President Trump wanted Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to "cancel August recess (and long weekends!)." Thune met the president halfway Tuesday, threatening to sacrifice the first weekend of August.
Why it matters: Thune's trying hard to get Trump's nominees approved, even if it means cutting into the coveted August break, at the same time that his House counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson, has decided to toss in the towel early.
Top Democrats supported the first appropriations bill of the summer Tuesday night, but they aren't taking a government shutdown off the table in October.
Why it matters: The procedural vote on the MilCon-VA bill was 90-8. But those numbers are slightly deceiving.
They don't capture the Democrats' frustration over rescissions — and fear and misgivings about the appropriations process to come.
What they're saying: "There's the CR issues, and then there's today's issues," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told Axios. "I would just separate those for now."'
"It's just a motion to proceed, and we look forward to the amendment process," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.
"We're making these decisions vote by vote as is our responsibility to do," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios.
Driving the news: In the end, only seven Democrats voted against moving forward with the funding bill.
That gave leaders the space to make the distinction between supporting normal appropriations bills and a continuing resolution they will almost certainly confront in September.
"It was done in a bipartisan process, no doubt about it," Schumer said. "It undoes many of the awful DOGE cuts to veterans."
And the vote on Tuesday only opened debate on the bill, which Democrats haven't committed to supporting in the end.
What to watch: Schumer was expected to huddle Tuesday night with top Senate and House Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), to discuss government funding.
Zoom out: Democrats are divided on how much to help Republicans fund the government — and when and where to fight them on the principles that animate their party.
Some progressive senators are vowing to withhold their votes on spending bills unless they receive ironclad assurances that Republicans won't pursue any more rescissions packages.
"Why would anyone trust the Republicans at this point?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told Axios.
Zoom in: Some GOP appropriators seem sympathetic to the Democratic complaints about the role rescissions can play in the appropriations process.
Democrats have a "valid concern" about making spending deals just to be undone through rescissions, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said last week.
The bottom line: Senate Democrats don't have to decide in July whether they want to risk shutting down the government in October.
However, they need their threat to be credible to convince GOP leaders to include them in spending decisions and ward off a second rescissions package.
Federal judges on Tuesday appointed a new interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey as Alina Habba waits to get the Senate confirmation.
The latest: Hours after Desiree Leigh Grace was appointed, Attorney General Pam Bondi in a post criticizing the judges announced she had been removed from the position.
The chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency urban search and rescue team resigned Monday over frustrations on how the government handled the Texas flood response, CNN first reported.
The big picture: Ken Pagurek's resignation comes as the agency approaches peak disaster season, while fighting off accusations of a delayed disaster response in Texas as President Trump pushes to overhaul FEMA.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has updated its policies to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports, in line with President Trump's executive order.
The big picture: Trump's push to end protections for transgender people, including thebanning of trans athletes from women's sports, has left transgender and nonbinary people across the U.S. navigating an upended sports landscape.
The Department of Education has temporarily suspended loan forgiveness under its popular Income-Based Repayment plan (IBR).
Why it matters: IBR is the only current income-driven student loan forgiveness plan not subject to a legal challenge or court injunction, and Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill" significantly cut back on repayment options for borrowers.
The Senate took a bipartisan step forward Tuesday on the first of its annual appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year — as the deadline to avoid a government shutdown comes into view.
Why it matters: It's an early sign that some Democrats are still willing to work across the aisle to avoid a shutdown, at least for now.
Utah U.S. Sen. Mike Lee caused another stir on social media Tuesday, when he reposted and then deleted an image of a fake resignation letter from Fed chair Jerome Powell.
Reality check: Powell had not resigned as of Tuesday afternoon.
President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. and the Philippines have finalized a new trade agreement with zero tariffs on U.S. goods, while Filipino exports to the U.S. will face a 19% tariff.
Why it matters: This marks the second trade deal between the U.S. and its counterparts since the President sent letters earlier this month to dozens of other countries unilaterally setting tariff rates as of August 1.
Majority Leader John Thune warned senators in a closed-door lunch Tuesday to be ready for possible votes on nominations next weekend — potentially taking them into August, three sources familiar with the discussion tell Axios.
Why it matters: Thune is caught between President Trump's demand to cancel the August recess and a conference desperate to campaign, fundraise and talk to voters in their states.
President Trump is already embroiled in as many new media and defamation lawsuits halfway through 2025 as he was in lawsuits that were initiated — by or against him — during all of last year.
Why it matters: The record wave of litigation reflects how Trump's clashes with the media have escalated from public criticism to courtroom showdowns with major news organizations that are increasingly fighting back.
Columbia University doled out punishments, including degree revocations, multi-year suspensions and expulsions, to students involved in two campus protests, the university announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The switch to cane sugar reflects the Make America Healthy Again movement's growing influence over the food industry's use of ultra-processed ingredients.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he is nervous about an imminent fraud crisis, warning that bad actors using AI to gain access to consumer accounts is coming "very, very soon."
Why it matters: Altman said society is unprepared for how quickly the technology is evolving and called for an overhaul of how consumers get into personal accounts.
Social Security commissioner Frank Bisignano will huddle with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in Washington on Wednesday amid deep Democratic concerns about the agency's cuts to services, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Warren will have the chance to air grievances about everything from staffing cuts to phone wait times in a meeting that follows incessant pressure from Democrats on Capitol Hill.
The House is leaving Washington a day early for its five-week August recess after tensions erupted over efforts to force release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Why it matters: Fallout from the debate over the Epstein files has effectively frozen House business. Leadership opted to cut the week short and leave town before things escalate further.
President Trump's decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is not a surprise — but it marks yet another drop in Washington's roller-coaster relationship with the agency.
The big picture: The move mirrors the president's first term, when the U.S. departed UNESCO over alleged anti-Israel bias, and deepens the administration's broader retreat from multilateral bodies deemed hostile or ineffective.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that he is seeking a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The big picture: The MAGA revolt over the Trump administration's recent handling of the case — which Hill Democrats have gladly seized on — has seen Attorney General Pam Bondi become a key target of their discontent.
Hunter Biden defended his father, former President Biden, in a pair of interviews released on Monday.
The big picture: In his first interviews since the 2024 election, Hunter Biden denied President Trump's insinuation that he used cocaine in the White House and said the Democratic Party's response to his father's infamous presidential debate performance last summer was overblown.
Why it matters: Congress, which is still trying to figure out how it wants to regulate AI, is turning up the scrutiny on the development and pre-deployment testing of Musk's Grok chatbot.
The House Oversight Committee will subpoena imprisoned Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to testify at a deposition.
Why it matters: Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who introduced the motion to compel Maxwell's testimony, said he did not consult President Trump beforehand.
A growing share of Americans say that Social Security is one of the most important government programs, per new AARP polling.
Why it matters: Americans are divided on most of what the U.S. government does, but they consistently agree on Social Security even across party lines — a big reason why it's considered the "third rail" of U.S. politics.
Why it matters: This is the third UN agency the Trump administration is withdrawing from following earlier decisions to leave the World Health Organization and the Human Rights Council.
Invenergy, the company behind a huge proposed Kansas-to-Indiana transmission project facing political headwinds, will seek to connect a gas-fired power plant it's developing to the line, per a source close to the company.
State of play: Invenergy is also in active discussion with a company to bring existing coal-fired generation onto the proposed Grain Belt Express project, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Coca-Cola Co. on Tuesday said it plans to launch a new Coke product this fall made with U.S. cane sugar.
Why it matters: The move is a response to President Trump's statement last week that the company would use sugar, rather than high fructose corn syrup, in its sodas.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to overhaul government health programs is extending to the troubled U.S. organ donation system.
Why it matters: Congress and past administrations have tried to address problems like long wait times and cases of lost or destroyed organs. Kennedy is now latching onto dozens of instances in which organ removal for donation was reportedly started while donors still showed signs of life.
President Trump is redirecting his fury over the Jeffrey Epstein files into one of MAGA's oldest obsessions: punishing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the officials involved in the 2016 Russia investigation.
Why it matters: In Trump's view, any documents linking him to Epstein are a "hoax" cooked up by the same forces behind the Russia probe. To him, it's all one story — a years-long "witch hunt" that plagued his presidency from Day 1.
Three Democratic senators wrote to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian Monday to raise concerns about company plans to use AI to set individualized fares, which the airline maintains won't target customers with offers based on personal details.
Why it matters: Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote that Delta's personalized "current and planned individualized pricing practices" would present data privacy concerns and "likely mean" fare price rises "up to each individual consumer's personal 'pain point'" at a time when many families were struggling.
"The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert responded to President Trump's post that celebrated the cancelation of the program in his opening monologue on Monday.
Why it matters: Colbert wasn't just a vocal critic of Trump; he also criticized CBS' parent Paramount's decision to settle with him.
The House Republican steering committee voted Monday to recommend Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) for chair of the powerful Homeland Security Committee.
Why it matters: Garbarino is set to helm oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, a position that places him at the center of President Trump's immigration policies.
House Republicans have virtually stopped work on all major legislation leading up to their six-week summer recess to avoid taking votes on forcing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Why it matters: Democrats have been using every opportunity to force their GOP colleagues on the record about Epstein as President Trump pressures them to make the issue go away.
A former Louisville, Kentucky, police detective convicted of violating Breonna Taylor's rights by using excessive force when he fired 10 shots at her apartment has been sentences to 33 months in prison.
The big picture: The sentence came after Justice Department officials said in court filings that Brett Hankison should only be sentenced to a day in jail since his shots didn't kill Taylor, who died in the raid.
President Trump said he may move to block the Washington Commanders' new stadium as he called on the NFL team and also MLB's Cleveland Guardians to restore their old names.
The big picture: The Commanders changed their name from the Washington Redskins and the Guardians from the Cleveland Indians in the wake of an anti-racism movement that swept the U.S. after the 2020 murder of George Floyd and following years of activism and protests against the monikers that many Native Americans considered offensive.
