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National

A trial for the man accused of a second assassination attempt on President-elect Trump was delayed until next year by a federal judge in Florida on Monday.

The big picture: Ryan Wesley Routh's defense team sought a delay from the scheduled trial start of Feb. 10 to December 2025, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled this was "excessive" and moved the trial to September.

Routh, 58, has pleaded not guilty to five counts in West Palm Beach, Florida, including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.

He's accused of waiting for Trump at his Florida golf club for hours last September before a Secret Service agent spotted him pointing a rifle through a fence.

Driving the news: Routh's defense cited the need to review an "extraordinary volume of discovery" and "evaluate potential defenses," along with "logistical difficulties" associated with his detention in Miami, according to Cannon's order.

Cannon noted that Routh's lawyers have indicated "that mental health evaluations are ongoing to assess a potential insanity defense and competency evaluation."

Zoom out: Cannon also presided over Trump's federal classified documents case, which she dismissed in July citing the "unlawful appointment and funding of special counsel Jack Smith."

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

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Trial delayed for man accused of Trump's second assassination attempt

Ryan Wesley Routh has pleaded not guilty in the case.

This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol Kyiv

Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during a rally in Kyiv in April 2022. Screengrab: Nicolas Garcia/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

2020 election

Donald Trump

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

The House Ethics Committee's report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had been poised to stay officially buried — until two centrist Republicans on the panel unexpectedly voted to release it, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The vote, which took place quietly earlier this month, defied House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) urging that the report stay under wraps.

Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed an 11th-hour lawsuit Monday morning seeking to block the report's publication, alleging it "contains untruthful and defamatory information."

The effort failed — The committee had voted, and the report was released.

What we're hearing: Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release the report, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.

Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.), along with Reps. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.), opposed doing so, arguing the panel lost jurisdiction after Gaetz resigned, the sources said.

It was a reversal from when the committee split along party lines in a November vote on releasing the report, thus keeping it under wraps.

What they're saying: Guest, in a statement after the report was released on Monday, confirmed that he "did not vote to support the release of the report."

"I take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee's well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee's jurisdiction," he said.

Guest also led a one-page dissent that was appended to the report "on behalf of the members of the committee" who voted against its release that said the lawmakers "do not challenge the Committee's finding."

Spokespeople for Fischbach, Joyce and the Ethics Committee declined to comment, while spokespeople for Garbarino and Rutherford did not respond to requests for comment.

Zoom in: The report accused Gaetz of violating state and federal law, as well as House rules, including by "regularly" paying for sex between 2017 and 2019, having sex with a 17-year-old in 2017 and using illicit drugs "on multiple occasions" between 2017 and 2019.

The report also alleged Gaetz "continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead" the committee to the point of obstruction.

Gaetz has vigorously denied the allegations in the report and publicly disparaged the Ethics Committee and some of its members, including Guest and Joyce.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting. 

Scoop: How the Matt Gaetz ethics report finally came out

Two centrist Republicans on the panel broke with their leadership and sided with Democrats to release the report, sources told Axios.

Rep. Michael Guest, wearing a blue suit and surrounded by a throng of reporters in a white hallway.

House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20, 2024. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Elections 2024

Closer

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Honda and Nissan face a litany of difficult decisions about their competing vehicles and overlapping U.S. manufacturing jobs if they move forward with a merger.

Why it matters: A combination of Honda and Nissan — formerly fierce competitors — would create the world's third-largest automaker by vehicle sales behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

It would also raise concerns about plant consolidation for two companies that have invested heavily in U.S. manufacturing. 

Driving the news: The Japanese automakers confirmed Monday that they are aiming for a merger via a joint holding company.

They plan to sign an agreement by June 2025 and get shareholder approval by April 2026.

The tie-up could also bring along Mitsubishi, a longtime partner of Nissan's.

Between the lines: Honda is the bigger and healthier of the two and would appoint a majority of the holding company's board, the automakers said.

The proposal comes as Nissan is urgently cutting costs, having fallen behind in the global EV race, while both companies are struggling in the bruising Chinese automotive market.

The companies said in a statement they expect to standardize their vehicle platforms, "optimize" their manufacturing footprints, "create stronger products, reduce costs, enhance development efficiencies, and improve investment efficiencies."

The intrigue: In a press conference in Japan, Honda's CEO was forced to fend off suggestions his company "was being railroaded into a deal by Japanese officials concerned about the survival of Nissan," the Wall Street Journal wrote.

"This is not a rescue," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said, though the WSJ said he "struggled when asked what attracted him to Nissan as a partner."

Reality check: A deal, no matter the terms, poses vexing questions.

Which vehicles will survive? Their vehicle lineups are not complimentary — indeed, there's significant overlap. In the U.S., for example, the Honda Accord competes with the Nissan Altima in the sedan segment, while the Honda CR-V competes with the Nissan Rogue in the crossover category. 

Will they cut jobs in the U.S.? Honda has more than 23,000 workers at 12 factories in the U.S., while Nissan has some 15,000 workers at three plants here. The companies said they "anticipate ... optimizing their manufacturing plants." Honda's factories are heavily concentrated in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, while Nissan's are located in Tennessee and Mississippi.

How will a merger help them compete in China? Chinese automakers are exerting extraordinary pressure on their competitors in the EV space. A combined Honda-Nissan would have greater scale to compete in China, but Mibe reportedly said at the press conference there wouldn't be any significant merger benefits until 2030.

Can they avoid culture clash? Honda is known for its high quality standards and commands higher prices than Nissan, which has shown more willingness to discount vehicles in the past.

The bottom line: Making this a good fit will require some heavy lifting.

Honda, Nissan merger may force tough decisions on American jobs

Honda and Nissan will need to make some difficult decisions about their overlapping vehicles and U.S. manufacturing jobs if they move forward with a merger.

Two people in suits stand at separate podiums on a stage in front of the logos for Nissan and Honda

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe speak at a press conference Monday in Japan about their decision to pursue a merger. Photo: Nissan

Nissan and Honda executives stand at podiums addressing a news conference. 

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Business

Stacked bar chart showing consumer spending on holiday gifts and seasonal items from 2014 to 2024. Spending on both gifts and seasonal items has stayed relatively stable over the decade, with incremental increases happening in 2023 and 2024. Consumers spent $641 on gifts and $261 on average in 2024. 

Consumer spending on holiday <span style="background:#005e1d; padding:3px 5px;color:white;">gifts</span> and <span style="background:#33d387; padding:3px 5px;color:white;">seasonal items</span>

Data: NRF and Prosper Insights December Holiday Consumer Survey; Chart: Axios Visuals

Holiday shoppers are spending a record amount this year on gifts despite the shorter shopping season and inflation concerns.

The big picture: Shoppers are projected to spend between $979.5 billion and $989 billion during the Christmas season, per an annual survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

By the numbers: Retail sales from November and December are predicted to beat 2023 by between 2.5% and 3.5%, NRF projects.

Shoppers are budgeting a record of $902 each on average for gifts and seasonal items, like decorations and food.

Online shopping is a main contributor of overall retail sales growth and is expected to increase between 8% and 9%. That's about $295.1 billion to $297.9 billion, per NRF. 

While NRF defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, it notes the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was 5 days shorter than last year.

What we're buying: The top gifts shoppers have purchased include clothing and accessories, followed by toys, gift cards, books, video games and personal care or beauty items.

Zoom out: With more shoppers out and about, retailers are hiring more workers to keep up with demand.

Between 400,000 and 500,000 seasonal workers are expected to be hired this year, according to NRF. That's down slightly from 509,000 seasonal hires last year.

What they're saying: "The winter holidays are an important tradition to American families, and their capacity to spend will continue to be supported by a strong job market and wage growth," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.

How much Americans are spending on holiday goods

The holiday shopping season is short, but Americans will spend anyway

Record holiday travel expected to end a busy year

Shoppers are budgeting a record of $902 each on average for gifts and seasonal items.

Retail

Inflation

Retail news

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

Economy

Macro

Axios Macro

American consumers are not feeling the holiday cheer: concerns about what's ahead for the economy shot up as tariffs loom, according to a barometer of consumer confidence released on Monday. 

Why it matters: The post-election bump in consumer confidence in November now looks like a blip, at least by one measure. 

Long-running economic pessimism lives on despite solid economic conditions — a sign the next administration might see consumer moods at odds with economic indicators.

What they're saying: "Compared to last month, consumers in December were substantially less optimistic about future business conditions and incomes," says Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, the group that has measured consumer confidence for decades.

By the numbers: The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell by 8.1 points this month, reversing the prior two months' gains and remaining at the somewhat depressed level that has prevailed in the past two years.

December's drop was overwhelmingly a result of more pessimism about income, business and labor market prospects in the months ahead.

A sub-index that measures consumer expectations fell almost 13 points last month alone, "just above the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead," the Conference Board said in a release.

The intrigue: It's more likely now than ever before that politics will skew measures of confidence. That is why Republicans' economic outlook surged after the election and Democrats' view soured, with little change in the actual economic backdrop.

The Conference Board does not report consumer confidence by political party. But the group said consumers mentioned politics more often this month as the key factor affecting how they view the economy.

Consumer confidence drops as election boost fades

Concerns about what's ahead for the economy shot up this month as tariffs loom.

Axios

Monday's top stories

Trial delayed for man accused of Trump's second assassination attempt

Scoop: How the Matt Gaetz ethics report finally came out

Honda, Nissan merger may force tough decisions on American jobs

How much Americans are spending on holiday goods

Consumer confidence drops as election boost fades

Biden commutes most federal death sentences

Biden takes final shot at China chip industry with new investigation

Media's suck-up moment

Democrats warn Mike Johnson: We won't save you again

NASA probe to fly closer to the Sun than ever before