Axios

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) are demanding answers from major tech and AI companies over concerns that employees with ties to China could access cutting-edge U.S. AI systems.

Why it matters: Lawmakers are focusing on insider access — not just hacking — as a potential vulnerability, putting pressure on companies to demonstrate stronger safeguards.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that he will remain a central bank governor "for a period of time to be determined," citing attempted political interference.

Why it matters: It extends Powell's influence over monetary policy beyond the conclusion of his term as Fed chair on May 15. His term as one of seven Fed governors extends through January 2028.

The House on Wednesday passed a three-year extension of Section 702 of FISA — the government's warrantless surveillance authority — after weeks of internal GOP negotiations.

• But the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, where lawmakers in both parties oppose a House-added ban on a central bank digital currency.

Why it matters: Section 702 is set to expire at midnight Thursday, raising the prospect of a lapse in a key national security tool if Congress can't reach a deal.

Statehouses, county commissions and city halls — not the halls of Washington — will absorb the heaviest blow from the Voting Rights Act's collapse.

Why it matters: Most Voting Rights Act lawsuits have targeted local and state governments: the entities that decide what's taught in schools, who polices the streets and which neighborhoods get sidewalks.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' effort to create four new Republican House seats got an assist Wednesday from the U.S. Supreme Court — but not the total victory his lawyers had predicted.

• One big question remains: Will the entire state redistricting reform be struck from the books?

Why it matters: Florida lawmakers approved the new GOP-leaning U.S. House seats — despite a state constitutional amendment that bans intentional partisan gerrymandering.

President Trump is renewing his pressure campaign on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling Axios in an interview that Herzog could become a "national hero."

Why it matters: Trump said Netanyahu had raised his corruption trial when they spoke on Tuesday night and told him he'd be back in court on Wednesday, instead of focusing on Iran. "In the middle of a war? Give me a break," Trump told Axios.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn wants to redraw Tennessee's congressional map to eliminate the state's only remaining Democratic district.

Why it matters: A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday said legislatures no longer have to consider race when drawing district boundaries. The decision opens the door to splitting up majority-Black districts across the country.

An internal GOP revolt briefly ground the House to a halt Wednesday, with the chamber stuck on a procedural vote to begin debate.

Why it matters: House GOP leadership struggled for two hours to get the votes to advance major legislation they plan to move this week, leaving the chamber in limbo.

Democrats have been able to point to some silver lining or glimmer of hope with past defeats on congressional redistricting this cycle. There's no sugarcoating the Supreme Court's weakening of the Voting Rights Act.

Why it matters: The ruling is set to immediately cost Democrats at least a few safe House seats in the deep South, which could severely hamper their efforts to retake the lower chamber in November.

President Trump told Axios he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program.

Why it matters: Trump is rejecting an Iranian proposal to first open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing nuclear talks to a later stage.

The Supreme Court limited a key provision of the Voting Rights Act Wednesday, handing a loss to civil rights groups.

Why it matters: The ruling could reshape voting all across the South and could boost the Republican majority in the House by an additional 19 seats when compared to 2024 maps.

President Trump and top lieutenants met with oil and gas execs at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the energy fallout of the Iran war and the possibility of a lengthy blockade of the country, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The unprecedented Middle East supply disruption is boosting commodity prices and creating a mix of opportunity and peril for the industry.

Driving the news: Among the attendees was Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, a company spokesperson confirmed.

The UAE may be a small country — but its decision to quit OPEC is a BFD with all kinds of market and geopolitical crosscurrents.

Why it matters: The departure of OPEC's third-largest producer, announced Tuesday, is a major blow to the market-managing cartel.

State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) leads his potential Republican opponents in the U.S. Senate race in Texas, per a new poll from the University of Texas.

Why it matters: A close race in Texas would expand the battleground for Democrats in their bid to retake the Senate and put a legislative check on President Trump.

The first Trump-class battleship will cost north of $17 billion, with three of them totaling more than $43 billion, according to budget documents.

Why it matters: We're finally learning a bit more about the battleship project, unveiled in December as part of the administration's Golden Fleet.

• Also included in that initiative is the future frigate, based on HII's far-more defined National Security Cutter.

Aurelius Systems is launching a manufacturing division to domestically produce industrial and defense lasers as well as their key components.

Why it matters: Directed energy weapons rely on precious pieces and materials, and supply chain concerns are top of mind following COVID-era disruptions and China's more recent throttling of critical minerals.

• "We barely have any facilities that are producing in the country — at least anything in volume," Aurelius CEO Michael LaFramboise told Axios.

Boston Police Department overtime spending has nearly doubled in the last decade, topping $100 million for the first time in 2024 and staying there last year.

Why it matters: Critics say the sustained surge in police overtime goes beyond budget anomalies and shows structural problems in how the department is staffed and scheduled.

Six facts. No hyperbole. All in the past 60 days.

1. AI is the fastest-growing product category in world history.
2. One of the latest models is so powerful that its maker won't release it to the public.
3. OpenAI and Anthropic say their most powerful AI coding models are now building themselves.
4. AI companies are growing less transparent as models grow more powerful. The federal government requires zero transparency.
5. AI resentment is building fast. In early April, the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was the target of two attacks in the same week. Shaken, he wrote: "The fear and anxiety about AI is justified ... Power cannot be too concentrated."
6. AI havoc is no longer theoretical: This year's great software rout erased $2 trillion in value as investors realized, week by week, new human tasks that the latest models would wipe out, from coding to real estate services to legal research to financial management.

Supreme Court justices on Wednesday will hear arguments in a patent case that could change the way generic drug companies market and label copycat products.

Why it matters: At the heart of the case is whether efforts to lower health costs through generic competition are undercutting patent protections that brand-name drugmakers say are essential for innovation.

Congress is far from passing military AI guardrails as Google and the Pentagon sign a new contract more permissive than for rival companies like OpenAI.

Why it matters: AI companies say they have red lines around military misuse. But barring new laws on the books, contracts with the Pentagon could remain susceptible to loopholes and workarounds.

The Trump administration moved Tuesday against three enemies of the MAGA coalition: a former Anthony Fauci adviser, Somali-run daycare centers in Minneapolis, and Jimmy Kimmel.

• A fourth, former FBI director James Comey, was indicted for a second time after a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's case against him last year.

Why it matters: The retribution campaign at the heart of President Trump's second term is escalating, not easing, as gas prices climb, the Iran war grinds past 60 days and his approval rating sinks to record lows.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants are placing a last-ditch bet on Wednesday that the Supreme Court will side with them over former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Why it matters: Noem terminated the temporary protective status (TPS) for asylum seekers from 11 countries last year. Now the Supreme Court has decided to hear challenges on two of those terminations at the same time.

The White House is developing guidance that would allow agencies to get around Anthropic's supply chain risk designation and onboard new models including its most powerful yet, Mythos, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: The Trump administration appears to be performing a 180 on a company it previously claimed was such a grave security risk that it had to be ripped out of the federal government.