Key Senate Republicans strategized with Trump today on how to cut spending deeper than the House-passed budget bill.
Why it matters: "Failure is not an option," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters after the hour-and-a-half meeting.
"We are going to cut some more money from what the House has done," Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas.) told us.
"Can we get to $2 trillion? Do we make all those business tax provisions permanent or not?" he said. "I think those are the big issues."
Inside the room: Members of the Senate Finance Committee were joined by Vice President Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
The Congressional Budget Office threw three curveballs today into the tax, tariff and spendings debates that have roiled Washington under President Trump.
Why it matters: It wasn't quite choose your own adventure, but it was choose your own numbers.
"You don't need to go back that far to see how wrong the CBO has been," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in response to today's estimate that the bill would add $2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years.
But then the White House jumped on the CBO's estimate that Trump's tariffs would reduce the deficit by $2.8 trillion over 10 years. "When you combine the two — the deficit will be cut by $500 billion over ten years," White House spokesman Alex Pfeiffer said on X.
"I think she's going to turn off a lot more people than gain," a House Democrat told us.
Why it matters: House Democratic leaders are staying neutral. But many Democrats are allergic to the word after they impeached Trump twice only for him to return to power with full control of the government.
Crockett (D-Texas), asked in a local news interview if she would pursue impeachment if Democrats retook the House in 2026 and she became Oversight Committee chair, said she would "absolutely at least do an inquiry."
At his presser today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer stood by a posterboard titled "Well, We're All Going to Die Act," featuring CBO estimates (see item #2) on the health care and nutrition fallout from Trump's budget bill.
Why it matters: Senate Democrats are prepping a month-long messaging campaign against the bill, which Dems are calling "One Big Beautiful Betrayal."
Democrats will spend the next three weeks focusing on three different parts of the reconciliation bill: Health care this week, rising prices and job losses next, and then tax breaks for the rich.
The bottom line: Schumer and his party have little control over whether the bill passes. But sharp messaging would help Dems define the package ahead of the 2026 midterms.
A House Democrat's mere mention of a possible impeachment inquiry into President Trump has been enough to touch off negative reactions from some of her colleagues.
Why it matters: After impeaching Trump twice only for him to return to power with full control of the government, many Democrats are essentially allergic to even just the word "impeachment."
Key Senate Republicans strategized with President Trump on how to cut spending deeper than the House-passed budget bill and pressed him to make his proposed business tax cuts permanent.
Why it matters: "Failure is not an option," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters after the hour-and-a-half meeting on Wednesday.
Elon Musk says Republicans need to start over on the Trump budget bill.
Why it matters: A no-new-deficits bill would require far smaller tax cuts, or far deeper spending cuts. Both are non-starters for Republicans, who are watching in dismay as Musk turns his ire on them.
House Republicans' longstanding frustrations with Elon Musk are spilling out in an unprecedented way behind closed doors after he criticized them for supporting President Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill."
Why it matters: In some lawmakers' telling, the internal GOP frustration didn't come about overnight. It's been stewing for months — and Musk has now opened the floodgates.
President Trump withdrew his original pick to run NASA – Jared Isaacman – because of Isaacman's relationship with Elon Musk, Isaacman suggested on a podcast Wednesday.
Why it matters: Elon Musk has gone scorched earth on Trump and the GOP this week, with Musk gearing his attacks toward the president's centerpiece budget legislation.
The U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN security council resolution demanding "an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."
Why it matters: This was the first time the U.S. used its veto power to blocks UN security council resolutions on the war in Gaza during the second Trump administration.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Wednesday that lawmakers who claim not to have read parts of the GOP spending bill should use ChatGPT to ask: "Anything I should worry about in here?"
The big picture: Hochul spoke about the economic, political and social consequences of AI — from training workforces to children's safety — while speaking with Axios' Ina Fried at the AI+ Summit in New York.
In her first extensive interview since her widely criticized congressional testimony on antisemitism, former UPenn president Liz Magill said her testimony lacked "common sense and humanity."
The big picture: Magill's appearance on Capitol Hill came as universities were grappling with how to respond to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and student protests on college campuses.
WndrCo founding partner Jeffrey Katzenberg warned that the impact of kids' unsupervised access to technology is "destroying a generation" during Axios' annual AI+ NY Summit Wednesday.
The big picture: By 11, over half of children have a smartphone — but research has found screen time has played a key role in the youth mental health crisis.
The Trump administration isn't celebrating Pride Month, but rather walking back initiatives to recognize LGBTQ+ communities.
The big picture: It's a part of a larger repeal ofdiversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by the administration, which have contributed to an increasingly hostile climate for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., particularly for transgender individuals.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) is endorsing Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to be the next Senate Democratic whip, the party's no. 2 position in the chamber, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Support is coalescing around Schatz for the gig while other potential candidates are publicly staying out of the race.
House Republicans are expanding their investigation into President Biden's health with a new tranche of requests to interview top White House aides, including former chief of staff Ron Klain and senior adviser Anita Dunn.
Why it matters: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), citing Axios' reporting, noted that Klain, Dunn and the other aides whose testimony he is seeking made up the ex-president's inner circle.
During a trip to Poland, Attorney General Pam Bondi helped ensure the expulsion of a suspect charged Wednesday in a deadly car bomb attack on a California fertility clinic, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The May 18 car-bombing of the clinic, which killed the chief suspect, was one of the highest-profile attacks yet by what authorities say is a rising movement of people opposed to in-vitro fertilization clinics.
The Congressional Budget Office delivered a double shot of projections for the fiscal outlook Wednesday, finding that the Trump administration's signature tax bill would widen deficits, while tariffs would narrow the fiscal gap.
Why it matters: The Trump administration argues its trade policies will reduce the deficit, a notion that the new CBO estimates support.
House Republicans, dismayed by Elon Musk's harsh criticism of President Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," are now trying to talk their erstwhile ally down from the ledge.
Why it matters: With over $400 billion at his disposal, the Tesla and SpaceX owner could drown Republicans in opposition cash. And he's saying GOP lawmakers who voted for the bill should be "fired."
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has become an independent after serving under two Democratic presidents, according to the publisher of a new book from Jean-Pierre out this fall.
The big picture: Jean-Pierre, whose encounters with White House reporters grew tense last year amid questions concerning former President Biden's age and health, will detail in her new book the weeks that led to his 2024 campaign departure, per a publisher's description.
President Trump demanded on Wednesday that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell lower interest rates, minutes after an economic report showed sluggish private sector hiring in May.
Why it matters: Trump, who met with Powell last week, has been pressuring the Fed to lower borrowing costs since taking office.
President Trump accused Iran of "slow-walking their decision" in nuclear negotiations on Wednesday hours after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei criticized the U.S. proposal for a deal.
Why it matters: Khamenei's speech foreshadowed the official Iranian response to the U.S. proposal, which American officials expect will be negative.
Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for making low-carbon energy equipment are spurring over $185 billion in planned or operating factory investments, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: The Atlas Public Policy report arrives amid Capitol Hill debates that could vastly scale back the incentives.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a highly rare move that will strip the ship of the moniker of a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War.
Why it matters: It marks the latest move by Hegseth and the Trump administration to purge programs, policies, books and social media mentions of references to DEI.
American manufacturers are having pandemic flashbacks: some say tariff disruptions are starting to stack up to the COVID era, with nearly as much difficulty securing critical inputs.
Why it matters: Tariffs were supposed to spur a manufacturing renaissance, not bring the manufacturing economy to a grinding halt.
Butterworth's, the MAGA-favorite watering hole on Capitol Hill, is partnering with the Kennedy Center and will offer discounts to some of its customers, according to plans first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The deal is the latest sign of MAGA's growing entrenchment in the Washington cultural scene, and comes as the Kennedy Center faces backlash for President Trump's takeover of the iconic theater venue.
President Trump signed an order Tuesday doubling tariffs to 50% on steel and aluminum imports — drawing swift criticism from officials in neighboring Canada and Mexico.
Why it matters: Trump's order said the increased tariffs that took effect early Wednesday "will more effectively counter" countries that "offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum" in the U.S., but economic officials have said such levies would lead to higher consumer prices and inflation.
President Trump formally asked Congress on Tuesday to rescind $9.4 billion in already approved funding for foreign aid and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds NPR and PBS.
Why it matters: The rescissions package is an attempt to codify DOGE-driven cuts amid a wider push from the Trump administration to target news organizations perceived to be biased against Republicans.
