President Trump picked Fox News host Jeanine Pirro for interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., hours after pulling the nomination of Ed Martin, the president confirmed on Truth Social Thursday evening.
The job is Pirro's to have if she wants it, a senior administration official told Axios. ABC first reported she was being seriously considered.
Why it matters: Pirro is a longtime Trump ally who would replace Martin, a MAGA true believer whose leniency toward Jan. 6 Capitol rioters lost him key Republican support in the Senate.
An early Senate vote to move forward on crypto legislation failed Thursday afternoon — a blow to bipartisan efforts to regulate stablecoins.
Why it matters: It is an early, procedural vote. But Democrats have been fighting hard for changes and tried unsuccessfully to get Republican leaders to delay the vote.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV stands on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica for the first time after his election. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church — the first-ever American pope.
"Peace be with you all," Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — said as he addressed the crowd gathered outside St. Peter's Basilica today.
🌎 Prevost was born in Chicago but has spent much of his life abroad. He studied in Rome, worked for 20 years in Peru and has served in a senior role in Vatican City since Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.
Many companies are pulling back from the Pride parades that will take place across the country next month, Axios Communicators author Eleanor Hawkins reports.
It's a major pivot for corporate America, which has enthusiastically embraced LGBTQ+ rights but is now under increasing pressure to back away from diversity programs and related public positioning.
⛔️ State of play: Mastercard, Citi, Pepsi, Nissan and PwC pulled sponsorship of NYC Pride. Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte pulled out of WorldPride Washington, D.C., and Anheuser-Busch, Comcast and Diageo stopped sponsoring San Francisco Pride.
President Trump, with Vice President JD Vance, British ambassador Peter Mandelson and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, talks to reporters in the Oval Office today. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
🚢 President Trump announced a trade deal with the U.K. that reduces tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum but leaves a baseline 10% tariff in place. Go deeper.
💰 Bill Gates said he plans to give away his $112 billion fortune more quickly than he had previously intended. He said he'll give away ""virtually all" of his wealth over the next 20 years, at which point the Gates Foundation will close. Go deeper.
🩺 Casey Means, a doctor and wellness influencer, is Trump's new pick for surgeon general. She's a close ally of RFK Jr. and often promotes dietary supplements, teas and other products with unproven health benefits. Go deeper.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department is "reviewing the visa status" of pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied Columbia University's main library in Manhattan on Wednesday evening.
Why it matters: Rubio's announcement builds on President Trump's January order, titled "Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism," to remove international students who've joined protests and a direction for institutions and "monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff."
President Trump suggested to Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday that the top tax rate should increase for individuals who are making millions of dollars a year, according to an administration official.
Why it matters: Trump is determined to make the wealthiest Americans pay more in taxes and protect his party from accusations that the MAGA movement is only interested in protecting the mega-rich.
At least 80 people were detained Wednesday after Columbia University called in the police during a pro-Palestinian protest, the New York Police Department told Axios.
The big picture: Demonstrators occupied part of the university's main library, in resemblance to protests last spring that saw Columbia become the epicenter of nationwide campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
The Trump administration is staking its Make America Healthy Again agenda to a pair of health influencers with a major online following and little government experience.
Why it matters: Casey and Calley Means — allies of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have turned their disillusionment with the U.S. medical system into influence shaping American health policy.
Why it matters: Prediction markets never saw it coming: the selection of Chicago native Robert Prevost, the first American to ascend to the papacy in history and now Pope Leo XIV.
Bill Gates ratcheted up his feud with Elon Musk on Thursday, saying the former DOGE head was "killing" children through USAID cuts.
Why it matters: The two billionaires have sparred since 2022, but Gates' comments to the Financial Times escalated his charges against the Tesla founder, who was instrumental in gutting the world's largest humanitarian organization.
President Biden said Thursday during an interview on The View that he "wasn't surprised" his former vice president lost the 2024 campaign to President Trump, saying her critics took "the sexist route."
The big picture: In the wake of the Democrats' 2024 loss, there has been finger-pointing between the Biden and Harris camps. While Biden has dismissed suggestions he should have left the race sooner, he emphasized Thursday that his former No. 2 was "qualified" for the job.
The House voted Thursday to formalize President Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."
Why it matters: It's the first time the House has voted to codify one of the president's executive orders into federal law, though it's unclear if the Senate will take it up.
The U.S. and Britain agreed on the framework for a sweeping new trade deal, the first major pact since President Trump began a campaign of global tariffs.
Why it matters: It may serve as a model for the dozens of other countries negotiating with his administration.
The Treasury Department on Thursday said it was imposing sanctions on a Chinese refinery and the operators of a Chinese port over shipments of Iranian crude oil.
Why it matters: The sanctions follow President Trump's threat last week to punish anyone that bought Iranian oil, which was seen as mostly affecting China and Chinese companies.
The former executive director of the World Food Programme and Nobel Peace Prize laureate David Beasley is in talks with the Trump administration, the Israeli government and other key players to head the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, two sources with knowledge of the issue said.
Why it matters: Israel and the U.S. are trying to get international donors and the UN on board with the new humanitarian mechanism, which they argue will allow aid to enter Gaza without being controlled by Hamas. Israel has blocked food, water and medicine from entering the enclave for two months, but is in a standoff with aid groups on the terms under which it can resume.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. —Ivanka Trump on Thursday in Bentonville, Arkansas, will announce her latest work on a topic she's long championed — expanding access to fresh produce.
Why it matters: Trump, a West Wing official during her father's first term, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight during Trump 2.0. Thursday's appearance marks her return to the national conversation.
The Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to crack down on what it calls "anti-Christian bias," telling federal workers to report any instances of such discrimination they've seen or experienced.
Why it matters: The move reflects a persistent claim by President Trump's campaign as he courted evangelicals — that Christians are under attack in the U.S. — and is part of an ongoing push by conservatives to inject more religion into government.
America's tech titans backed President Trump's promise of a new "Golden Age" with seven-figure checks, glowing public praise and front-row tickets to his inauguration.
So far, those favors remain unreciprocated.
Why it matters: Big Tech has been in MAGA's crosshairs for years. Even as Trump revels in the industry's dramatic realignment and personal overtures, the core tensions in the relationship are far from resolved.
Top MAGA media voices fixated on the Vatican and the possibility of a conservative pope are hoping the conclave will help boost a global traditionalist Christian movement.
Why it matters: The papal succession — happening far beyond America's shores — touches the heart of the MAGA movement's push to block what it views as the destruction of "Western civilization."
President Trump said Wednesday he hopes the clashes between India and Pakistan end soon and offered to help mediate between the two sides.
The big picture: Tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations overthe disputed Kashmir region they both claim fully belongs to them are at their highest level for six years.
The University of Washington suspended 21 students who were arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at the Seattle campus this week, per a UW statement Wednesday.
The big picture: The suspended students have been banned from all college campuses. They were among some 30 demonstrators arrested Monday during a protest calling on the college to cut ties with Boeing due to the aircraft maker's relationship with Israel, according to the statement.
The Trump administration can't immediately deport undocumented immigrants to Libya as it would "clearly violate" an earlier order blocking U.S. officials from sending people to countries they're not citizens of, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Why it matters: Sending people to Libya, which a 2023 U.S. State Department report says has "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions," is a sign the Trump administration is stepping up its hardline immigration policy of deporting people to third countries, even in the face of court orders.
Senate Democrats were given a blunt message in a private briefing on Wednesday about the urgent need to overhaul their immigration agenda.
Why it matters: Democrats know they lost badly on immigration in 2024, even as they see signs of declining support for President Trump's draconian immigration measures.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is choosing his words very carefully, as he attempts to bridge the vast differences in his party over the "one big, beautiful bill."
"I said 'likely' for a reason because it's not a final decision," Johnson said late Wednesday. He appeared to be referring to his comments on Tuesdayabout ruling out a move to cap federal funding per Medicaid enrollee.
Why it matters: Four weeks after they agreed to the bill's framework, House Republicans appear more interested in making demands than making deals.
