Axios

Former deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz has emerged as the leading contender to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to two sources familiar.

Why it matters: The CDC has been without a full-time political leader since the ouster of Susan Monarez last August, and several top officials have resigned as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeks to remake the federal health bureaucracy.

To understand what the global economy will do this year, you have to understand what happens next in the Iran war.

• The outlook for the war and its aftermath, and what that means for the free passage of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, is the global economic outlook.
• That's the uncomfortable reality hanging over the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group spring meetings this week.

Why it matters: The economic pain is uneven: Poorer countries that import their oil carry the heaviest weight.

• The U.S. — the country that started the conflict — is poised to suffer the least economic damage, by almost every measure.
• Still, a prolonged surge in prices for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer and more would exact a toll in the U.S.

The intrigue: There is little else on the minds of finance ministers, central bankers and other policymakers meeting in D.C. this week but the shock that is rattling their respective economies.

Consider the economic forecast that set the tone for the meetings. The IMF slashed its global growth forecast as it predicted a surge in inflation this year.

What they're saying: "The impact of the war will be uneven," IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters on Tuesday.

• Alongside a baseline scenario, the IMF released two other forecasts in the event of a more prolonged conflict: an adverse scenario of a sharper economic slowdown and a more severe scenario that has the global economy flirting with an outright recession.
• But the growth hit for poorer nations would be twice as large as that for richer nations, the IMF said.
• "Every day that passes and every day that we have more disruption in energy, we are drifting closer toward the adverse scenario," Gourinchas said.

Zoom out: "The U.S. isn't vulnerable. It's the Asian countries who are," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters when asked about the Strait of Hormuz blockade imposed earlier this week.

• "I can say that the president signaled that it would be a four- to six-week process ... and I think we're close to that," top White House economist Kevin Hassett told Axios.

The bottom line: Even if the U.S. escapes the worst, it still faces higher commodity prices — especially at the pump.

• Will inflation pressures at home eventually force President Trump to seek a quicker end to the war?

Former World Bank president David Malpass told Axios: "It's a clear supply shock — and so that's not just oil and natural gas, but in other products that are coming through the Strait of Hormuz. That takes time for the world to adjust to."

• "But my observation is markets are really good at adjusting to a supply shock."

The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner weekend is back and busier than ever this year, with new outlets, companies and political powerbrokers looking to make further inroads in Washington.

Why it matters: The dinner hasn't seen this much momentum since the Obama era.

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico hauled in more than $27 million in the first quarter of 2026, his campaign announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The money raised by the state legislator from Austin dwarfs the amount incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn raised during the same period and will play a key role in persuading voters in what is shaping up as a very expensive race.

GOP leaders postponed the initial vote on reauthorizing FISA on Wednesday as a bloc of conservatives threatened to tank the bill.

Why it matters: The White House and GOP leadership have been pushing for a clean 18-month extension of the surveillance authority, but members are still demanding changes.

The S&P 500 just took a round-trip — the stock benchmark for investors has recovered, and then some, from a war-driven selloff.

Why it matters: It's a split-screen moment: investor enthusiasm happening alongside the biggest energy shock in history, a rise in inflation and warnings about slower economic growth.

State efforts to regulate pharmacy benefit managers are colliding with federal law, reviving a power struggle over who can police the companies that manage drug benefits for most Americans.

Why it matters: The states are trying to rein in the middlemen that negotiate drug prices and pay pharmacies, but they're running into a federal law that has the final say over employer health plans.

House Democrats will introduce six articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday accusing him of abuse of power, war crimes and other serious wrongdoing.

Why it matters: The measure has virtually no chance of passing this Congress, but it is the latest sign that Democrats have coalesced around Hegseth as their new top target in Trump's Cabinet.

The top U.S. immigration enforcement agency deported 442,637 people between October 2024 and September 2025, according to newly-released statistics.

Why it matters: The top-line figure is about 171,000 people more than the fiscal year before, but far short of Trump's campaign promise to deport one million people a year.

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) is hosting a mega fundraiser Tuesday night that aims to raise $1.4 million in a single evening for four of his Pennsylvania House colleagues, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: The freshman senator is leveraging his Senate position — and extensive fundraising network — to boost the war chests of four Pennsylvania Republicans in competitive districts.