President Trump on Thursday sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, the latest jab in the president's hot-and-cold relationship with the largest bank in the U.S. and the man who runs it.
The big picture: Trump has maintained a relatively cordial relationship with Dimon during his second administration, but the lawsuit escalates the president's ongoing war with banks, which he has claimed, without evidence, have discriminated against conservatives.
The House passed legislation Thursday to fund large swaths of the federal government through the end of September — with Democrats helping Republicans get the bills over the finish line.
Why it matters: The vote puts Congress one step closer to staving off a government shutdown at the end of the month. It also funds ICE in the wake of the shooting of Renee Good.
A year into President Trump's second term, civil rights leaders say the nation is entering a more volatile phase for civil rights enforcement and democratic norms — and they're no longer waiting for signals from Washington. They're suing, organizing, and drawing new lines around power, protest and equal protection.
The big picture: Civil rights leaders say the country isn't facing a single crisis — but a convergence of legal, economic and democratic threats.
The House on Thursday rejected a bid to block President Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.
Why it matters: The vote shows GOP lawmakers' continued allegiance to Trump. It comes a week after the White House successfully thwarted a similar resolution in the Senate.
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his attempt to prosecute President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot in his first public testimony since Trump returned to the White House.
The big picture: Smith's hearing is the latest in a series of probes and hearings into actions taken by the Department of Justice during former President Biden's term.
Bank of America is weighing offering a credit card with a 10% interest rate cap for one year after President Trump backed a temporary ban on higher rates, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: Trump shocked Wall Street by aligning with key Democrats on a policy proposal that would sharply limit how banks profit from credit card borrowers.
A House hearing with former Trump special counsel Jack Smith was disrupted Thursday when a former police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 confronted a vocal 2020 election conspiracy theorist.
Why it matters: Such heated altercations are becoming more and more common in congressional hearings, though rarely to this degree of animus and near physicality.
Former special counsel Jack Smith believes the Trump administration will indict him, he said during congressional testimony on Thursday.
Why it matters: Smith's prediction follows the Trump administration's repeated prosecution of the president's political enemies. President Trump has called Smith a criminal.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he doesn't know what's "concrete" in the deal President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed yesterday, stressing that nothing could move forward without Greenlandic support.
Why it matters: Trump has called the proposal the "ultimate long-term deal" that gives America "everything we needed," but Nielsen being left in the dark about the details risks undermining any solution.
A small group of House Democrats are readying to break with their party's leadership and vote for a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and, consequently, ICE.
Why it matters: The bill is already set to pass Thursday with Republican votes, but the likely bipartisan support threatens to undermine Democrats' push to constrain what they say are out of control ICE agents.
President Trump on Thursday sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for up to $5 billion, alleging the bank improperly cut him off from its financial services.
Why it matters: Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito in Thursday's lawsuit claimed that JPMC's "woke beliefs" caused the company to distance itself from Trump and his "conservative political views," — an allegation Trump has maintained since the bank closed his accounts after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Federal agents arrested former NAACP Minneapolis chapter leader Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen after they protested the church of a pastor who they said runs a local ICE field office, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced.
Why it matters: The arrests mark a new front in the administration's showdown in Minnesota where thousands of federal agents have blanketed the streets prompting widespread protest.
The House voted unanimously Thursday to repeal a provision that allows senators to sue the government for up to $500,000 if their electronic records are obtained without their knowledge.
Why it matters: After being boxed in by the Senate, the House is returning the favor — tucking the repeal into another must-pass funding bill.
President Trump really, really wants lower interest rates, and the Federal Reserve and other tools of state power have tried to deliver them. The bond market isn't cooperating.
Why it matters: Longer-term borrowing rates are set on global markets, as savvy players who together deploy trillions of dollars make bets on the future of growth and inflation.
In an era of vast power concentrated in the Oval Office, that makes it one of the few forces even Trump can't control. It is a constraint on his actions that will not respond to insults or threats.
Since taking office roughly a year ago, President Trump has increasingly inserted himself into the inner workings of American businesses.
Why it matters: Corporate America is well-versed in managing pressure from NGOs, activist investors and the media. What's new is the need to respond in real time to the whims of a single political figure with an enormous megaphone.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego will headline a Democratic Party event in Nevada on Feb. 1 to celebrate the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a person familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: Nevada is traditionally one of the first states to vote in the Democratic presidential primary and state party officials are vying to have the state the first state in 2028.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is bullish on America's economy, he said at Axios House in Davos on Thursday.
The big picture: His thesis a year ago — that lower regulation and lower taxes would offset any negative impact of tariffs — has largely proven out, he told Axios' Mike Allen and Courtenay Brown on stage.
Silicon Valley investment firms Greenoaks and Altimeter on Thursday filed arbitration claims against South Korea's government, arguing that it has acted unlawfully toward e-commerce giant Coupang.
They also asked the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate.
Why it matters: It's highly unusual for U.S. venture capitalists to sue foreign governments, and their move could drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul.
Cowboys in the American West are increasingly managing cattle not just from horseback, but from smartphones and with artificial intelligence.
Why it matters: AI won't be the end of cowboys. But AI-adjacent tools help fewer people manage more land, quietly redefining the job by turning cattle, fences and water systems into data streams.
Health insurers are feeling political heat as Republicans try to shape the affordability narrative and counter Democratic messaging on health care costs.
Why it matters: President Trump and his allies have been increasingly assailing health plans over costs whileseeking to deflect blame for blocking enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that help people afford premiums.
The health of the economy increasingly depends on rich people spending money, a new analysis of government data finds.
Why it matters: That puts the U.S. in a fragile place because consumer spending drives growth — so the entire economy is now relying on a smaller number of people to keep things afloat.
Former special counsel Jack Smith will tell the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that President Trump was charged because evidence showed he "willfully broke the very laws he swore to uphold."
Why it matters: Smith's highly anticipated public testimony marks his first open defense of the Trump prosecutions, as Republicans intensify efforts to portray the investigations as politically motivated.
DAVOS, Switzerland — A four-day Greenland crisis that roiled global markets, endangered the transatlantic alliance and dominated Davos ended Wednesday the same way it began: with a post on Truth Social.
Why it matters: Details remain thin on President Trump's "framework of a future deal" with NATO, but the immediate crisis appears defused in a way that allows virtually every party to claim a win — or at least take a breath.
University of Montana president Seth Bodnar has resigned from his post to explore an independent bid for the Senate in one of the most expensive states in the 2024 race, according to people familiar with the matter and local press reports.
Why it matters: Bodnar's likely entrance into the Senate race would mark the fourth high-profile independent to challenge a Republican incumbent in a deep red state.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) scored big today as former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya launched her Senate bid in Minnesota.
Why it matters: The race is rated "likely Democrat" by Cook Political Report. But Senate GOP leaders like their chances with a star recruit like Tafoya, Minnesota's ongoing fraud scandal and a messy Democratic primary.
Nearly half of the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee broke with their party's leadership in stunning fashion Wednesday by voting to hold former President Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress.
Why it matters: The vote put them in defiance of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who actively whipped committee members to vote against the measure, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
