Why it matters: American retailers are growingworried that the president's trade warand increased volatilitywill lead to empty shelves, higher prices and store closures as Chinese imports screech to a halt.
A judge ordered that Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi be released from custody Wednesday while his case proceeds.
The big picture: Mahdawi's freedom is a defeat for the Trump administration, which has aggressively cracked down on immigrants' speech, but other students and alumni remain detained.
President Trump on Wednesday said the New York Times should be held liable for "interference" in his ongoing lawsuit against CBS News.
Why it matters: The threat is the latest Trump has made against a news outlet whose coverage he dislikes or disagrees with, and the Times quickly pushed back on it.
The internal conversation about who should replace Dick Durbin (Ill.) as the Senate's second-ranking Democrat is rightly under way, but it shouldn't wrap up until after the 2026 election, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said at an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday.
The big picture: Durbin's upcoming retirement after two decades as the Senate Democratic whip clears the floor for a leadership battle. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chief deputy whip, is already sprinting for the opening.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended President Trump's tariffs, got real about the deadline to get a mega-MAGA bill through Congress and warned Democrats are hungry to impeach Trump for a third time.
Why it matters: Johnson has had to fight again and again to keep his power over the Republican Conference. He's headed for another high-stakes battle to jam through the president's agenda with slim margins.
The big picture: Van Hollen has led the charge for Kilmar Ábrego García's return to the U.S., traveling to El Salvador earlier this month to meet with Salvadoran officials and the erroneously deported man.
The CEO of Philip Morris International's U.S. business argued that nicotine is "misunderstood" and contains "cognitive benefits," contending that American regulators should embrace smoking alternatives as the company pursues its goal of eliminating cigarette sales.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is shaking up the federal government, putting newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a position to reshape the regulatory framework for Big Tobacco if he wants to.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) said Wednesday at an Axios News Shapers event that he'd call President Trump before stepping in if he ever felt the administration's tariff policy had begun to encroach on Congress' constitutional powers.
Why it matters: Congress has ceded its tariff power to Trump for now, even amid economic turbulence. Johnson said Trump's tariffs are working and that he talks to the president "sometimes multiple times a day."
The quest to exploit deep-sea mineral resources — and debates over benefits and harms — is intensifying in D.C. and internationally.
Why it matters: U.S. regulators are now weighing an actual proposal after The Metals Company on Tuesday said it submitted applications for exploration and extraction in a swath of international Pacific waters.
MAGA media erupted over a reported plan by Amazon, which the retailer denied, to display tariff costs on its website — just as Big Tech is working to align itself more closely with President Trump.
Why it matters: Tuesday's hullabaloo shows that deep skepticism of Big Tech remains a potent force within Trump's movement.
Packaging magnate Anthony Pratt pledged Wednesday to invest $5 billion to support President Trump's "call to reindustrialize" the U.S., according to an emailed Pratt Industries statement.
Why it matters: The pledge by the executive chair of the largest privately held 100% recycled paper and corrugated box manufacturer in the U.S. will result in 5,000 new manufacturing jobs at Pratt Industries "across key industrial states," including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, per the statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his 15 minutes with President Trump in the Vatican count, urging Trump to take a tougher line with Vladimir Putin and reprioritize a ceasefire, two sources briefed on Saturday's meeting tell Axios.
Why it matters: Zelensky's advisers were divided about whether he should even risk the tête-à-tête after the disaster in the Oval Office. But after it, Zelensky felt he'd managed to shift Trump's thinking about Putin for the first time, the sources say.
A majority of American adults, including most Vietnam War veterans, think the United States should have stayed out of Vietnam, according to a new poll released Wednesday on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Why it matters: The survey by Nexstar Media and Emerson College Polling illustrated the regret most Americans feel about Vietnam half a century following the nation's worst military defeat and the divisions it caused.
President Trump defended his handling of the economy and sweeping tariffs as he declared during an ABC News interview airing Tuesday evening, "the country's doing great."
Why it matters: ABC's ' Terry Moran noted during their interview that tourism numbers were down as he suggested Trump's policies may have caused reputational damage — particularly with neighboring Canada, where Prime Minister Mark Carney said after his Liberal Party was re-elected on Monday the "old relationship of integration" with the U.S. was "over."
President Trump told Terry Moran he's "not being very nice" during a heated interview marking his first 100 days in office, as the ABC journalist challenged him on the detention in El Salvador of a Maryland father.
Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil's lawsuit arguing he's being detained unlawfully can proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The big picture: Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and a leader of Columbia's pro-Palestinian protests, has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than a month.
The Trump administration began firing members of the Biden-appointed Holocaust Memorial Council — including Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Harris confirmed Tuesday.
Why it matters: Their removal from the board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. is the latest example of President Trump firing people who were appointed to boards by his predecessor as he carries out threats of retribution.
Rep. Gerry Connolly's (D-Va.) shock announcement that he plans to step down as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee is set to open yet another front in Democrats' intergenerational war.
Why it matters: The party's grassroots base is virtually in open revolt against its older establishment. Now the old guard is preparing for a last stand against their younger, social media-savvy colleagues.
The Trump administration is pressing Congress to dramatically expand the number of business-friendly tax cuts in a budget bill that's already complicated and costly.
Why it matters: New additions, such as full expensing to build new factories in the U.S., are leading to confusion among senators and staffers on what President Trump absolutely must have in his tax bill, and how much it will ultimately cost.
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