topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

National

President Biden made a fresh appeal for voting rights reform as he commemorated the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama.

Driving the news: A critical day in the Civil Rights movement, "Bloody Sunday" in 1965 saw a peaceful demonstration demanding, in part, for an expansion of voting rights end with police beating demonstrators.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of an attack by law enforcement and other spectators on roughly 600 Civil Rights demonstrators, including future Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who planned to march the 54 miles from Selma to Alabama's capital city of Montgomery. 

As the group approached the bridge, they were met by state troopers who attacked with whips, billy clubs and tear gas. Footage of the beatings were broadcast on television and photos published in newspapers, prompting national outrage and protests across the U.S.

The event, and resulting protests, helped spur the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination in voting.

State of play: Biden said in his speech that Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to ensure access to the ballot box.

"I made it clear I will not let a filibuster obstruct the sacred right to vote," Biden said in his speech.

"Selma is a reckoning. The right to vote and to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty."

Following his remarks, Biden took part in the annual walk over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Catch up quick: Biden's remarks were expected to highlight how the continued fight for voting rights is "integral to delivering economic justice and civil rights for Black Americans," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing Friday.

Parts of the Voting Rights Act have been eroded in recent years. 

Biden vowed to make voting rights a priority for his administration, but key saw key pieces of voting rights legislation stall in Congress.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited Selma during last year's anniversary, said in a statement Sunday that "in recent years, America has seen a new assault on the freedom to vote."

"Extremists have worked to dismantle the voting protections that generations of civil rights leaders and advocates fought tirelessly to win. They have purged voters from the rolls. They have closed polling places. They have made it a crime to give water to people standing in line," Harris said.

Biden surrounded by people as he crosses a bridge.

President Biden links arms with Reverend Al Sharpton while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 5, to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Photo: Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Biden commemorates "Bloody Sunday" in Selma by pushing voting rights reform

"Selma is a reckoning. The right to vote and to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty," the president said Sunday.

President Biden delivers remarks to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on March 5. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Voting rights

Kamala Harris

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Meet The Press-10 55 12 Am - 10 57 36 Am-2023-03-05

Former President Trump won't become the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2024, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) predicted during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Driving the news: "He's not going to be the nominee, that's just not going to happen," Sununu said, adding the GOP is looking for fresh leadership.

"Thank you for your service, we're moving on," he said. "I just don't believe the Republican Party is going to say that the best leadership for America tomorrow is yesterday's leadership. That doesn't make any sense."

"We want the next generation, the next big idea, and that's what we're going to deliver."

State of play: Sununu added that he believed that if the election were held now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would win both New Hampshire and Florida.

Trump has repeatedly attacked DeSantis, who he fears is the only candidate who could last with him in a long, bitter campaign for the 2024 GOP nomination.

Sununu also spoke about the need for the Republican Party to attract independent voters and the next generation of "potential Republicans."

"Republicans cannot win without independents. It cannot happen," he said.

The big picture: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Sunday that he is not running for president in 2024, saying the GOP "must move on from Mr. Trump."

"There are several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead," Hogan wrote in a New York Times opinion essay.

"But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination," he added.

What to watch: Sununu acknowledged last month that he is "definitely thinking about" a 2024 bid for president himself.

Sununu did not acknowledge a potential run during Sunday's program and noted that he hasn't ruled out running for re-election as governor.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details on Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's announcement that he is not running for president in 2024. 

Sununu on Trump: "Thank you for your service, we're moving on"

2024 presidential election

Donald Trump

This week's CPAC conference underscored the difficulty Republicans will have in keeping their increasingly fractured coalition together for 2024.

Why it matters: The Republican Party once was defined by its general ideological unity on three core conservative principles: free markets, a muscular foreign policy and traditional social values. Those pillars made up the Reagan revolution.

But the MAGA movement, which dominated this year's CPAC conference, has moved the GOP's center of gravity toward a more protectionist, populist and belligerent outlook.

The driving theme of the conference was fighting "wokeness," one of the few issues that still unites the GOP.

What happened: Companies showcasing progressive values that embrace diversity — such as Disney and PNC Bank — came under attack.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), meanwhile, urged defunding the FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies if they don't get "back on our side" — a reference to the many investigations of GOP officials, including himself. He received a standing ovation.

Venture capitalist and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for the FBI to be shut down and replaced with something else.

What they're saying: Trump delivered the conference's keynote address Saturday with a vengeful indictment of the GOP establishment that dominated the party before his political ascent.

"We will expel the warmongers, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists, we will throw off the political class that hates our country," Trump said.

"The Republican Party was ruled by freaks, neocons, open-border zealots and fools. We're never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove, and Jeb Bush," Trump went on. He then pledged to protect Social Security from any Republicans pursuing reduced benefits.

The intrigue: The divide over Ukraine was on full display at CPAC: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in her speech Friday, telling him to "leave your hands off of our sons and daughters."

But two of the highest-profile speakers — former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — are unapologetic Ukraine hawks (Haley is running for president, and Pompeo is considering it).

Asked about Haley's presidential campaign, Greene said: "I don't listen to Nikki Haley and I don't think she's going to do well in the primary."

Notable quotable: A top Trump adviser told Axios that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who hasn't entered the race but is widely presumed to be Trump's top competitor for the nomination — has "Reagan Republican" vulnerabilities the former president will exploit.

By the numbers: Trump dominated DeSantis at the CPAC straw poll, 62%-20%. That's an improvement from his 2022 CPAC performance, when Trump led DeSantis 59%-28% — and not surprising, given the MAGA-focused theme of the convention.

The straw poll found 79% of CPAC attendees oppose U.S. military aid to Ukraine, while 74% want abortion regulated on the state (not federal) level.

The bottom line: Trump's campaign is prioritizing the 30% of Republicans who consider themselves "Trump-first Republicans," while letting his rivals compete for backing among those who support the party first.

Trump has put together a small, professional operation that has leaned into these contrasts to an even greater degree than in his initial 2016 campaign.

If DeSantis runs, he has an opportunity to strike a middle ground between Trump's unadulterated populism and mainstream conservativism. But as his muddled comments on Ukraine showed, he's at risk of trying to be everything to everyone — while Trump runs as the true MAGA believer.

CPAC exposes conservative split

The driving theme of the conference was fighting "wokeness."

The audience for former President Trump's CPAC speech. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

Fox News Sunday-9 22 57 Am - 9 25 05 Am-2023-03-05

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the Trump administration's track record on fiscal policy during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

Why it matters: The criticism from Pompeo — who served in the Trump administration — comes amid long-swirling speculation that he may be mulling a 2024 presidential run himself.

State of play: During his appearance on the program, Pompeo said he was "proud" of the Trump administration's work to secure the southern border and deter an attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Europe.

But Pompeo notably mentioned that over its four years, "the Trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit."

Asked by host Shannon Bream whether he would do a better job getting the U.S.' fiscal house in order than Trump did, Pompeo replied that a "President Pompeo or any conservative president" would do better on the issue than either Trump, President Obama or President Bush.

"$6 trillion more in debt. That’s never the right direction for the country," Pompeo said when pressed by Bream about whether he was saying Trump wasn't a "true conservative leader."

The big picture: During his appearance at CPAC on Friday, Pompeo spoke about the need for the GOP to move away from "celebrity leaders" with "fragile egos."

Asked about his comments during Sunday's program, Pompeo said his comments were meant to address the need for a "thoughtfulness and a weightiness and a seriousness that we've kind of moved away from."

"It's not about former President Trump, it's not about President Biden."

What's next: Pompeo did not explicitly address the prospect of a 2024 run, but noted that he and his wife are currently "trying to figure out what's next for us."

"In very short order we will figure that out and let anyone know," Pompeo said, adding news could come in the "next couple months."

Mike Pompeo takes a swipe at Trump policies amid rumors of 2024 bid

"That’s never the right direction for the country."

Mike Pompeo

Hill Leaders

Axios Hill Leaders

Former President Trump escalated his attacks on China at CPAC last night, testing his ability to move the U.S. toward a more confrontational approach on trade with the communist nation.

Why it matters: The last six years have shown that Trump’s hawkish proposals on China — initially dismissed as dangerous and impossible — have a way of becoming plausible, and even policy.

Driving the news: Last night's speech was the live version of a campaign video Trump released last week, in which he essentially called for the decoupling of the U.S. and Chinese economies.

On Capitol Hill, his latest calls didn't spark outrage, as they did in 2016. Democrats and Republicans agree the U.S. needs to rely less on China.

 Committees for both the House and Senate have held hearings this session that focused on various threats China poses to the U.S. 

As president, Trump imposed a series of tariffs on China — and President Biden has kept them on the books. 

What they're saying: “The American people have the habit of moving from indifference to outrage in very short order,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told Axios. “And that's happened as it pertains to China.”

“Trump did shift the conversation” on China policy, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told Axios. “He will continue to shift [it]. We need to find ways to decouple when it comes to anything regarding national security.”

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, agreed that the U.S. approach to China has changed significantly in recent years.

“I think the movement is relatively nascent,” he told Axios. 

“There's a lot more to be done on the China list," he said, citing everything from China's "digital authoritarianism" to "concentration camps" in Xinjiang as areas that need urgent attention. 

Flashback: In 2016, Trump’s pledge to impose 45% tariffs on most exports from China was decried by economists as a recipe for a recession, and pilloried by his political opponents.

Ultimately, Trump settled on a 25% rate, and China responded by hitting America's agricultural exports. 

 A study from the pro-trade US-China Business Council estimated that as many as 245,000 U.S. jobs were lost as a result of Trump's tariffs. 

While president in 2019, Trump announced a "phase 1" trade deal with China, which required Beijing to buy some $200 billion in U.S. goods — but Beijing didn't completely follow through.

The big picture: Trump seeks to return to the White House by running against two adversaries: Biden and China.

With Biden having accepted Trump’s tariffs, the former president is trying to differentiate himself — and ride the current wave of concern about the threats China poses to the U.S.

Trump's latest anti-China proposals — promising universal baseline tariffs, phasing out all Chinese imports of essential goods in four years and stripping China of its most favored nations status — are an escalation from his 2016 positions. 

The other side: Biden also has read the country’s anti-China mood and has adopted a more confrontational approach. 

Last October, he imposed export restrictions on semiconductor technology and is considering new rules on outbound investment to China.

What we’re watching: Trump stopped short of calling for a total decoupling of the two economies.  

His proposal sounds more like the “strategic decoupling” that his former trade ambassador, Robert Lighthizer, outlined in a December New York Times op-ed.

Between the lines: Some Republicans from farm states have tempered their enthusiasm for aggressively confronting China with concerns that any retaliation could devastate their home-state agricultural industries. 

To help farmers survive during the first phase of his trade war, Trump gave them an extra $28 billion, a hint of the kind of losses they could suffer if Trump — or Biden — were to pile on more tariffs. 

“In Iowa, farmers rely on exports, and we want to continue to see those exports,” Ernst said. “So there's a balance to be had there.”

The bottom line: Positions that once were unthinkable — such as imposing  25% tariffs on America’s third biggest trading partner — are now consensus views.

The question now is how much more change the alarm over China will inspire.

“President Trump is solely responsible for reorienting the Republican Party to understand and address the China threat,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told Axios. “Now the Republican Party is still there, with him out of power.”

Trump seeks more confrontation with China on trade

His hawkish proposals on China have become policy in the past.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

Biden commemorates "Bloody Sunday" in Selma by pushing voting rights reform

Sununu on Trump: "Thank you for your service, we're moving on"

CPAC exposes conservative split

Mike Pompeo takes a swipe at Trump policies amid rumors of 2024 bid

Trump seeks more confrontation with China on trade

Credit card debt soars as perks proliferate

Texas GOP censures Rep. Tony Gonzales over gun safety, gay marriage votes

Ex-White House official killed after plane encounters severe turbulence

Trump floats building "freedom cities" on federal land

Scoop: Trump to blast Bush Republicans at CPAC

Biden's D.C. crime stunner strains relations with House Dems

America chips away at the 40-hour workweek