Following Billy Long's announced departure from the Internal Revenue Service, which came less than two months after he was sworn in as commissioner, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step in as the agency's acting head, Axios has learned.
The big picture: The Treasury Secretary, who will take over the post as he continues to manage trade negotiations and assists in the search for a new Federal Reserve chair, joins several other administration officials who are juggling multiple government posts under President Trump.
Vice President JD Vance said Republicans must take "very decisive action" with redistricting, arguing in an interview aired Sunday that those efforts and a new census will make "the congressional apportionment fair."
The big picture: The White House-endorsed push for red states to redraw congressional maps has prompted a fiery response from Democrats, with party leaders threatening to retaliate in kind to nullify Republicans' proposed changes.
Days after the administration confirmed plans to start selling the government's stakes in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, President Trump suggested they might be combined and trade as "MAGA."
The big picture: Fannie and Freddie are crucial to the mortgage market, which is why the government rescued them and put them under conservatorship in 2008.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut federal funding for mRNA vaccine research is the latest in a series of movesthat have the potential to crush future medical breakthroughs and accelerate a brain drain.
Why it matters: America has historically led the world in scientific innovation — driving economic growth, strengthening national security, and attracting global talent. But scientists, including some who served in Trump's first administration, warn that lead is slipping away.
As Google Trendsdatasuggests, people aren't necessarily rallying around a particular song of the summer this year, as they have in the past.
The big picture: If last summer boasted an embarrassment of refrains — "that's that me espresso," "they not like us," "good luck, babe"— this summer is all crickets, according to Google. Unless you're on TikTok.
Vice President JD Vance's hours-long meetings on Saturday in the U.K. produced "significant progress" toward President Trump's goal of ending the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official told Axios.
Why it matters: Ahead of Vance's meetings with Ukrainian and European senior officials, several NATO and Ukraine allies expressed private concerns that Trump might agree to Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposals for ending the war without taking their positions into consideration.
Donald Trump received a glass disc with a 24-karat gold base from Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday, as the tech titan announced a $100 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing facilities.
Why it matters: The gold bauble is the latest lavish gift presented to Trump in an attempt to curry favor with the president this year, raising both ethical and legal concerns.
Tourism is down by roughly 11% in Las Vegas this year, with visitor numbers, convention attendance and hotel occupancy all lower than usual, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Why it matters: Las Vegas' financial health, with its large gambling market attractive to those with disposable income, is typically considered an indicator of the broader U.S. economy's strength.
The 60th anniversary of a shocking uprising in Los Angeles, which foretold similar unrest in cities throughout the 1960s and 1970s, is being marked with calls to revisit solutions to poverty outlined in a famous report.
The big picture: Activists and scholars have unveiled an updated edition of the 1968 Kerner Report that recommends a slew of initiatives to combat inequality, racial injustice and child poverty — issues stubbornly still here.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers are urging Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to shut down Instagram's new map feature, calling it a risk to child safety.
The big picture: Lawmakers in both parties have stepped up pressure on social media companies over child safety, warning that location-sharing tools can expose minors to predators.
President Trump is abandoning — or actively undermining — core pillars of U.S. strategy toward China in pursuit of a legacy-defining trade deal with Xi Jinping.
Why it matters: With tax cuts extended, tariff rates set and billions of dollars of investment flowing into the U.S., Trump is now fixated on the largest remaining puzzle piece in his economic agenda.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting Saturday in Ibiza, Spain, with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani to discuss a plan to end the war in Gaza and release all remaining hostages held by Hamas, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Why it matters: Presenting a new proposal for a comprehensive diplomatic solution that ends the war could delay Israel's plan for a new offensive to occupy Gaza City.
