Axios

President Trump on Thursday signed a peace deal to end the war in eastern Congo and used the moment to advance another priority: securing U.S. access to critical minerals.

The big picture: The Trump administration has aggressively pursued rare earth minerals and magnets overseas — vital for everything from the production of vehicles to nuclear weapons — after China threatened U.S. access.

President Trump plans to announce before Christmas that the Gaza peace process is moving into its second phase and to unveil the new governance structure for the enclave, according to two U.S. officials and a Western source directly involved in the process.

Why it matters: The fragile ceasefire in Gaza is the biggest foreign policy achievement of Trump's second term so far, and his administration wants to proceed to the second phase to avoid sliding back into war.

The Defense Department is considering publicly releasing video footage of the second strike on an alleged drug boat on Sept. 2, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Reporting on the follow-up attack, which killed two survivors of the first strike, has launched Democratic accusations of war crimes and even bipartisan congressional inquiries.

President Trump declared an end to the war in eastern Congo on Thursday at a signing ceremony alongside Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Reality check: The agreement is largely aspirational, and the early signals are ominous. While Trump described the decades-old conflict as "the eighth war that we've ended," there's been fighting just this week between forces aligned with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

A year of upheaval in the U.S. Foreign Service has left a beleaguered workforce struggling to advance the country's diplomatic goals, according to a new survey by the American Foreign Service Association.

Why it matters: The survey paints a grim picture of life in the diplomatic corps since President Trump's administration dismantled key federal agencies and cut thousands of jobs.

Antisemitism in the U.S. has hardened into a "durable" new normal as fewer Americans feel any obligation to push back, according to a sweeping new survey shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: The findings suggest the spike in antisemitism that began in 2023 is not a passing wave but a plateau.

President Trump said Wednesday he supports the release of any video footage of a strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean following a report alleging that the U.S. military issued an order to kill two survivors.

The big picture: Trump defended U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats as reporters asked him at the White House about the alleged incident near Venezuela in September that has prompted congressional investigations into the legality of the action.

Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon met Wednesday under U.S. auspices and discussed cooperation on economic projects to help stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon near their shared border.

Why it matters: The meeting in Naqoura on the border between the countries was the first such direct, public engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993.

President Trump said on Wednesday that his adviser Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had "a very good" meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Why it matters: His remarks were the first public comment by the U.S. about the five-hour meeting at the Kremlin on Tuesday, which focused on Trump's plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

MAGA is urging the Trump administration to crack down harder than ever on immigration — legal and illegal — after the shooting of two National Guardsmen by an Afghan refugee.

Why it matters: For President Trump's hard-charging base, simply deporting criminals who entered the country illegally is no longer sufficient.

American troops in the Middle East are now armed with attack drones reminiscent of the Iranian-made Shahed, which has been adopted by Houthi rebels and Russian forces alike.

Why it matters: The Pentagon has, under both Trump and Biden administrations, clamored for cheap, readily available drones — and for them to actually be used in the field.

• This is a step in that direction.

Not only is China winning the clean energy race, but it's picking up the pace when most other economies — including the U.S. — are slowing down, according to new McKinsey data.

Why it matters: The energy transition is shifting geopolitical alliances and power centers, and China is solidifying its lead while the U.S. falls back.

The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 countries it determined to be "high-risk," per a Tuesday evening U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memorandum.

The big picture: The action marks the administration's latest move to curtail immigration from certain countries after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in last week's deadly shooting in D.C. that targeted National Guard members.