Jul 31, 2019

Senate confirms Kelly Craft as next UN ambassador

Kelly Craft on Capitol Hill in 2017. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Kelly Craft

Kelly Craft, currently the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, was confirmed to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Craft's confirmation ends a key diplomatic vacancy that stretched on for over 7 months, following Nikki Haley's resignation. Craft, a GOP activist, "will be [the] first major political donor to occupy the top U.N. post for any administration," the AP reports.

Go deeper: McConnell recommends Kelly Craft to Trump for UN ambassador

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Alexi McCammond
30 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Cleanup on aisle Biden

Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

After two gaffes and a low blow from President Trump questioning his faith, Joe Biden spent Thursday evening off his own message — clarifying comments and responding to attacks.

Why it matters: Biden’s responses reflect what we could see a lot more of in the next few months — cringeworthy comments and Trump smears, smacking into each other and pulling the Democrat off course.

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Hans Nichols, Stef W. Kight
44 mins ago - Politics & Policy

2020 election strategy: Hire all the lawyers

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The coronavirus has sent overall U.S. unemployment into the double digits — but it's a sort of full-employment act for election law attorneys.

The big picture: The prospect of extended court fights over COVID-19-related voting changes, an absentee ballot avalanche, foreign interference and contested presidential results has prompted a hire-all-the-lawyers binge by candidates and campaigns — not just in swing states but around the country.

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Neal Rothschild
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Right-wing media defanged by dissolving anti-Biden storylines

Data: NewsWhip; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

The three biggest anti-Joe Biden storylines in right-wing media over the last year have either fizzled or are getting less online traction than they used to, according to data from NewsWhip provided exclusively to Axios.

Why it matters: This dynamic has rendered a formidable media ecosystem less effective in boosting President Trump as we move into the heart of the 2020 campaign.

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