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National

Former President Trump's allies in Congress have begun furiously pulling on every lever available to ensure his enemies — from federal prosecutors to President Biden himself — pay a price for his historic indictment.

Why it matters: Republicans have little recourse for saving Trump from the federal justice system to which he's now beholden. Instead, they're embarking on a political revenge campaign in a bid to prove their loyalty to Trump and muddy the waters in the court of public opinion.

Driving the news: House GOP leadership backed a resolution — which ultimately failed on the floor — that would have censured Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and fined him $16 million for his investigations into Trump's ties to Russia as former chair of the Intelligence Committee.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is demanding information from the Justice Department about the scope of special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents probe and the FBI's execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has backed the push for "accountability," claiming — misleadingly — that DOJ has held Trump to a different standard than Biden when it comes to classified documents.

Zoom in: The power of the purse is the most meaningful tool House Republicans have to exact revenge on the Justice Department and FBI.

Jordan is urging his staff to work with the Appropriations Committee to include policy riders in any budget bill that could slash DOJ or FBI funding.

McCarthy has signaled support for using the appropriations process to eliminate funding for the FBI's new headquarters, which Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Axios is a "fairly obvious" step.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has proposed defunding the special counsel's office, while other Republicans have called for using the "Holman Rule" to cut the salary of top FBI officials.

In the Senate, where Republicans have otherwise been more hesitant to defend Trump than their House counterparts, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) has vowed to hold up all of Biden's DOJ nominees in response to the indictment.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) took to the Senate floor Monday and alleged an FBI informant was told there are audio recordings supporting the unproven bribery allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine.

Grassley and House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) have acknowledged they don't know if the alleged tapes are legitimate, but that hasn't stopped Republicans from ramping up their Biden corruption allegations as a direct response to Trump's indictment.

The other side: House Oversight ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said the GOP's multi-pronged assault was "basically authoritarian strategy."

"Authoritarians don't accept the rule of law as it applies to them. And so, if their cult leader is being investigated, then they have to attack the government, prosecutors, and investigators. And that's their entire strategy," he told Axios.

What's next: The fight is only just getting started, as new signs emerge that both DOJ and Georgia prosecutors could bring more charges related to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) baselessly called Smith "a known Trump hater," telling Axios "this is just the beginning" of Republicans' investigations and "defund" efforts.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned the GOP will view it as a "major outrage" if Smith indicts Trump over Jan. 6, claiming "you could convict any Republican of anything in Washington, D.C."

Trump loyalists circle the wagons

Republicans are embarking on a political revenge campaign.

Photo illustration of Donald Trump surrounded by a circle of old fashioned covered wagons. 

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

House Republicans

Politics & Policy

2028

Axios 2028

The White House will continue to use the term "MAGA" a week after the independent Office of Special Counsel (OSC) declared that doing so is a violation of the Hatch Act, according to a new memo obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: Since last year, White House officials have repeatedly labeled GOP members in Congress as "MAGA Republicans" as part of a larger strategy to cast them as out of touch and extreme. 

State of play: On June 7, in response to a watchdog complaint about press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's use of "MAGA Republicans," the OSC ruled that she violated the Hatch Act, which governs how federal employees can weigh in on political activities. 

On the same day, the OSC sent guidance to agencies which stated that "MAGA" was off-limits because it was too closely connected with former President Trump's campaign for the White House.

"MAGA remains the campaign slogan of a current candidate for partisan political office, and therefore, its use constitutes political activity," the OSC wrote in the memo.

"Accordingly, federal employees should not use “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” while on duty, in the workplace, or when acting in their official capacity, including communicating through social media, email, or on government websites."

The big picture: The Hatch Act is widely viewed as unenforceable for high-ranking White House officials (other federal employees can face real disciplinary action).

At least 13 Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act during the former president's term, including when the 2020 Republican National Convention was held in large part on White House grounds.

Between the lines: The Biden administration has largely been careful to avoid violating the Hatch Act, but the White House is continuing to use the term.

On Wednesday, the White House released a statement to Axios that continued to use "MAGA."

Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a memo that Republicans’ "main economic agenda item" is "MAGA tax welfare for the richest Americans and giant corporations, at the expense of continuing to grow our economy by investing in America."

The White House declined to further comment, but Jean-Pierre offered a defense on Tuesday at her briefing.

"If you look at the archived Trump White House website, it contains about 2,000 — nearly 2,000 uses of “MAGA” to describe policies and official agendas," she said.

"Congressional Republicans have also used “MAGA” to refer to policies and official agenda frequently, for years now — even, clearly, before we entered the administration."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Hatch Act is widely viewed as unenforceable for high-ranking White House officials, but that other federal employees can face real disciplinary action.

Scoop: White House elbows back on "MAGA" Hatch Act violation

The Office of Special Counsel ruled that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act.

Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

White House

Joe Biden

The House on Wednesday voted down a resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Why it matters: The push to reprimand the former House Intelligence Committee chair came as former President Trump was arrested on Tuesday over his handling of classified documents.

The resolution cited Schiff’s allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 election, and his promotion of the Steele dossier.

It proposed fining Schiff $16 million, half the cost of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump.

Driving the news: Democrats introduced a motion to table the resolution, which passed 225-196, effectively killing the effort.

20 House Republicans voted with all Democrats present to defeat the resolution.

Five Democrats, all on the House Ethics Committee, voted "present," as did Reps. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

The resolution was introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), a right-wing Trump ally and occasional GOP leadership antagonist.

Between the lines: Republican leadership supported the resolution but did not actively whip votes for it, according to several Republican members.

The intrigue: The censure resolution is helping to juice fundraising for Schiff's Senate campaign. 

The Californian sent out a fundraising tweet and email based on the censure resolution. 

What they’re saying: Massie compared the $16 million fine to efforts by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during the last Congress to enforce the chamber’s mask mandate.

“I’m still litigating a federal lawsuit against Pelosi over a salary reduction she imposed on me for my refusal to wear a mask,” he tweeted.

Luna shot back by noting that the fine would have to be levied by the Ethics Committee and could be paid for with campaign funds, differentiating it from Pelosi’s fines.

GOP effort to censure Adam Schiff defeated in House vote

Schiff used the effort to fundraise for his Senate campaign.

Rep. Adam Schiff. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.

Adam Schiff

Macro

Axios Macro

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, but hinted they could resume hiking rates in the months ahead, according to a policy statement released on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The Fed held off on hiking rates for the first time since its historic campaign to cool inflation began 15 months ago. However, officials anticipate they still have to do more to slow the economy as prices continue to rise quickly.

Driving the news: Officials on the policy-setting committee unanimously voted to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 5% to 5.25%, marking the first time since last March that the Fed has concluded a policy meeting without raising interest rates.

What they're saying: "Holding the target range steady at this meeting allows the Committee to assess additional information and its implication for monetary policy," the policy statement reads.

In opening comments at his news conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that "nearly all" policymakers "expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year."

By the numbers: New forecasts released alongside the decision show most Fed officials expect rates to be higher by year-end (5.6%), suggesting two more hikes are on the horizon by December.

The projections show the Fed expects rates to be notably lower than their current level by the end of 2024.

Details: The Fed also projected much quicker economic growth this year (1%) than anticipated when they last made estimates in March (0.4%). GDP estimates for 2024 were lowered just slightly (by 0.1 percentage point). 

The estimates also show the median Fed official anticipates the unemployment rate will rise to 4.1% by the end of 2023, a smaller rise in joblessness than the previous estimate of 4.5%. (As of May, the unemployment rate was 3.7%).

Officials only slightly lowered projections for inflation: as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, officials anticipate it will be 3.2% at the end of 2023 (compared to the 3.3% they previously projected). By the end of next year, they say inflation will be 2.5% - still above the 2% level that officials target.

Projections of core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, were upgraded. Officials now anticipate it will be 3.9% by the end of 2023, 0.3 percentage points above the March estimate. 

Catch up quick: In the weeks leading up to Wednesday's meeting, a top Fed official suggested that the central bank might "skip" a rate hike in June to allow more time to assess how its previous moves are impacting the economy.

A number of indicators, however, have shown that economic demand is still hot with strong consumer spending, a resilient labor market and sticky underlying inflation. That's led some economists to believe that at least one additional rate hike later this year could be in store.

Powell, in his news conference, said that no decision has been made about when future rate hikes may occur.  "The committee decision made today was only about this meeting," he said, but its meeting in July "will be a live meeting" meaning a rate hike will be on the table.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where host Niala Boodhoo and Matt Phillips explore whether the Fed is done raising interest rates.

Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, signals more hikes ahead

Indicators have shown that economic demand is still hot with strong consumer spending.

Federal Reserve

Stock market

Jobs

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

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

The punches against Bud Light keep on brewing.  

Driving the news: Modelo Especial sales surpassed Bud Light this May, knocking the beer brand from the top spot it has held for over two decades, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Bump Williams Consulting.

The Mexican brand received 8.4% of sales in the four weeks ending June 3, while the American-made one received 7.3%.

An Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told Axios in a statement that "for the year, Bud Light remains the #1 brand in the US nationally in volume and dollar sales."

Yes, but: Bud Light still retains its #1 ranking on a running year-to-date basis (9% vs. 8%).

So, while Modelo has gained traction over recent weeks, "it has a long way to go before fully overtaking Bud Light for the #1 beer brand in the U.S.," the consulting firm said.

Between the lines: "If trends were to continue as is for the remainder of the year, Modelo Especial could surpass Bud Light to claim the #1 rank in Off-Premise Beer $ sales by year-end," according to Dave Williams, vice president of analytics and insights at Bump Williams consulting.

Off-premise beer sales include any retail outlet where you would purchase beer to consume off those premises, like grocery stores.

But, Williams added, there's still a long way to go in that regard.

The big picture: Sales have been falling since April when conservative backlash spread against Bud Light and parent company Anheuser-Busch after the brewer partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender activist and popular TikToker.

Catch up quick: In April, Bud Light sent Mulvaney an influencer package, which she shared in an Instagram video.

That set anti-trans pockets of social media on fire and left Republicans scrambling to protect a big donor from attacks by the right. 

Anheuser-Busch and its employees overwhelmingly support Republicans through donations, giving $1.78 million to Republican candidates and committees in 2022, compared to $490,000 to Democratic ones, per data from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research group.

What they're saying: Modelo has had "consistent and accelerated growth," more than doubling its volume since 2017, according to Maggie Bowman, vice president of communications for Constellation Brands, which sells the brand in the U.S.

"Recent sales data is consistent with its industry-leading growth position in the United States, as Modelo Especial has been the #1 driver of growth in the category with more than 1.5x more dollar sales growth than the second-fastest growing brand in 2022," Bowman said.

"We continue to see runway for growth as we introduce Modelo to new consumers through increased distribution and presence at retail, in line with the brand’s momentum in the marketplace," she added.

Bud Light pours at bars take a dive amid boycott calls

How Bud Light became a microcosm of America in 2023

Bud Light dethroned by Modelo as top beer seller in U.S.

The beer brand was knocked from the top spot it has held for over two decades.

Axios

Wednesday's top stories

Trump loyalists circle the wagons

Scoop: White House elbows back on "MAGA" Hatch Act violation

GOP effort to censure Adam Schiff defeated in House vote

Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, signals more hikes ahead

Bud Light dethroned by Modelo as top beer seller in U.S.

Support for Black Lives Matter movement lowest in 3 years

Frozen strawberries sold at Walmart and Costco recalled

Dem Sen. Warnock blasts GOP comments on FBI after Trump indictment

The fashion industry shrugs at the "circular economy"

Scoop: New "Lose Cruz" PAC to funnel millions in 2024 race

Global inequality at lowest level in nearly 150 years

Record 110 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, UN says

Court grants FTC restraining order against Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal