Axios

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is exploring an open-ended debate on the SAVE America Act that could run a week or longer, forcing Democrats to publicly defend their opposition to the bill, according to senators and aides.

Why it matters: Working through nights is on the table (beginning early next week). Passing the bill with a 50-vote threshold is not.

The Trump administration initiated a trade investigation — and signaled more to come — that will likely result in new tariffs on global trading partners.

Why it matters: The White House is making good on its promise to reinstate the sweeping tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.

President Trump called GOP Rep. Thomas Massie "disloyal" and a "nut job" during a visit to Massie's district Wednesday that marks a striking escalation in his long-running feud with the Kentucky Republican.

Why it matters: Trump has gone after select GOP incumbents from afar for years. But now, the president is doing it on their own turf.

Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to codify federal guardrails around the use of AI in fully autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The issue is at the heart of the Trump administration's standoff with Anthropic over the government's access to the company's AI models.

More than 43,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the U.S. struck Iran 11 days ago, the State Department said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Despite widespread panic among Americans abroad last week after the State Department encouraged citizens to immediately evacuate various countries, the agency now says its scaling back assistance due to declining demand.

President Trump told Axios in a brief phone interview Wednesday that the war with Iran will end "soon" because there is "practically nothing left to target."

• "Little this and that... Any time I want it to end, it will end," Trump said during the five-minute call.

Why it matters: Even as Trump publicly signals his operation has largely accomplished its objectives, U.S. and Israeli officials say there has been no internal directive on when fighting might stop.

Rep. Kevin Hern's (R-Okla.) announcement Wednesday that he's running for Senate leaves open a GOP leadership slot that members are already jumping on.

Why it matters: Hern, who currently serves as chair of the Republican Policy Committee, is the first lawmaker to toss his hat into the ring to fill the upcoming Oklahoma Senate vacancy.

The International Energy Agency said Wednesday its member governments will jointly release up to 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles after the Iran war set off a chaotic spike in crude prices.

Why it matters: It would be the largest joint release in the history of IEA, which coordinates members' emergency responses to oil shocks.

The Consumer Price Index was steady in February, and a gauge that excludes food and energy costs held at the lowest in four years, the government said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Inflation was stable last month, but new price pressures from the Iran war have since emerged — a fresh factor for consumer affordability concerns.

Switzerland will buy fewer U.S.-made F-35As than previously planned due to rising costs, its government said.

The big picture: The multibillion-dollar buy now consists of roughly 30 fighter jets, down from 36.

The B-52 flew in the Vietnam War. It still flies, most recently blasting Iranian ballistic missile and command-and-control sites.

Why it matters: Few war machines have the staying power of the Stratofortress. Boeing built hundreds of them, some of which are being maintained and upgraded today.

Swarm Aero raised $35 million and plans to more than double its headcount by the end of the year.

The big picture: The California startup is developing what CEO Danny Goodman described to Axios as large, swarming drones capable of carrying missiles, electronic warfare payloads and cargo alike.

• "We are not expendable, like a Switchblade or a one-way thing, and we're also not exquisite, like a B-2 or F-35," he said.

The American Dynamism Summit in Washington was open to the press for the first time this year.

• It's a reflection of the defense-tech and reindustrialization moment.

The big picture: Founders are emerging as pop-culture characters. Weapons work is, overall, more digestible than it was years ago. Trump 2.0 officials want it known they pull no punches. And there's a sense — at least on social media — that factories are sexy again.

Watch TV, scroll social media or listen to politicians, and the verdict seems clear: Americans are hopelessly divided and increasingly hateful.

• It's a ubiquitous, emphatic, verifiable ... lie.

Why it matters: Most Americans are too busy for social media, too normal for politics, too rational to tweet. They work, raise kids, coach Little League, go to a house of worship, mow their neighbor's lawn — and never post a word about any of it.

Anthropic is expanding its footprint in the nation's capital ahead of the midterms, according to company plans shared with Axios.

Why it matters: AI companies are spending heavily and expanding to Washington to influence the policies that will define the technology's future.

Men and women in many U.S. cities feel notably different about their personal safety, per new Gensler survey data.

• In New York City, for example, 60% of men say they feel "safe" or "very safe," compared to just 45% of women.

The White House is (still) getting energy from solar panels that President Trump's predecessors put on its roof, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The panels have somehow endured through Trump's criticism of renewable energy and his Democratic predecessors.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) on Wednesday are introducing new legislation focused on AI and the workforce, per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.

Why it matters: Concerns on Capitol Hill are mounting over AI's impact on jobs as the midterms approach, and a bipartisan bill to help American workers adapt reflects that momentum.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is on track to leave dozens of pending contracts on her desk when she leaves office in three weeks, the legacy of a system she imposed to cut "waste, fraud and abuse," but that has stalled DHS programs.

Why it matters: The backlog of contracts has left vendors waiting for payments and delayed projects such as President Trump's push for mass deportations and the border wall, along with disaster relief under FEMA, Axios has learned.

• "There's a mountain of backed-up contracts and invoices on her desk that the new guy will just have to deal with," a source familiar with the situation at DHS told Axios.
• The backlog existed long before the partial government shutdown over DHS immigration policies that began Feb. 14 and has further pinched the agency's spending.
• The shutdown has touched most of DHS's 23 agencies, including ICE, Customs and Border Protection, FEMA, TSA and the Secret Service.

Zoom in: Noem's delay in approving DHS contracts stems from her requirement that agreements involving $100,000 or more — which is most of those at DHS — be reviewed and approved by her.

• That policy — imposed just before Congress dramatically boosted DHS funding to implement Trump's immigration agenda — was disruptive enough that several vendors began charging DHS in contracts of $99,999 each in order to get paid.

The impact of Noem's policy can be seen in delayed DHS payments to vendors, causing disruptions now being compounded by the shutdown.

• Dozens of ICE facilities currently holding detainees have contract extensions waiting for Noem's signature and are awaiting payments, two sources familiar with the agreements told Axios.
• An agreement with Camp East Montana, an immigration facility in Texas that ICE data indicate held almost 3,000 people a day in mid-February, expired at the end of February. The facility's operator, Acquisition Logistics LLC, could not be reached for comment.

DHS payments for the family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, also lapsed in early March. Dilley is the only long-term detention unit that holds detainees' children. ICE records indicate that about 700 people were detained there as of mid-February.

• Core Civic, which operates Dilley and several other detention facilities, said in an emailed statement, "We are hopeful the federal government will resolve budget matters to enable resumption of payments," referring to the shutdown. "In the meantime, we remain focused on operating safe, humane facilities, working closely with our government partner."
• New Jersey's Delaney Hall, which held roughly 900 immigrants last month, also is operating without a payment after its government deal expired. Geo Group, the contractor, declined to comment.
• Many small county jails that contracted with ICE to hold immigration detainees also are missing payments.

Zoom out: Congressional leaders grilled Noem last week about her department's delays in distributing disaster relief funds under FEMA.

• "From everything that I've heard, it's still a giant sh*t show up there," a source familiar with FEMA's delays said of DHS's front office.
• "The ramifications of her tenure are going to be felt for years and years and years and years," the source added. "We're not really going to know exactly how bad it is until we have a major hurricane that unfortunately impacts someplace in the United States."

Several contracts for another Trump priority, the border wall, also were stalled by Noem's sign-off system, as Axios previously reported.

• As of mid-February, just 36 miles of border wall construction has been completed, according to CBP data. Nearly 2,000 miles were funded by Trump's "big beautiful bill."

What they're saying: DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

• But Corey Lewandowski, Noem's "special government employee" and de facto chief of staff, told Axios in an interview that Noem was reviewing contracts last week, and that the shutdown limits certain spending.
• He also said congressional leaders who questioned Noem on FEMA delays didn't understand that all the possible funding has been distributed.

Lewandowski defended Noem's contract approval policy, claiming it saved $15 billion last year.

• "For 23 years nobody ... ever reviewed the spending of that department. I don't blame anybody. No one had the wherewithal or desire" to rein in spending, he said.
• Lewandowski said he didn't have a role in signing off on contracts but that three of Noem's deputy chiefs of staff also were allowed to green-light contracts. He said contracts were on Noem's desk no more than 48 hours, though there were other reviews before they made it to her.

One of the sources familiar with DHS's situation said that even if Noem's review process is reversed and "everything goes back to the way it was ... it's going to take weeks, if not months, of constant work" to restore vendors' funding.

What's next: Trump's pick to succeed Noem, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), didn't reply to a request for a comment on whether he'd continue Noem's sign-off system if he's confirmed by the Senate.

• Lewandowski declined to say whether he'd recommend Noem's system to the next DHS secretary.

Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris will advance to the April 7th runoff to decide who will replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia, per AP.

Why it matters: Harris, who lost to Greene in 2024, raised more than $4 million during his campaign. A win for Democrats in the reliably red district would be significant.