Axios

Congress is urging the White House to respond to a growing AI cybersecurity threat: advanced models that can uncover software vulnerabilities faster than companies and governments can patch them.

Why it matters: A bipartisan letter, shared first with Axios, marks an escalation in pressure on the Trump administration to confront the risks posed by frontier AI cyber models like Anthropic's Mythos.

U.S. manufacturers are pleading with the Trump administration not to allow the Chinese auto industry "to wheedle its way in" to the American market.

Why it matters: President Trump is visiting China at a time when sky-high gas prices and inflation concerns have reignited calls for allowing cheap Chinese vehicles into the U.S.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) are forming a bipartisan "partnership" between the Republican and Democratic women's caucuses to combat sexual misconduct in Congress.

Why it matters: Congress is going through its biggest reckoning over workplace culture and sexual misconduct since the #MeToo movement rocked Capitol Hill in 2017 and 2018.

House Democrats on Wednesday secured the necessary signatures to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and force a vote on a package of Russia sanctions and billions of dollars in Ukraine aid.

Why it matters: This is the eighth time in the last three years that a discharge petition has been used by some combination of Democrats and Republicans to do an end-run around GOP leadership.

Rep. Chuck Edwards told a 20-something female staffer it was "disappointing to feel something that used to be easy has gotten complicated" after she did not want to have dinner with him in May 2025, according to a text exchange reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: The female staffer complained about Edwards' behavior and was worried about retaliation from the congressman. In addition to text messages, Axios reviewed photographs and interviewed four sources familiar with the interactions. The sources requested anonymity to protect against retaliation.

President Trump faces a tough climb turning his "energy dominance" agenda into energy wins when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Why it matters: China is a massive market, and Trump loves using bilateral summits to secure energy purchase agreements.

The billion-dollar request for the Secret Service isn't dead. But it is in doubt.

Why it matters: Senate Republicans are struggling to get comfortable with providing $220 million to "harden" security at the White House complex — including President Trump's East Wing ballroom.

Louisiana senators voted early Wednesday to advance a congressional map that eliminates one of the state's majority-Black districts.

Why it matters: The proposed map pits U.S. Rep. Troy Carter against U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields for their seats, which are currently in two different districts, writes Piper Hutchinson of the Louisiana Illuminator.

Semiconductors, or chips, are again turning out to be the It Girl of the global economy.

Why it matters: Chips are essential to the AI build-out, and that's driving a huge burst of demand, creating supply shortages, pushing up prices and creating an investment frenzy.

• It also puts chips at the center of geopolitics.

The U.S. Air Force wants to buy 206 upgraded electronic-warfare packages for the F-16 over the next few years, budget documents show.

Why it matters: The Lockheed Martin-made warplanes could be outfitted with Northrop Grumman's Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite as soon as early 2028.

• "This is, essentially, putting sixth-generation electronic warfare into a fourth-generation platform," Mark Sandor, Northrop's director of strategy and mission solutions, told Axios.