Axios

A new documentary investigates the long-running efforts by politicians and the media to stoke racial tensions and frame white Americans as victims.

Why it matters: "White With Fear," set to begin streaming on Tuesday (June 3), examines the origins of white grievance in the U.S. and how it contributed to the rollback of decades of civil rights gains.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement on Saturday that Hamas' response to his ceasefire and hostage deal proposal is "totally unacceptable and only takes us backward."

Why it matters: Hamas didn't accept Witkoff's proposal as a basis for negotiations and demanded numerous changes that brought the negotiations once again to a deadlock.

A new book unpacks Jim in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" — a fictional enslaved Black man who is one of the most memorable characters in American Literature.

Why it matters: For more than a century, Jim has been a source of sympathy, ridicule, anger, and protest due to the Black dialect he uses throughout the novel, but scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin says that he's been misunderstood.

Former President Biden told reporters on Friday in Delaware that "all the folks are very optimistic" about successfully treating his prostate cancer.

The big picture: Biden was diagnosed earlier this month with an aggressive form of cancer that had metastasized to his bone.

No modern president has done more in his first 130 days than President Trump — only to have much of it undone, at least temporarily, by the courts.

The big picture: Trump is testing the limits of presidential power at every turn, and the courts are just about the only thing standing in his way.

When Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly announced plans Wednesday to cancel the visas of all Chinese students in the U.S., the Trump administration was quick to cast it as a way to root out spies from the communist nation.

• But behind the scenes, what really set off Rubio was the administration's realization that China was withholding precious rare-earth minerals and magnets as a tariff negotiating tool, sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: The decision to target as many as 280,000 Chinese students — and throw another complication into the ongoing trade talks with China — reflects how crucial rare minerals are to the U.S. tech industry.

Kash Patel and Dan Bongino spent years torching the American security state for concealing nefarious secrets about Jeffrey Epstein, Jan. 6, the "Russia hoax" and the assassination attempts against President Trump.

• Now they're not only inside the gates, they're in charge of the FBI — and serving a president who distrusts the bureau even more than they do.

President Trump spoke for more than an hour on Friday at a U.S. Steel facility in Pennsylvania, but never explicitly said if he's approved a deal whereby Japan's Nippon Steel would acquire U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.

Why it matters: This prolongs a 16-month saga that included lawsuits, intra-union dissension, conflict between geopolitical allies, and literal shouting.

House Democrats are convinced that President Trump's tariffs will help them plough a path to the majority through the Corn Belt.

🌽 Why it matters: The trade war, at least with China, looks like it's back on. Party strategists are banking farmers will start to turn on Trump if that trade war closes off international markets when they harvest crops this fall.

• "So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Friday.
• "Our Midwest farmers were struggling before the tariff war with low commodity prices and high input costs like fertilizers," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Axios.
• "We've lost some markets already because of the tariffs."

🔬 Zoom in: If Democrats defeat Iowa Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (who won by 800 votes) in 2024, plus Rep. Derrick Van Orden across the river in Wisconsin, they will net the three seats needed for the majority.

• Beating Bacon and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) would pad their numbers a bit more.

🔎 Between the lines: Eighteen months out from the election, both parties see plausible paths to the majority.

• Trump has a five-point plan to win the midterms. House GOP strategists know they need to convince the MAGA base that Trump is essentially on the ballot.
• They are also optimistic about defeating some of the Democrats in the 13 House seats that Trump won in 2024.
• Both parties are still waiting on potential redistricting efforts in Wisconsin (which Democrats will control) and Ohio (which Republicans will draw).

🌆 The big picture: Democrats are also working to make the suburbs sour on Trump, like they did in 2018. This could help them knock off GOP incumbents like Rep. Mike Lawler, north of New York City, and Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) in the Denver suburbs.

• Freshman Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), who represents Lansing and its environs, is another top target.
• There will also be battles elsewhere in the Rust Belt, with Rep. John James (R-Mich.) leaving his seat north of Detroit to run for governor.

What they're saying: "Sweeping tariffs will cost House Republicans politically across the entire country, but especially in the districts where the majority will be decided," DCCC chair Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) told Axios.

• "They hit even harder in districts dependent on agriculture, as farmers get crushed by higher costs and fewer customers from Trump's trade wars."

Other Republicans profess not to be too worried.

• "While the left cries wolf, prices continue to fall, and the economy is booming under President Trump and Republicans in Congress," said Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the NRCC.
• "It's clear House Democrats have no message other than pathetic fear-mongering and distractions from their failures." -

The intrigue: Trump and Republicans have other ways to appeal to farmers' bottom lines.

• Last month, the administration issued an emergency waiver for ethanol to be blended into fuel this summer, a boon to the corn industry.
• The Trump budget bill has $60 billion for a farm safety net, including market access programs at the Department of Agriculture.
• Nunn calls it a "win" for Iowa.

The bottom line: So far, however, the effects of tariffs haven't sent prices sky high. New data Friday showed that inflation cooled.

• But it's still unclear if Trump's trade war 2.0, which could get messy in all sorts of ways, will crush commodity prices in the Corn Belt and drag down Republicans.

Elon Musk brushed off a New York Times report about his alleged drug use while joining the Trump campaign in a Friday press conference marking the end of the billionaire's days with the Department of Government Efficiency.

The big picture: Musk earlier this week announced his departure from the administration, ending his chainsaw-wielding tour through the federal government as the face of DOGE.

President Trump has gone scorched earth on the architect of his own judicial legacy, disavowing Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society and any judge who stands in the way of the MAGA agenda.

Why it matters: Trump's alliance with the conservative legal movement powered his takeover of the Republican Party, helping him win over skeptical GOP elites by promising — and delivering — a roster of judges that united the right behind his presidency.

The State Department Friday instructed all U.S. embassies and consulates to "immediately" start more extensive vetting for those looking to travel to Harvard University "for any purpose," per multiple outlets.

Why it matters: The Trump administration attempted to cut the university's ability to enroll international students earlier this month, but a judge halted the ban while legal challenges advance.

The Energy Department said Friday it's canceling over $3.7 billion in awards for 24 projects through its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations created under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

Why it matters: It's among the biggest and most specific cases yet of Trump 2.0 officials pulling the plug on the Biden administration's unprecedented subsidies for low-carbon energy.

The Trump administration can for now end a program that gave temporary protections to more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Supreme Court said Friday."

The big picture: In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the high court "plainly botched" its assessment and undervalued the "devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens" amid pending legal claims.

President Trump on Friday blasted China and accused it of violating the trade truce the two countries signed earlier this month.

Why it matters: Just as courts hollow out Trump's tariff campaign, he's re-escalating on other fronts.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that put new limits on federal reviews of infrastructure and energy projects.

Why it matters: Narrowing the National Environmental Policy Act's scope has giant implications for President Trump's pro-fossil "energy dominance" agenda.

Elon Musk bemoaned President Trump's signature legislative effort in an interview with CBS News this week, saying he was "disappointed to see the massive spending bill," which is projected to add trillions to budget deficits.

Why it matters: Musk and his businesses were walloped by backlash to his leadership of DOGE. Now the fruit of those efforts — more government savings — are at risk of being washed away by Trump's "One, Big Beautiful Bill."

America's government and technology giants are fusing into a codependent superstructure in a race to dominate AI and space for the next generation.

Why it matters: The merging of Washington and Silicon Valley is driven by necessity — and fierce urgency.

At any moment, a Truth Social post — and now a court ruling — can upend the global trade system.

Why it matters: The world economy has never seen anything like this. The tariff legal fight injects new uncertainty into what was already a historically unpredictable situation.

Microsoft is promoting former Trump Administration official C.J. Mahoney while also tapping former Biden Administration lawyer Lisa Monaco to lead global policy efforts, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: At a time when everything in Washington is highly politicized, Microsoft's moves signal its desire to continue working with both parties.

President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping may need to hold a phone call to overcome stumbling blocks in trade negotiations, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

The big picture: Bessent helped the U.S. strike a deal with China following a summit in Switzerland earlier this month that saw the world's two largest economies agree to slash tariffs for 90 days.

A federal appellate court on Thursday temporarily stayed a ruling that effectively wiped out most of President Trump's tariffs.

Why it matters: The intervention will deepen the chaos around the Court of International Trade's Wednesday order, which threatens to upend global commerce.

The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.

The big picture: The proposed new office would signal the State Department's shift from helping refugees to removing immigrants, even as it employs the term "remigration" — a concept that critics say has a troubled history in Europe, where it's used by far-right groups.

The U.S. will begin revoking visas for Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday.

The big picture: The move marks a major escalation in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, and comes a day after Rubio directed a halt to student visa interviews.

The White House moved Thursday to correct false citations and other errors in a high-profile report from a panel led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS confirmed.

The big picture: The Make American Healthy Again commission report on causes of chronic illness in children cited hundreds of studies and sources, some of which didn't exist, NOTUS first reported.