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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he learned through the press — not any direct heads-up — that President Biden had decided to stop trying to block a Russian pipeline that Ukraine sees as a dire national security threat.

Driving the news: Zelensky used an hourlong Zoom interview with Axios on Friday to beseech Biden to meet with him face to face before a June 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — offering to join him "at any moment and at any spot on the planet."

The embattled leader spoke of Putin's psychological pressure campaign; his own anger-turned-disappointment at the U.S.; and his hope that Biden, whom he compares to basketball great Michael Jordan, can still outmaneuver Russia and rescue Ukraine.

Why it matters: Russian gas currently flows through Ukraine en route to Europe. Nord Stream 2, a Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline, would allow Russia to circumvent and isolate Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Zelensky said the U.S. is the only power capable of stopping Russia.

"This is a weapon, a real weapon ... in the hands of the Russian Federation," he said. "It is not very understandable ... that the bullets to this weapon can possibly be provided by such a great country as the United States."

Putin is already wielding his additional leverage over Ukraine. The Russian president said on Friday that Ukraine must show good will if it still wants Russian gas to pass through the country.

What they're saying: "The State Department has regularly engaged with Ukrainian officials regarding Nord Stream 2. Prior to the transmission of the most recent report to Congress, the State Department notified the Ukrainian ambassador in Washington and senior officials in Kyiv, including the president’s chief of staff, of the contents of the report," a White House spokesperson told Axios. 

"The administration is committed to continuing to consult with Ukraine as we press Germany to address the risks Nord Stream 2 poses to Ukraine and European energy security. We also welcome Ukraine’s direct engagement with the German government about their concerns."

"When President Biden meets with President Putin in Geneva, he will stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as he has done in both of his earlier calls to President Putin."

An administration source said the White House was considering inviting Zelensky to Washington before Biden’s summit with Putin but declined to move ahead with the meeting after Zelensky's decision to replace the management of state energy company Naftogaz. That move led to concerns in the administration he was backsliding on anti-corruption efforts.

Where things stand: Putin announced Friday the first of two lines is complete and said energy giant Gazprom is "ready to start filling Nord Stream 2 with gas."

The White House has called the pipeline "a Kremlin geopolitical project that threatens European energy security." But Biden nonetheless backed off U.S. sanctions on the company working to finish the pipeline.

Zelensky said he has moved past anger and would now describe his feeling as one of disappointment.

Behind the scenes: Zelensky says Biden had offered him "direct signals" that the U.S. was prepared to block the pipeline. Then came the news that Biden would be waiving the sanctions.

Zelensky said he had to listen to a White House press briefing to obtain an explanation: The administration said the pipeline was already nearly complete and cited the importance of good relations with Germany.

Zelensky said he understands the importance of that relationship, but he asked: "How many Ukrainian lives does the relationship between the United States and Germany cost?"

Zelensky says he is "positive" Biden could still stop the pipeline. "I still believe, after all, that Biden is a Jordan in politics," he said.

He recalled how Michael Jordan would lull opponents into a "false sense of victory" then "grab the victory at the very last minute."

"If this is not the case, that will be a great pity, not only for me," he said. "There will be a feeling that in these circumstances Russia will have a great chance to prevail over the United States."

The White House says it proposed the Putin summit to seek a "stable and predictable" relationship with Putin.

Biden is hardly the first U.S. president to seek that, Zelensky said. "But, if you ask me, the better scenario would be for the U.S. to make it so that Russia starts aiming to forge the relationship with the United States."

Zelensky has not enjoyed stability or predictability from Moscow since taking office in 2019. He thinks Russia's recent military build-up on the borders was an attempt to inflict "psychological pressure" but noted that the threat still looms.

Zelensky expressed appreciation for the support Biden offered during that showdown, but he said the Nord Stream decision could "dampen the confidence" Ukrainians feel in the U.S.

He also said he's discussed with the Biden administration a "possible increase in military assistance" to expand security in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov around Ukraine's shoreline. It's unclear whether Biden will follow through on those discussions.

What’s next: A source familar with the U.S. interactions said they had told the Ukrainian side several days ago they would hold a call this week, as early as Monday. It could be a contentious conversation.

Editor’s note: Updates with comment from administration source about dashed plans to invite Zelensky to Washington.

Exclusive: Zelensky "surprised" and "disappointed" by Biden pipeline move

The Ukrainian president says Nord Stream 2 will hurt Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen speaking.

Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Sergei Supinsk/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine

Russia

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

Axios on HBO: World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s personal journey |HBO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to become director-general of the World Trade Organization, forged her strength through traumas few political leaders could imagine — let alone endure.

Driving the news: In a remarkable interview with "Axios on HBO" — her first extended, in-person TV interview since taking the job in March — the MIT-trained economist and development expert opened up about her nearly "impossible job" and the experiences that shaped her, including her mother's kidnapping.

The big picture: At the end of our hourlong conversation, Ngozi made a direct plea to President Biden and China's Xi Jinping: "Give the WTO a chance."

Why it matters: You'll hear a lot more about Ngozi in the years ahead. As she admits, she's taken on "almost an impossible job" of reviving the WTO. The institution, which governs the rules of international trade, is badly broken.

Because the organization operates on consensus, all 164 member countries — including the increasingly hostile U.S. and China — need to agree to major reforms. 

The WTO hasn't concluded a successful round of trade negotiations in more than 20 years. But it's the only institutional obstacle to uncontrollable trade wars that could easily spiral into more dangerous hostilities.

Details: Ngozi has a resume unlike any of the six men who previously ran the WTO. She grew up during the Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s and her family fled government troops.

She moved to the United States as a teenager, studied at Harvard and got a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She's often referred to by colleagues as "Dr. Ngozi."

She rose through the ranks of the World Bank, had four children and then left behind a comfortable bureaucratic life in Washington, D.C., to return to Nigeria to serve twice as finance minister and as minister of foreign affairs.

Between the lines: Many rooted for her success. Others wanted to kill her. In 2012, criminals kidnapped her 83-year-old mother at gunpoint. When recalling this experience, her voice cracked.

They didn't ask for a cash ransom, instead demanding that Ngozi resign her post as finance minister on live television. She seriously considered resigning, but her father insisted she stay in her job and ultimately the kidnappers released her mother.

1. On the difficulty of her job: "Yes, it could be termed that, an impossible job. But I see the possibility to turn around an organization that can really do good for people, that can live up to its purpose, you know. So maybe I'm a masochist, you know, and I like challenges."

2. On China still claiming it's a "developing country" to get special treatment at the WTO: "When the organization was designed, I think there were some serious design faults. It was left to countries to describe themselves any way they wanted."

3. On America's slide toward protectionism under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden: "I would hope that all countries, China, the United States, would move away and not get into a protectionist mood because that was why this organization was created in the first place, to make rules of the game that would lead to more liberalization of trade."

4. On whether intellectual property waivers would be enough to solve the global vaccine distribution crisis: "No, no, no, no. I've been very clear. … I've said it's not enough."

New WTO boss opens up about her "impossible job"

You'll be hearing a lot more about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the years to come.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

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Axios On HBO: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Covid-19 lab-leak theory (Clip) | HBO

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told "Axios on HBO" the Biden administration is determined to "get to the bottom" of COVID-19's origins, and said the U.S. will hold China accountable.

Why it matters: "The most important reason we have to get to the bottom of this is that's the only way we're going to be able to prevent the next pandemic or at least do a better job in mitigating it," he said during a wide-ranging interview in the State Department's Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room.

Blinken said China still hasn't "given us the transparency we need," access for international inspectors and experts, or real-time information sharing.

"That has to happen," he added. "(A)t the end of the day, it's profoundly in China's interest to do this, as well."

Blinken said that if China "purports to be a responsible international actor," it will have "to do everything it can to provide all the information it has to make sure we can hopefully prevent this from happening again."

On U.S. companies doing business with China, Blinken said it's "very important" they not "aid and abet ... China's ability to use surveillance technology to repress its own people, or to export that technology to allow other autocratic or authoritarian governments from doing the same thing."

In an executive order issued Friday, President Biden expanded the list of Chinese companies whose shares are off-limits to American investors because of connections to China's "military-industrial complex."

"Axios on HBO": Blinken vows to hold China accountable on COVID origins

Blinken said China still hasn't "given us the transparency we need."

Coronavirus

Tony Blinken speaks with Axios' Mike Allen.

China

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

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Roblox CEO David Baszucki says in an "Axios on HBO" interview that he is confident that his company can keep kids safe even as adults and children mix in increasingly complex digital worlds.

Why it matters: Roblox is among the companies trying to create a Ready Player One-like "metaverse," while trying to avoid the dystopian future often associated with such virtual environments.

Baszucki said he takes a decidedly optimistic view on the future, backed up by a mix of human reviewers and algorithms to ensure people aren't bullied or exploited.

"Everything is reviewed by over 2,000 real life humans, in addition to all the cool ML and AI stuff," Baszucki said in an interview with Axios on HBO. "We do a lot of filtering and screening with text and communication as well."

The big picture: The metaverse is where Roblox sees its future, with Baszucki saying he sees opportunities in education and even for the workplace in Roblox's future.

Roblox isn't alone. In addition to Fortnite and Microsoft's Minecraft, Facebook said Friday it was buying Unit 2 Games, the studio behind Crayta —a Roblox-like platform, which Facebook plans to integrate it into its own gaming effort.

Baszucki said he thinks he has all the tools he needs to keep Roblox safe and doesn't need any new government interventions.

"If the government means laws or regulations, I think we hold ourself to a much higher standard," he said. "So I think our moral, ethical values would go way above that."

Roblox CEO: Human reviewers are key to keeping the metaverse safe

"I think our moral, ethical values would go way above that."

Roblox CEO David Baszucki, in an interview with Ina Fried for Axios on HBO

Online communities

Data privacy

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

House progressives are getting fed up with efforts to accommodate Republican senators — and Joe Manchin. Look for them to start demanding swift action — and threatening payback.

Why it matters: The White House is under growing pressure to accede to the left's demand to bust the filibuster. That rule effectively requires the support of 10 Republicans for most measures in this 50-50 Senate, rather than the simple majority that most Democrats want. 

What we're hearing: Democrats believe they have a narrow window to change voting rules at the national level, to ensure they don’t get swept out of power due to Republican structural advantages. 

Many Dems believe that this moment — when they have total control of Washington — is extremely tenuous and fleeting.

One of the clearest signs of this coming confrontation is a tweet this morning by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), a leading House progressive, who criticized Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for announcing his opposition to a sweeping voting-rights bill passed by the House in March.

Jones tweeted: "Manchin’s op-ed might as well be titled, 'Why I’ll vote to preserve Jim Crow.'"

At the funeral in 2020 for Rep. John Lewis, the civil-rights icon, former President Obama tied the filibuster to segregation, calling it a "Jim Crow relic."

Manchin wrote in today's Charleston Gazette-Mail that he'll vote against the voting-rights bill, the For the People Act — numbered H.R. 1, as a sign 0f its importance to Speaker Pelosi. 

Manchin said: "I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster." 

Between the lines: For a prominent Democrat to directly link Manchin to some of the most odious and racist laws in American history represents a new stage of the intra-party battle over voting rights.

Many Democrats feel that if they fail to pass H.R. 1 before November 2022 they could be locked out of power for years.

One top Democrat told me: "Progressives are getting restless. I don't think they're going to revolt. I don't think there's anything to revolt to." 

Instead, you’re going to see progressives beseeching Biden to turn his bully pulpit against the most prominent Democratic senators standing in the way of filibuster reform — Joe Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. 

But they can't change the math: Progressives can't end the filibuster without Manchin — and neither can Biden.

Progressive dam about to break

Look for them to start demanding swift action — and threatening payback.

Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) arrives at a news conference with Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) arrives at a news conference with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on April 27. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Joe Manchin

Joe Biden

Policymaking

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote in a Charleston Gazette-Mail op-ed Sunday that he will not support congressional Democrats' expansive election and anti-corruption bill, suggesting the measure is partisan.

Why it matters: Manchin's opposition to H.R. 1, known as the For the People Act, puts the bill in tenuous footing in the evenly split Senate. The West Virginia senator said any elections-related legislation should be the result of both parties coming together. 

“I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening blinds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For The People Act," Manchin wrote.

"The truth, I would argue, is that voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen."

Flashback: The House passed the For the People Act in a 220-210 in March with no Republican support, it now awaits a vote in the Senate. 

The bill's reforms include allowing voters to register securely online or on Election Day, and preventing voter purges from registration records. It would also restore voting rights for felons, expand early and absentee voting and set national standards for early voting and registration.

Manchin said he would support another reform bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would effectively reinstate key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. 

"I continue to engage with my Republican and Democratic colleagues about the value of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and I am encouraged by the desire from both sides to transcend partisan politics and strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights."

Worth noting: Manchin reiterated that he won't support eliminating the fillibuster, and said some Democrats have tried "to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of Democrats in the past."

Go deeper: Progressive groups press Senate Democrats to abolish filibuster

Manchin says he won't vote for Democrats' sweeping election reform bill

Manchin's opposition puts the bill in tenuous footing in the evenly split Senate.

Sen. Joe Manchin. Photo: Michael Swensen/Getty Images

Markets

Axios Markets

The federal government's foreclosure moratorium — designed to help homeowners weather the pandemic — is ending later this month. But that doesn't mean foreclosures are about to come roaring back. 

Why it matters: The housing market is very tight, and people who lose their homes right now can find it very hard to find somewhere else to live. The good news, however, is that foreclosures are almost certain to remain extremely uncommon until 2022 at the earliest.

Driving the news: As the White House's moratorium is ending, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a new rule, called Regulation X, that would effectively ban foreclosures until the end of 2021, while also making it easier to keep borrowers in their homes. 

Reg X is not yet in force, but state regulators and the CFPB have made it clear to servicers that they will take a very dim view of any attempts to foreclose on houses in the interim period.

The big picture: About 7.2 million homeowners entered pandemic-related forbearance plans, but most of them have already successfully left that purgatory. 

By the numbers: According to data from Black Knight, 46% are now reperforming on their loans, and another 17% have paid off their mortgage entirely, either by refinancing or by selling their house into the strong housing market. 

About 2.1 million homeowners remain in forbearance. Even if they're behind on both mortgage payments and property taxes, the overwhelming majority of those homeowners still have substantial positive equity in their homes, says Black Knight economist Andy Walden. 

What they're saying: "It’s almost the exact opposite of what we saw during the last financial crisis," Walden tells Axios. 

Back then, millions of homeowners were underwater on their mortgages, "which really limited the options and created a snowball of distress." 

Now, by contrast, rising prices create a lot more space for servicers to work out deals that keep borrowers in their homes.

"Next year there will be a lot of efforts to provide forbearances and workouts," adds Jorge Newbery, the CEO of AHP Servicing, which concentrates on the low-income borrowers most at risk of foreclosure. "Extra foreclosure activity will be modest."

The bottom line: There's a good possibility that foreclosures will rise above their pre-pandemic levels in 2023, once all other options have been tried and once the current backlog of court cases has begun to clear. For the time being, however, foreclosure is one thing that most homeowners don't need to worry about. 

Fears of a foreclosure crisis are waning

The federal foreclosure moratorium is about to end.

Housing

A foreclosure sign with a house in the background.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

More than 1,000 towns, lakes, streams, creeks and mountain peaks across the U.S. still bear racist names, according to a federal board under the Department of the Interior. 

Why it matters: The legacies of sites with names such as Squaw Lake, Minn., and Dead Negro Spring in Oklahoma endure, even amid a national push to remove Confederate monuments and change designations of public buildings named for racists. 

A government link already exists where people can suggest name changes. But locals often overlook the nature of such names because they carry a nostalgia about places they and their families have gathered for generations.  

Some advocates see the ascent of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold a federal cabinet position, as an opportunity to renew efforts to change these names. Interior spokesman Tyler Cherry declined to say whether any bans or other actions on such names are being considered.

Flashback: Secretary of the Interior Stuart Udall in 1963 ordered the N-word be scrubbed from all federal places on maps.

He later ordered the term "Jap," an offensive term for Japanese Americans, to be dropped. The Associated Press reported in 2012 that those remain the only names officially outlawed by the federal government.  

By the numbers: The database maintained by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names shows there are 799 sites that contain the word "squaw" — a derogatory term for Native American women.

It also shows 621 places with the word "negro" in them, including Big Negro Creek in Warren, Ill. — and Negro Foot, Va., an unincorporated community said to have been named in reference to an enslaved person whose foot was amputated to prevent escape.

Twenty-nine places contain the word "Chinaman" — an offensive term describing Chinese American men. There's Chinaman Hat in Wasco County, Ore., and Chinamans Canyon in Las Animas County, Colo.

There are 82 places with the word "redman" (an offensive term for Native Americans), seven places with the term "darkey" (an offensive term for Black Americans), and 11 places with "redskin."

New Mexico is home to a reservoir called Wetback Tank, while there are 12 places around the country with the term "greaser." Both are epithets used to describe Mexican Americans. 

Five places are named "Anna," which once meant "Ain’t No (N-words) Allowed" to Black travelers since some were sundown towns — places Black people weren't allowed after dark.

Slurs targeting ethnic whites reflect the discrimination Eastern European and Southern European immigrants once faced.

The database lists six places with the term "Polack," a derogatory reference to a person of Polish descent, and around two dozen places with the word "dago," a slur aimed at Italian Americans. 

The intrigue: While activists and scholars have been seeking changes for years, most names have only changed when local communities agree.

Last year, California’s popular Squaw Valley Ski Resort, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, changed its name after complaints from Native American tribes.

What they're saying: “The United States has a long history of dehumanizing Native Americans, mocking Native traditions and cultures, and perpetuating negative stereotypes of Native peoples," Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and Executive Director of IllumiNative, told Axios.

"Changing racist names is a start, but we also need to transform how Americans see and treat Native people.” 

Hundreds of places with racist names dot the U.S.

Some advocates hope Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will push for changes.

Illustration collage of a welcome sign amidst images of rivers and mountains.

Debra Haaland

Illustration collage of a welcome sign amidst images of rivers and mountains

Latin America and Latinos

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Saturday he will send a bill to the Central American country's Congress next week to make bitcoin legal tender.

Why it matters: If the legislation is passed by lawmakers, El Salvador would become the first country to formally adopt the digital currency.

Jack Mallers, founder of the Lightning Network payments platform Strike, which is working with Bukele on the project, noted at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, Saturday: "Over 70% of the active population of El Salvador doesn't have a bank account. They're not in the financial system."

What they're saying: Bukele said in a video message to the conference that in the short term, formally adopting bitcoin "will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy."

The big picture: Over 2 million Salvadorans live outside the country and send home some $4 billion every year, with remittances making up about 20% of the  country's GDP, per the BBC.

Bukele didn't go into details on how the policy would work. But he said it would be used alongside the U.S. dollar, which the nation has used as its official unit of currency since 2001.

El Salvador's president announces plan to make bitcoin legal tender

Some 70% of  El Salvador's population doesn't have a bank account.

Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, delivers a speech to Congress at the Legislative Assembly building in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. 

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Legislative Assembly building in San Salvador, El Salvador, last Tuesday. Photo: Camilo Freedman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bitcoin

The U.S. will donate 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced after arriving in the capital, Taipei, on a bipartisan congressional visit Sunday.

Why it matters: The island state is facing spiking coronavirus cases, and officials say their efforts to obtain vaccines are being impeded by China's government, which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory.

The visit by Duckworth and Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Ak) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) is likely to raise the ire of China's government, which reacted with fury to then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar's trip to Taiwan last August.

Driving the news: The donation is part of President Biden's initiative to share COVID-19 vaccines globally.

What they're saying: "We are here as friends, because we know that Taiwan is experiencing a challenging time right now, which was why it was especially important for the three of us to be here in a bipartisan way," Duckworth said, per AP.

"It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines, because we recognize your urgent need, and we value this partnership."

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who met the senators at Tapei's airport, said officials would have to "overcome obstacles to ensure that these life-saving medicine are delivered free from troubles of Beijing," AP reports.

U.S. donating COVID vaccines to Taiwan amid reports China blocking doses

Taiwan officials say China's government is impeding their efforts to obtain vaccines.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) speaks to a reporter outside the U.S. Capitol on June 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth outside the U.S. Capitol last Tuesday. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Taiwan

Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was booed at the Georgia GOP convention, where a resolution was passed to censure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for ignoring former President Trump's pressure to overturn the state's 2020 election results.

Why it matters: The action shows the grip Trump has on the Republican Party in the state.

It reflects a similar pattern nationally, with several U.S. lawmakers who voted to impeach the former president for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection censured by state GOPs.

Details: Raffensperger was censured for a "dereliction of his constitutional duty" over the presidential election, according to the resolution obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The big picture: Trump has continued to attack Republicans who did not back his false claims about the presidential election. These include Kemp and Raffensperger, who are both up for re-election in 2022.

In March, Trump endorsed Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) in his attempt to unseat Raffensperger.

Georgia's Kemp booed and Raffensperger censured at state GOP convention

The action shows the grip Trump has on the Republican Party in Georgia, as well as nationally.

Combination images of Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, and Gov. Brian Kemp.

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