Everything seemed set for a photo op with tech and AI CEOs surrounding President Trump on Thursday as he signed a much-anticipated executive order on AI and cybersecurity.
But it fell apart hours before the order was to be signed, as a top Trump adviser and some tech executives gave it a big thumbs down. And the president didn't really want to regulate AI in the first place.
Why it matters: Any further delay of the order means more time for infighting and for the text to get bogged down in disagreements among different parts of the government and industry.
House GOP leadership pulled a scheduled vote Thursday to rein in President Trump's military campaign in Iran after it became clear they did not have the votes to defeat it.
Why it matters: It would have been Congress' first successful rebuke of Trump's Iran war effort after multiple Democratic-led war powers attempts had failed.
The White House plans to start counting people who were quickly removed after crossing the border in its deportation statistics, a change that will put it closer to its goal of one million deportations a year.
Why it matters: Republicans fumed that former President Obama was "cooking the books" when he used the same playbook to tout record deportations during his administration.
Why it matters: The fund was dropped like "a bomb in the middle of a pretty well planned out reconciliation bill," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.
The White House has postponed its planned ceremony for President Trump to sign a new executive order on AI and cybersecurity, per a note seen by Axios.
Why it matters: Trump suggested it's because he didn't like the order he was supposed to sign — another setback for an effort that has been stalled by internal disagreements.
You don't see too many 396-13 votes in the U.S. House of Representatives these days, especially on substantive domestic policy. But that's what happened Wednesday as the body moved a sweeping housing bill — reflecting a rare, cross-partisan, shared diagnosis of a key economic challenge.
The big picture: In isolation, the legislation won't end America's persistent underproduction of housing and resulting surge in costs. But it is the clearest evidence yet that even in deeply polarized times, the need for more affordable residential options is a unifying goal.
A judge has ordered the Minnesota "mastermind" in the nation's largest pandemic fraud case to serve 41.5 years in prison — the harshest sentence to date in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Why it matters: Prosecutors say former Feeding Our Future executive director Aimee Bock was at the center of a scheme to steal more than $240 million from a federally funded child meals program during the pandemic.
The case sparked intense scrutiny of the Walz administration's oversight of state-run programs and fueled broader concerns about fraud under his watch.
The U.S. government on Thursday said that it has agreed to take equity stakes in nine quantum computing companies, tied to $2 billion in CHIPS Act grants.
Why it matters: These sorts of quasi-socialist arrangements have been normalized with breathtaking speed.
The Environmental Protection Agency is easing Biden-era rules for industries to manage and phase out powerful planet-warming gases used in air conditioning and refrigeration, a White House official said.
Why it matters: Officials claim the plan — which President Trump will unveil at the White House Thursday — will help temper grocery prices.
The Democratic National Committee released what it said was its full, unredacted autopsy of the 2024 presidential election on Thursday after months of mounting pressure on party chair Ken Martin, who was keeping the report secret.
Why it matters: Martin's handling of the autopsy has led to a crisis of confidence in his leadership among many top Democrats.
Fresh off his takedowns of GOP dissenters in this month's primaries, President Trump is already making a list of Republicans who could be on his 2028 chopping block.
Why it matters: Trump's string of primary wins over GOP adversaries has reaffirmed his dominance over the party — and now he's looking to extend that influence after he leaves office in January 2029.
The U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak is drawing new warnings from public health experts about the impact of the Trump administration's global health policies, including the dismantlement of USAID and itswithdrawal from the World Health Organization.
Why it matters: While officials are rushing to get resources to stricken parts of Africa, infectious disease experts fear the administration's other actions are weakening critical networks needed for a rapid response in a densely populated, politically unstable part of the world.
Palantir is battling the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency for the ability to bid for a contract to modernize its data analytics system, according to a filing obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Palantir's already massive foothold at the Pentagon could eventually expand to an agency tasked with providing foreign military intelligence to prevent and win wars.
