Axios

The Small Business Administration will now block all non-U.S. citizens or nationals from the agency's primary 7(a) loan program.

The big picture: The SBA's move — and President Trump's broader, expansive targeting of immigrants — underscores the administration's attempts to curtail economic opportunities for non-citizens.

There are no planned ICE operations tied to the Super Bowl, local and federal officials said Tuesday during a press conference in San Francisco.

Why it matters: Amid a nationwide immigration crackdown under President Trump, officials are working to reassure the public that Super Bowl security is solely focused on safety and will operate as it has in previous years.

Multiple segments of border wall construction are being held up by lack of final sign-off from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Axios has learned from two sources familiar with the delays.

Why it matters: Only 30 miles of border barriers— out of a target of nearly 2,000 miles by 2029 — have been started and completed since the beginning of President Trump's second term.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Monday President Trump requested her presence during an FBI search of an election center in Georgia last week.

Why it matters: Her presence in Fulton County alarmed some Democratic lawmakers, but Gabbard in a letter Monday to the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees said she acted "well within my statutory authorities."

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after the House threatened to hold them in criminal contempt.

Why it matters: The Epstein files laid bare the convicted sex offender's chummy relations with wealthy and politically connected people across decades.

More than 20 House Democrats voted with Republicans on Tuesday to reopen the government and keep the Department of Homeland Security funded for two weeks.

Why it matters: The vote created harsh divisions among Democrats, some of whom argued that the party should use the partial shutdown as leverage to force drastic reforms of ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

The House took the first step on Tuesday to end the partial government shutdown, starting debate on a package of appropriations bills and a short-term funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security.

Why it matters: Congress will only have 10 days to negotiate reforms around ICE and pass a full-year DHS appropriations bill, and the two sides are far apart when it comes to reforms.

Democrats are expected to provide the necessary votes to reopen the government and keep the Department of Homeland Security funded for two weeks, multiple senior lawmakers tell Axios.

Why it matters: That is sure to infuriate progressives and grassroots groups who have demanded the lawmakers keep the agency shut down as leverage to force drastic changes at ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

President Trump intensified his war against Harvard University overnight, demanding $1 billion for "damages" and threatening criminal investigations.

Why it matters: Trump's escalation could mean a breakdown in negotiations between the university and administration.

French prosecutors raided X's Paris offices Tuesday and summoned Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary questioning in a criminal probe tied to Grok's Holocaust denial and explicit deepfakes.

The big picture: The move intensifies a global crackdown on Musk's companies for Grok's generation of explicit images of women and children and its use of antisemitic language.

The Trump administration's aim to build a U.S. strategic reserve of critical minerals for commercial use opens a new front in U.S. efforts to ease reliance on China.

Why it matters: It's designed to protect domestic manufacturers from supply shocks.

A Democratic senator is demanding answers from an AI toy company accused of exposing tens of thousands of children's private conversations, according to a letter shared exclusively with Axios.

Why it matters: AI-powered toys are rapidly entering children's homes, but safeguards around how companies collect, store and monitor kids' data haven't kept pace.

The Trump administration is facing new pressure to disclose details about its confidential pricing agreements with big drug companies and whether they meaningfully lower costs for patients.

Why it matters: President Trump has touted the "most favored nation" drug pricing deals as one of his signature accomplishments, but most of the details have been kept under wraps, including how the new prices are calculated.

You can only fully understand politics, business and your own anxiety in 2026 by reckoning with the three, once-in-a-generation shifts unfolding at once:

• The ideologies, tactics and tone of governance.
• The lightning-fast advancements in AI.
• The overnight transformation of how our realities are shaped.

Why it matters: All three are hitting all of us — and all at once. If you focus on only one (like many do with President Trump), you miss the enormity of change pushing our minds and nation somewhere new, different and uncertain.

For the third time since returning to office, President Trump is seeking a nuclear deal with Iran.

• While U.S. officials say the renewed effort is sincere, Trump has veered away from diplomacy and into war once before.

The big picture: Trump heads into the talks planned for Friday with significant leverage: A massive military buildup in the Gulf that presents a credible military threat, and an Iranian regime left weaker and more isolated by massive protests.

The internet is awash in speculation, suspicion and disgust over the millions of new pages of Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department on Friday.

• Few believe the story is anywhere near finished.

Why it matters: The DOJ's final release has delivered tantalizing revelations about Epstein's ties to elite society. But it has brought neither clarity nor closure to the fundamental questions that have kept the scandal alive.

A former Google engineer was found guilty of economic espionage and theft of confidential AI technology for the benefit of China's government, the FBI said Monday.

Why it matters: Intelligence and defense officials have long warned of increased efforts by Beijing and others to obtain U.S. intellectual property and use AI against American interests.

A new $2 million ad campaign targeting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) over ICE funding is one of the Democratic party's biggest investments in the 2026 midterms.

Why it matters: By the end of the cycle, it will seem small. The top Democratic and Republican campaign committees raised over a combined $1 billion last year.

More than 500,000 Haitian refugees living under temporary residency in the U.S. can remain and continue working in the country, a federal judge ruled Monday evening.

Why it matters: Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides short-term refuge to people fleeing crisis, was set to expire for Haitian immigrants Tuesday — despite ongoing violence and instability in the Caribbean island nation.

President Trump extracted two "yes" votes from a pair of GOP holdouts on Monday, bringing House Speaker Mike Johnson closer to ushering a spending bill to the floor and ending the government shutdown.

Why it matters: After meeting with Trump at the White House, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) returned to the House to say they're leaning toward voting "yes" on the "rule" to allow the funding bills to come to the floor.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to key demands from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee to testify about Jeffrey Epstein in a closed-door deposition, according to a lawyer for the couple and the top Democrat on the panel.

Why it matters: Republicans had been planning to hold a vote this week holding the two in contempt of Congress due to the impasse.