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National

Former Vice President Mike Pence testified on Thursday before a grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the alleged actions of people including former President Trump, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: This is the first time in the modern political era that a vice president has given testimony in a criminal investigation on a president they served alongside.

Pence is considered a key witness in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith due to his insights into events leading up to the U.S. Capitol riot and because of pressure he faced to stop the certification of President Biden's election win.

The big picture: Both Pence and Trump challenged Smith's subpoena compelling the former vice president to testify on matters connected to events in the lead-up to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

However, Pence later agreed to do so following a federal judge's ruling he under the U.S. Constitution's "speech or debate" clause.

An appeals court in D.C. rejected Trump's emergency application on Wednesday to block Pence from testifying in the probe.

Of note: Pence is considered a potential rival to Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, having hinted on several occasions that he's considering entering the race.

Background: Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

He was tasked with prosecuting any federal crimes that may arise from the investigation.

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details throughout.

Pence testifies before grand jury probe into Trump's Jan. 6 role

Pence is considered a key witness in the case due to his insights into events leading up to the U.S. Capitol riot.

 Former US Vice President Mike Pence speaking at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on April 26.

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaking at an event in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday. Photo: Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images

Mike Pence

Politics & Policy

Sneak Peek

Axios Sneak Peek

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) has formally filed paperwork with the FEC to challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2024, raising the chances that Republicans can retake the Senate. 

Why it matters: This could be the toughest potential race of Manchin's career, if Justice survives an expected primary challenger and further media scrutiny.

Justice officially announced his bid Thursday, criticizing the Biden administration's policies on energy, inflation and immigration,  saying, "We're gonna have to do something about it and we're gonna have to elect somebody that has done it."

"I'm hung up on the truth. I am hung up on being a patriot," he added.

Justice's approval rating in West Virginia is at 64%, vs. 40% for Manchin, as Axios' Josh Kraushaar previously reported.

The governor first faces a primary against Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.V.), a member of the Freedom Caucus.

"Make no mistake, I will win any race I enter," Manchin said in statement after the news of Justice's filing broke. 

Zoom in: Justice, a coal mining and agribusiness magnate, assumed office in 2017 as a Democrat. But months later, he revealed he was switching his party affiliation to Republican at a rally with then-President Trump.

Since then, voters in the state have re-elected Justice, and his recent work has focused on popular conservative causes.

In 2022, he signed an abortion ban that only allows exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, or incest.

The governor then helped shepherd through what he called the largest tax cut in West Virginia's history, slashing income taxes in part to help attract new residents. 

He also signed legislation this year allowing concealed carry on public college campuses.

What they're saying: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced Justice during the rally Thursday, saying, "We need help in Washington. We need a winner. ... A conservative who can move the ball forward."

Between the lines: Justice entering a national race is bound to draw renewed scrutiny to his businesses and personal finances.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

Jim Justice announces 2024 Senate bid in potential Manchin showdown

This could be the toughest potential race of Manchin's career.

This is a photo of Jim Justice shaking hands with Donald Trump 

In 2018, then-President Trump was introduced by Gov. Jim Justice during a salute to service dinner at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Senate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dined with Miriam Adelson — former President Trump's top financial backer in 2020 — and other major GOP donors in Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to two sources who attended the dinner. 

Why it matters: DeSantis, considered Trump's top rival for the GOP nomination, is expected to announce his presidential exploratory committee in the coming weeks.

Politico reported in October 2022 that Adelson, widow to the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson, told several possible Republican candidates that she plans stay neutral in the 2024 primary.

Representatives for Adelson did not respond to a request for comment. DeSantis' campaign declined to comment.

Driving the news: DeSantis arrived in Israel on Wednesday as part of a four-leg trip that could help the likely presidential candidate boost his foreign policy credentials. 

DeSantis met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog before attending a dinner at the Museum of Tolerance, where he was the guest of honor, according to sources in the room.

The dinner was hosted by Larry Mizel, a Denver-based business executive and philanthropist who founded the museum. In 2016, Mizel was the finance chairman for the Trump campaign in Colorado. 

Mizel did not respond to Axios' request for comment. 

Behind the scenes: DeSantis sat in between Adelson and Mizel during the dinner in Jerusalem, which lasted for about two hours, according to sources in the room.

The Adelsons were early backers of DeSantis when he ran for governor in 2018, contributing at least $500,000 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC.

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson were also Trump’s biggest donors. In the 2020 election, $90 million of the more than $200 million they contributed to Republican groups and candidates went to Trump's presidential campaign. 

Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. Sheldon Adelson died in 2021.

Mizel, meanwhile, has been one of the biggest donors to Trump and Republican groups in Colorado.

Lee Samson, another GOP donor, also attended the dinner. In 2019, Samson held a fundraiser for Trump at his Beverly Hills home.

DeSantis briefly addressed the attendees of the dinner, but did not speak about his political plans or possible presidential campaign. Instead, he focused on the U.S.-Israel relationship, according to the sources who attended.

The big picture: The U.S.-Israeli relationship and DeSantis' record on Israel were also the basis of a speech DeSantis gave at the Museum of Tolerance on Thursday. 

Miriam Adelson also attended the speech, with DeSantis acknowledging her as his "friend" during his remarks. 

DeSantis presented the Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as his own achievement, saying he worked to "cajole" the former president to make the move. He didn't mention Trump by name.

DeSantis also stressed that he opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said it failed because it only emboldened the regime in Tehran. He made no mention of Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the deal.

Scoop: DeSantis dines with Miriam Adelson, other major GOP donors in Israel

The wife of the late Sheldon Adelson has said she plans to stay neutral in the 2024 primary.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sits between Miriam Adelson and Larry Mizel at a dinner in Jerusalem.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sits between Miriam Adelson and Larry Mizel at a dinner in Jerusalem. Photo obtained by Axios. 

Ron DeSantis

Israel

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fired back at Disney on Thursday over its lawsuit alleging that his administration's actions amount to a "targeted campaign" of government retaliation.

Why it matters: DeSantis' feud with Disney has invited criticism from some of his fellow Republicans and potential opponents for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, including former President Trump.

Driving the news: "I don't think the suit has merit. I think it's political," DeSantis said of the lawsuit during a press conference in Jerusalem.

"I think they filed in Tallahassee for a reason, because they're trying to generate some district court decision," DeSantis said. "But we're very confident on the law."

Catch up quick: The back and forth between DeSantis and Disney was reignited earlier this year, after the company publicly denounced Florida's Parental Rights in Education law in early 2022. Critics have dubbed it DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay" law.

Disney filed the lawsuit this week after a DeSantis-appointed board — whose members are named as defendants — voted Wednesday to nullify earlier agreements that had given the company authority over most construction near its Orlando resort.

After Disney filed its suit, DeSantis spokesperson Taryn Fenske told Axios the administration is "unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state."

Go deeper: What's going on with DeSantis' takeover of Disney special district

What's going on with DeSantis' takeover of Disney special district

DeSantis balks at Disney lawsuit alleging retaliation

"I don't think the suit has merit. I think it's political," DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Museum of Tolerance on April 27 in Jerusalem, Israel. Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his speech in Jerusalem on Thursday to emphasize his pro-Israel credentials ahead of his expected bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

Why it matters: This is DeSantis’ fourth visit to Israel. His office branded the four-leg trip as an "international trade mission," but it's also been an opportunity for DeSantis to spotlight his foreign policy and diplomatic credentials as a likely presidential hopeful.

The trip included stops in Japan and South Korea. He will also visit the U.K. before returning to the U.S.

Driving the news: Although DeSantis made clear during his trip to Asia that he is not a candidate for the Republican party presidential nomination, he was received in Israel as one.

He met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Thursday.

Israeli-Canadian philanthropist Silvan Adams, who introduced DeSantis ahead of his speech at the “Celebrate the Faces of Israel" event at Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance, said that maybe the Florida governor's next visit to Israel will be aboard Air Force One. The audience of hundreds enthusiastically applauded.

What he's saying: DeSantis presented the Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as his own achievement, saying he worked to "cajole" the former president to make the move. He didn't mention former President Trump by name.

DeSantis also stressed that he opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said it failed because it only emboldened the regime in Tehran. He made no mention of Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the deal. 

“Iran with a nuclear weapon will create an unprecedented threat in the region. If you combine their radical ideology with nuclear weapons it will be an existential threat to Israel and a threat to America," he said.

DeSantis also said that U.S. "must respect Israel’s right to make its own decisions about its own governance – you are a smart country you figure it out – it shouldn’t be for us to butt into these important issues.”

The comment came about a month after the White House, including President Biden, pressured Netanyahu to delay his government's controversial judicial overhaul plan.

DeSantis didn’t mention issues affecting the Palestinians. He called the occupied West Bank by its Hebrew name of “Judea and Samaria” and mentioned his previous visit to the Ariel settlement.

During the speech, DeSantis also repeatedly said the shared religious values between Judaism and Christianity are the basis for the alliance between the U.S. and Israel.

He told a story about his visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2019 and said he prayed that Florida would pass the hurricane season safely. He said that at the time, a hurricane that was heading to Florida slowed and didn't hit the state. “I think it was because of my prayer at the Western Wall," he said.

The big picture: DeSantis' trip comes as the Florida governor faces criticism on several fronts at home, including over a highly-public feud with the Walt Disney Company that resulted in the entertainment giant suing him over an alleged "targeted campaign."

DeSantis in Jerusalem touts pro-Israel credentials

The visit included meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a conference titled "Celebrate the Faces of Israel" at Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance on April 27. Photo: Maya Alleruzzo/AFP via Getty Images

Capital

Axios Capital

Americans retiring now are going it alone: They're the first generation to rely on private savings instead of pensions to navigate the financial vortex of retirement.

Why it matters: 401(k) plans and IRAs don't generate steady and predictable income like pensions or social security. The result is a feeling of perpetual insecurity, even among those who've amassed substantial savings.

Catch up quick: When your retirement relies on a fixed pool of money like a 401(k), it becomes almost impossible to answer a simple question: How much income do you have?

The individual retiree, rather than any fund administrator, ultimately decides how much money to withdraw each month.

And a paycheck isn't just income — it also serves as a simple way of setting a monthly budget.

The big picture: When paychecks go away, retirees with savings find it very difficult to know how much money it's safe to spend every month — especially since none of us know how many months we have left to live.

Resurgent inflation makes such calculations even harder, since none of us know how much more expensive our spending habits will become.

Zoom in: For most retired Americans, many of whom retired as long ago as the last century, guaranteed income still covers more than half of their total monthly spending.

Today's retirees find themselves in a much more uncertain situation, with a host of spending needs — some foreseeable, some coming out of the blue — all needing to be funded out of a volatile and unpredictable retirement portfolio.

By the numbers: In a recent Goldman Sachs survey, 51% of retirees reported living on less than half the income they enjoyed pre-retirement.

Between the lines: 45% of current retirees, including 54% of female current retirees, said they found entering retirement to be somewhat or very stressful in terms of financial anxiety.

The 401(k) generation enters a retirement minefield

The No. 1 unexpected financial challenge in retirement is already "understanding what my income will be."

Axios

Thursday's top stories

Pence testifies before grand jury probe into Trump's Jan. 6 role

Jim Justice announces 2024 Senate bid in potential Manchin showdown

Scoop: DeSantis dines with Miriam Adelson, other major GOP donors in Israel

DeSantis balks at Disney lawsuit alleging retaliation

DeSantis in Jerusalem touts pro-Israel credentials

The 401(k) generation enters a retirement minefield

McCarthy's debt ceiling lesson for House Republicans

Prosecutors call Pentagon leak suspect an ongoing national security risk

House passes McCarthy's debt ceiling proposal

DOJ sues Tennessee over ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Exclusive: Time to remove digital paywall