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Trump faces growing risk of losing key Iran war vote in Congress House Democrats are one step closer to finally getting a successful Iran war powers vote as their last holdout plans to flip and at least one Republican says they may follow suit.Why it matters: While the vote would be largely symbolic — President Trump could veto the measure — Democrats believe it would be a crucial rebuke of the conflict.House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.), one of the lawmakers leading the measure, told Axios he is feeling pretty good about its chances of passing on Thursday.Another senior House Democrat, asked if party leadership is confident about the vote, told Axios: Yes.Driving the news: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the one Democrat who has consistently voted against Iran war powers resolutions, told Axios his intention is to vote yes on it on Thursday.Golden noted that it is past 60 days since the conflict was initiated, which, under the War Powers Act, is the timetable by which a president must terminate military operations if Congress does not declare war.The administration could come to Congress and try to push for authorization, he said, adding that this measure is clean unlike the one that was voted on last week.Zoom in: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a pro-interventionist centrist who has voted against past Iran war powers resolutions, told Axios that Trump needs more authorities to use force but feels very split on the upcoming vote.Its a tough vote, because we have the constitution and Article One authorities. The President doesnt like it. Granted, he would prefer not to have Congress, he said.Bacon, who is retiring this year, has repeatedly criticized the president over what he has said are abuses of power.Flashback: Democrats attempt to pass a war powers resolution last week failed in a stunning tie vote, 212 to 212.Golden voted against the resolution, while Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) voted for it.Half a dozen members were absent on that vote, including Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), both of whom have missed weeks of votes.Between the lines: Like everything else around here its about the absences, Himes told Axios.The House was initially set to vote on the resolution Wednesday, but Republican leadership pushed it back due to the vote margins.Twenty House members did not show up to votes on Wednesday afternoon — seven Democrats and 13 Republicans.It would have passed today thats why they pulled it, House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) told Axios.

Elon Musks SpaceX IPO filing is out SpaceX on Wednesday disclosed its filing for an initial public offering, ahead of an expected stock market debut next month.Why it matters: This is expected to be the largest IPO ever, and could make Elon Musk the worlds first trillionaire.Catch up quick: Musk launched SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of one day colonizing Mars.Since then, it has become the worlds most successful commercial space company by far and inspired rival efforts by billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.It has also become a major partner to NASA and created the Starlink satellite internet network.More recently, SpaceX acquired xAI — Musks frontier lab that itself had just merged with X (formerly Twitter) — with plans to focus on orbital data centers.SpaceX filed its IPO confidentially with the SEC on April 1.By the numbers: SpaceX financials are complicated, because of its recent merger with xAI (which itself recently merged with the company formerly known as Twitter). It reports a $4.9 billion net loss on $18.67 billion in revenue for 2025, inclusive of the entire current business.For Q1 2026, it bookerd a $4.27 billion net loss on $4.69 billion in revenue.Musk holds 85.1 of voting power in SpaceX, thanks to a dual-class stock structure.Look ahead: SpaceX is expected to begin trading in late June on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SPCX.The filing doesnt disclose the number of shares being offered or a proposed price. Expect that to come in a couple of weeks via an amended filing.Note: This is a breaking story. Check back here for updates.

Most Fed officials see rate hikes if inflation stays high, minutes show A majority of Federal Reserve officials believed the central bank could raise interest rates if inflation stays high, according to the minutes from the central banks April 28-29 policy meeting. Why it matters: It suggests that a larger constituency than previously known is backing the possibility of higher interest rates, with the fallout from the Iran war stoking quicker price increases ahead of Kevin Warsh becoming Fed chair. Between the lines: The Fed held rates steady last month, though much of the disagreement was about language in the closely watched policy statement, which indicated that the next move could be a cut. Four officials on the Feds rotating roster of voting members dissented, three of whom preferred a more two-sided characterization that suggested the Feds next move could be up or down. What theyre saying: A majority of participants highlighted … that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2 percent, the minutes show, referring to tighter monetary policy if inflation remained above its target.The minutes did not specify how long those Fed officials would need to see sticky inflation before backing a hike.The big picture: The war has caused energy prices and costs of other affected commodities to soar in recent months, with economists unsure about how those price pressures might spill over into other parts of the economy.That question is at the heart of what the Fed does next, as it is about to be led by Warsh, who has supported rate cuts. The late April policy meeting was expected to be the last for Jerome Powell as Fed chair. Several participants indicated that, in a scenario in which the conflict was resolved soon, rate reductions would be warranted later this year if the effects of higher tariffs and energy prices on inflation were to dissipate in line with their expectations, the minutes show. Yes, but: Some, a qualifier that suggests a slightly larger group than several, raised concerns … about a scenario in which sustained elevated energy prices, combined with the effects of tariffs, could result in inflation pressures becoming embedded more broadly, potentially de-anchoring inflation expectations. What to watch: The minutes show that many Fed officials raised the importance of addressing cybersecurity risks, especially with respect to AI. Several of those officials specifically called out the rapid development of AI technologies, warning that hostile cyber intrusions at systemically important financial firms or essential market infrastructure could materially impair financial system operations.The intrigue: The Fed meeting was held weeks after AI company Anthropic held its Mythos model from public release, for fear of its abilities to find and exploit security flaws. Some large banks have received access. Axios confirmed reporting that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and then-Fed chair Jerome Powell last month met with Wall Street banks to discuss the risks of AI-powered attacks on bank systems.

Democrats move to shut down Trumps $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is introducing legislation that would block a $1.8 billion fund to pay people who say they were the targets of politically-motivated prosecutions.Why it matters: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) could garner GOP support for the effort, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) telling reporters on Wednesday he will try to kill the fund.Were going to write a letter to the [attorney general] to start, but were considering a legislative option, Fitzpatrick said.Raskin is eyeing a discharge petition as a backup option to force a vote on his measure if House Republican leadership blocks it from coming to the floor, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.Driving the news: The bill, a copy of which was shared with Axios, stipulates that no Federal funds may be used to create or make payments to fund the Trump administrations Anti-Weaponization Fund.The fund is the result of a settlement between Trump and the IRS, reached after Trump sued the agency over the leaking of his tax returns.The fund would allow anyone who has accused the federal government of politically motivated lawfare — such as Jan. 6 defendants — to seek compensation.Two law enforcement officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have sued to dissolve it.A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

New Iran peace proposal triggers tense Trump-Netanyahu call President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahus hair was on fire after the call.Why it matters: A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal.Netanyahu is highly skeptical about the negotiations and wants to resume the war to further degrade Irans military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.Trump continues to say he thinks a deal can be reached, but that hes ready to resume the war if it isnt. The only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Lets see what happens, he said on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy.Trump also said Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do on Iran, though he also said they had a good relationship. The two leaders have had temporary disagreements on Iran before but have remained closely coordinated throughout the war.Iran has confirmed its reviewing an updated proposal, but has not yet shown any signs of flexibility.Zoom in: Pakistan, Qatar and the other mediators — Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt — have been working over the last several days to refine the proposal to bridge the gaps, the three sources say.According to two Arab officials and an Israeli source, Qatar recently presented the U.S. and Iran with a new draft. A fourth source said there is no separate Qatari draft, but that Qatar is just trying to bridge the gaps from the previous Pakistani proposal. One Arab official said the Qataris sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks with the Iranians about the latest draft. Irans foreign ministry said Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing based on Irans 14-point proposal, and that Pakistans interior minister was in Tehran to help the mediation. Thats the second visit by the interior minister in less than a week.The goal of the new effort is to get more tangible commitments from the Iranians over steps regarding their nuclear program, and more specifics from the U.S. as to how frozen Iranian funds will be gradually released, an Arab official said. All three sources stressed its unclear whether the Iranians will agree to the new draft or to shift their positions significantly.As stated previously, Qatar has been and continues to support the Pakistan led mediation efforts, we have been consistently advocating for de-escalation for the sake of the region and its people, a Qatari diplomat said.Behind the scenes: On Tuesday evening, Trump held a lengthy and difficult call with Netanyahu.Trump told Netanyahu that the mediators were working on a letter of intent that both the U.S. and Iran would sign to formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations on issues like Irans nuclear program and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. source briefed on the call said. Two Israeli sources said the two leaders were in disagreement about the way forward, while the U.S. source briefed on the call said Bibis hair was on fire after the call.The source said Israels ambassador to Washington had informed U.S. lawmakers that Netanyahu was concerned about the call. An embassy spokesperson denied that characterization and said the ambassador does not comment on private conversations.Two sources noted that Netanyahu has been highly worried at previous stages of the negotiations, even as deals failed to materialize. Bibi is always concerned, one source said.What theyre saying: Irans foreign ministry spokesperson said that in order for talks to succeed, the U.S would have to end its piracy against Iranian ships and agree to release frozen funds, while Israel would have to end its war in Lebanon.The White House and Israeli prime ministers office both declined to comment for this story. What to watch: An Israeli source said Netanyahu wants to come to Washington in the coming weeks for a meeting with Trump.

How Trumps $1.8B anti-weaponization fund works President Trump sued his own administration, settled and will now spend $1.776 billion of taxpayer money to pay people who say the government targeted them politically.Why it matters: The Anti-Weaponization Fund turns a personal Trump settlement into a new government program, shields decisions on who gets the money from the courts and limits information about what the public knows about where the funds go.The backstory: Trump sued the IRS and Treasury in January for $10 billion over the 2019 leak of his tax returns. The settlement gives Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization a formal apology but no money, and it bars the IRS from auditing Trumps past tax returns.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trumps former criminal defense lawyer, created the Anti-Weaponization Fund with the Treasury Departments Judgment Fund.How it works: The attorney general will handpick the five-member commission that decides who will collect money from the fund, which ends in December 2028.Those decisions cant be appealed or challenged in court. The settlement does not require public disclosure of payouts.The settlement lets the fund spend part of the $1.776 billion on itself, including staff, travel and facilities. The Justice Department and the White House did not answer Axios question about whether there is any cap on those costs.Whos eligible: Almost anyone alleging weaponization or lawfare can apply, Blanche told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.Blanche refused to commit that people convicted of assaulting Capitol Police would be excluded: Im not one of the commissioners setting up the rules.Vice President Vance separately said that even Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk convicted of a state crime, and Hunter Biden, the son of former President Biden, could be compensated.Context: Trumps new fund is possible thanks to a Judgment Fund created by Congress in 1956, so the government could quickly pay off court losses and settlements without voting each time.Initially, payouts were limited to $100,000. That cap was lifted in 1978.Critics have previously warned that it lets administrations spend huge sums with little oversight. The Obama administrations $1.7 billion Judgment Fund payment to Iran became a major flashpoint in 2016.Zoom in: Paul Figley, who spent 32 years at the Justice Department and is an expert on the Judgment Fund, tells Axios this use is certainly not what Congress anticipated when it set the system up.Its bad policy, but its Congresss fault for leaving a huge loophole, Figley said. He expects future administrations of either party to do the same until Congress stops it.Nobody typically has standing to challenge Judgment Fund payouts in court, he said.Yes, but: Legal challenges over Trumps fund have already begun.Two officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sued Wednesday to dissolve the fund, calling it the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century.Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges argue the fund will bankroll Proud Boys and Jan. 6 rioters who have threatened their lives.The suit invokes the 14th Amendments bar on the U.S. paying any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection.The other side: Blanche and the Justice Department repeatedly pointed to a $760 million Obama-era Keepseagle settlement for Native American farmers alleging Agriculture Department discrimination as precedent for the funds existence.But that settlement was approved by a federal judge after years of litigation.Trumps case settled days before the Justice Department was due to respond to a court order asking if the presidents lawsuit against agencies he oversees was a real dispute.

Trump gives blasé response to rate hike possibility President Trump has spent much of his term bashing outgoing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates enough. On Tuesday, he seemed surprisingly blasé about the possibility that incoming chair Kevin Warsh might end up raising them.Driving the news: A reporter on Tuesday noted that markets now think an interest rate hike this year is more likely than a cut and asked the president whether he thinks Warsh will deliver the lower rates that Trump has long demanded.Im going to let him do what he wants to do, Trump said. Hes a very talented guy, hes going to be fine, hes going to do a good job.Between the lines: Thats not how defenders of Fed independence would prefer a president phrase things. Once a Fed chair has been installed, they dont need presidential approval for rate decisions; rather, theyre supposed to carry out policy that will best achieve the central banks statutory mandate.But Trump is seemingly giving Warsh some room to maneuver, implying that he may not immediately get the Powell treatment even if Warsh delivers a hawkish monetary policy message in his early months in office.Of note: Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he thinks there will be one or two more hot inflation numbers, but then I think were going to see substantial disinflation.The early question for Warsh and the policy committee he inherits will be whether to look through the inflation surge being largely driven by energy disruptions tied to the Iran war.Minutes of the late April Fed meeting are due out Wednesday at 2pm ET and will shed further light on a meeting in which four officials dissented, three of whom wanted to remove language implying the next policy move will be toward lower rates.By the numbers: The CME FedWatch tool, based on futures prices, now puts minuscule odds on rate cuts this year, with 39 odds that the Fed policy rate ends 2026 where it is now and 60 odds on at least one rate hike.

Kennedy fires heads of task force that sets insurance coverage rules Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the co-chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week.Why it matters: The move could open the task force up to more political influence. It comes as the administration prepares to vet new applicants to the committee, a process in which the chairs would typically be involved.The expert panel recommends which health services insurers must cover at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act. State of play: Kennedy sent letters dated May 11 to John Wong, a professor and primary care clinician at Tufts University, and Esa Davis, a professor and primary care clinician at University of Maryland, stating that their appointments as chairs would conclude effective immediately. Wongs term was slated to last until mid-March 2027, and Daviss term until mid-March 2028. Wong and Davis could not immediately be reached for comment. HHS confirmed the dismissals and released copies of the letters but didnt respond to follow-up questions.The letters state the dismissals were an administrative decision unrelated to performance that followed a review of current task force appointments. [T]he Department is taking this step to help protect the Task Force and preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work, the letters say. The letters invite the chairs to reapply to serve on the panel. Context: The Supreme Court last year upheld the authority of the HHS secretary to remove and replace task force members.Kennedys HHS has postponed the last several meetings of the panel. Applications for new members opened last month and close on Saturday, with terms for new members starting in June. The task force currently has eight active members. What theyre saying: Aaron Carroll, president of AcademyHealth, told Axios that hes concerned about what the dismissals could mean for the future of the task force. It could lead to political influence. It could lead to less rigor in the guidelines, he said. It could lead to evidence being used or misused to not only make recommendations but determine what Americans get covered by insurance without copay, and what prevention they will or will not have. Its not clear how new members for the panel will be chosen without active task force chairs, he said.

Tech private equity is frozen A top tech banker tells Axios that tech buyouts are frozen, and the data largely backs him up.By the numbers: Theres been a total of just $9.3 billion of global tech buyout value in April and May 2026 combined, according to PitchBook.That compares to $52.6 billion in March alone, and a monthly average of $43.4 billion between last September and this February.U.S. tech buyout data is a bit lumpier, but follows the same trend. A monthly average of $25 billion for the 12 months ending March 2026, but just $4.4 billion total in April and May 2026.What happened: In a word, Claude. Which was followed by Codex.The buyside is paralyzed by AI-driven uncertainties and a sudden draining of private credit market liquidity.The sell-side either cant find buyers or has received offers too deeply discounted to stomach. Some sponsors are seeking to raise continuation vehicles, while others structure new convertible preferred rounds that leave valuations intact. Private equitys own version of amend-and-pretend.What happens next: We wait, even if the Nasdaq has more than recovered on the back of strong Q1 earnings.The banker told me that the market needs to digest a couple more quarters of data. Not only to judge the depths of disruption, but also to analyze and rationalize token spend.Plus, there are broader private equity concerns about rising rates, as inflation keeps running hot.Wildcard: One possibility is that successful IPOs for Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX could create future selling opportunities for private equity — with those companies seeking inorganic growth if theres a splinter in their hockey sticks.The bottom line: Summer vacation began early for tech buyouts, and may run long.

Battles to shrink the Federal Reserves balance sheet begin Data: Federal Reserve; Chart: Neil Irwin/AxiosIncoming Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warshs ambition to shrink the central banks multitrillion-dollar bond portfolio may quickly run into hard limits.Why it matters: For nearly two decades, the Feds ability to flood markets with liquidity has been among its most powerful crisis-fighting weapons — and, in Warshs view, too often a go-to tool for monetary stimulus outside of crises.Now, the hot discussion among Fed officials and commentators is about how to responsibly shrink the Feds asset portfolio — and whether thats even a worthwhile goal.The big picture: The Feds assets ballooned from about $800 billion before the 2008 financial crisis to nearly $9 trillion at its 2022 peak — swelling each time the central bank stepped in to stabilize the economy, particularly through open-ended quantitative easing programs starting in 2012 and 2020.Three years of runoff brought the balance sheet back to $6.7 trillion, though the Fed resumed slowly growing it again after signs of stress in critical funding markets last December. What theyre saying: Warsh, whos expected to be sworn in at the White House on Friday, has been a consistent critic of the size of the Feds balance sheet and the intervention in financial markets that it generates.As its grown its balance sheet, grown its imprimatur on the economy, those with financial assets have benefited, Warsh said at his confirmation hearing.If we were to cut rates, a broader number of people will benefit from it, versus quantitative easing, which tends to move through financial assets first.Yes, but: Reducing the Feds holdings could cause mortgage rates and other longer-term borrowing costs to rise.And if undertaken without first reducing demand for reserves in the banking system, it could destabilize money markets.If in the near term were talking about a significant decrease in the balance sheet, that seems incompatible in any comparable time frame with the view of potentially reducing interest rates, Roy Henriksson, head of investment risk and trading at investment firm GMO, told Axios on the sidelines of the Atlanta Fed financial markets conference.Of note: Warsh seems well aware of the risks, and in his confirmation hearing emphasized the need to move slowly and deliberately.It took us 18 years to create this big balance sheet thats done quite a bit of harm, he said.Zoom in: Sucking too much money out of the banking system risks a repeat of 2019, when the Feds efforts to do just that forced a sharp reversal after money markets seized up.Former Chicago Fed president Charles Evans, speaking at the conference, said one way to shrink the balance sheet might be curbing banks demand for reserves, cash that financial institutions park at the Fed — and the single biggest slice on the liabilities side of the balance sheet.But Evans was skeptical of proposals for doing just that — from Stephen Miran, Lorie Logan, Stanford scholar Darrell Duffie and others.Personally, I worry that each of these are ambitious, substantial, Manhattan Project-like initiatives, Evans said, adding, I have my doubts. The intrigue: Roberto Perli, who oversees the Feds markets operations at the New York Fed, said this week that a smaller balance sheet is possible if banks demand for reserves shrinks, which could happen through regulatory changes.He did warn that draining too much cash from the banking system can go wrong fast.The consequences of misjudging, Perli said, extend not only for rate control but also for the stability of repo markets and, by extension, the Treasury market.What to watch: Warsh will find at least one colleague already on record against his agenda. In a speech last week, Fed governor Michael Barr said that shrinking the balance sheet is the wrong objective, noting that proposals to do so would undermine bank resilience, impede money market functioning, and, ultimately, threaten financial stability.Some proposals to reduce the Feds footprint, he added, would paradoxically require more frequent Fed intervention in markets, not less.The bottom line: Any longing for the good old days of $800 billion is just completely unrealistic, Evans said.

House Democrats are scrambling to contain their Maureen Galindo problem House Democrats are in a mad dash to isolate Texas Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo, who has said she wants to turn an ICE facility into a prison for American Zionists.Why it matters: A mysterious PAC is spending hundreds of thousands to boost Galindo, which Democrats allege is a Republican attempt to ensure the GOP candidate in that district faces a weak opponent in November.House Republican leadership must immediately cease propping up this antisemitic candidacy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement Tuesday evening.Galindo did not respond to multiple requests for comment, with a spokesperson for the Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund declining to say if the GOP is behind PAC spending on her behalf.The latest: Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said in a joint statement, If, for some reason, Maureen Galindo wins ... as soon as she is sworn in, we will force a vote to expel her every day she is here.Maureens insane, antisemitic views — including putting Americans in concentration camps — have no place in our Party or country, they said.There is also private pressure on DelBene and the DCCC to spend money to block Galindo from getting the nomination, Axios has learned. Driving the news: Galindos campaign wrote in an Instagram post last weekend that, if elected, she would turn the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers.Its the latest in a series of inflammatory comments by Galindo, who told Axios she would introduce legislation to have all American candidates and elected officials who have ever taken Israeli money tried for treason.Galindo finished first in the Democratic primary in Texas 35th district in March and is now in a runoff with sheriffs deputy Johnny Garcia.State of play: Garcia had already been backed by the DCCC, the centrist Blue Dog Coalition and Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) before Galindos latest comments.On Tuesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) denounced Galindo, saying in a post on X that this bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics and endorsing Garcia.Track AIPAC, a left-wing organization that supports anti-Zionist candidates, also pulled its endorsement of Galindo on Tuesday night.Yes, but: So far, the Lead Left PAC — a cryptic group whose website metadata includes a link to the GOP fundraising website WinRed — is the biggest single spender in the Democratic primary runoff.The group has spent nearly $600,000 on the race supporting Galindo, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.Thats compared to just under $400,000 spent by the Blue Dog Action PAC and $200,000 by outside liberal group Project 218 in support of Garcia, on top of $68,000 in ads run by Garcias campaign.What were hearing: There has been a behind-the-scenes push for Democratic leadership to take a more active role in trying to sink Galindos candidacy.Many members have brought issues about this race to DelBene, one House Democrat told Axios, who said they get the sense that [the DCCC] is going to spend, invest some resources.DelBene and members of the Texas delegation have been asking colleagues to donate to Garcia individually, according to multiple lawmakers familiar with the entreaties.A second House Democrat who spoke to Axios on the condition of anonymity said it is unique for the DCCC to make a solo ask as opposed to [a] group ask on behalf of Red to Blue candidates.

Jan. 6 officers sue over Trumps $1.8B fund they call a corrupt sham Two law enforcement officers who battled Jan. 6 rioters at the Capitol in 2021 filed a suit Wednesday to dissolve President Trumps $1.8 billion fund for victims of alleged weaponized political prosecutions.Why it matters: Critics have called the taxpayer-funded fund illegal, but experts say its unclear who would have legal standing to challenge it in court.What theyre saying: Lead plaintiffs, officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, argue the fund is a corrupt sham that will compensate Jan. 6 rioters, according to the 29-page lawsuit.In the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century, President Donald J. Trump has created a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.Dunn and Hodges say the fund endangers their lives and safety in two ways. First, by its very existence, the Fund encourages those who enacted violence in the Presidents name to continue to do so. Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on regular basis; the Fund substantially increases the danger.Second, if allowed to begin making payments, the Fund will directly finance the violent operations of rioters, paramilitaries, and their supporters who threatened Plaintiffs lives that day, and continue to do so.Catch up quick: Trump created the fund to settle a lawsuit he filed against the IRS after a former contractor released his tax returns to media outlets.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appoint a five-member commission to hear claims of weaponization and determine whether claimants deserve compensation.Blanche previously served as one of Trumps personal attorneys.The intrigue: IRS attorneys reportedly believed they had a strong legal case to fight Trumps lawsuit, but the agency settled anyway, according to the New York Times.Zoom out: Asked Monday whether Jan. 6 rioters could be reimbursed, Trump said the fund is reimbursing people that were horribly treated.Its anti-weaponization. Theyve been weaponized, theyve been, in some cases, imprisoned wrongly. They paid legal fees that they didnt have. Theyve gone bankrupt, their lives have been destroyed, and they turned out to be right, Trump said, presumably referring to his false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.Vice President Vance also suggested Tuesday that Hunter Biden, the son of former President Biden, could also get money from the fund. Republicans can apply for it, Democrats can apply for it, he told reporters during a press briefing. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Axios request for comment.Go deeper: Trump DOJ settlement prevents pending tax investigations of president, family

Barney Frank, gay rights icon and architect of bank rules, dies at 86 Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), a driving force behind far-reaching Wall Street reforms following the 2008 financial crisis, died Tuesday night, according to Franks former campaign manager. He was 86.The big picture: With a sharp wit and pugnacious outspokenness, Frank became a liberal icon in his three decades in the House. He was an architect of the landmark Dodd-Frank Act and a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community as an openly gay member of Congress.Driving the news: Jim Segel, Franks former campaign manager and close friend, tells Axios Frank died Tuesday night.Segel on Wednesday talked to Franks brother, who confirmed his passing.Context: The former lawmaker gave a number of final media interviews from hospice care, warning his party to focus more on politically survivable issues and not use the most progressive causes as litmus tests.Flashback: The Dodd-Frank Act, named for Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), was a historic overhaul of banking regulations in response to the subprime mortgage crisis that helped trigger the 2008 Great Recession.It established new regulatory bodies — including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — and limited banks ability to make high-risk investments. In 2018, President Trump signed a law that preserved the framework of Dodd-Frank but loosened restrictions on banks.A champion of progressive policies, Frank advocated for an end to the dont ask, dont tell policy, allowing gay and lesbian military members to serve openly.He was also a key sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has not passed but would protect LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination and harassment.Frank came out publicly in 1987 and became the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage in 2012. Frank is survived by his husband, Jim Ready.There was just no -- there was no possibility of being openly gay and having any kind of an impact on the rest of the society, he told PBS News Hour while reflecting on his groundbreaking career in 2015.Catch up quick: Frank retired from Congress in 2013. In the following years, he served on the board of Signature Bank, which was shut down by regulators in 2023.Asked by The Washington Post in 2015 if he missed Washington, Frank said he did not — but that he missed many friends.Franks favorite tool to cut through the noise of Congress and get things done was simple: humor.How do you stand out among equals? he told The Post, comparing the halls of Capitol Hill to high school. How do you become more influential in a body in which you have no formal legal influence? Humor is a part of that.Go deeper: Yellen shoots down Trump claim that Dodd-Frank dampens lending

All 50 states top $4 a gallon gas as Iran war impacts linger All 50 states have average gas prices above $4 a gallon, AAA said Wednesday, with seven now topping $5 a gallon. Why it matters: As the war with Iran approaches the three-month mark, soaring fuel prices are costing Americans millions of dollars a day, crushing small business profits, and driving a surge in inflation. Driving the news: The national average now stands at $4.56 a gallon, AAA said.California is the nations high, at $6.15 per gallon, while Georgia is the lowest at $4.01 a gallon. Some southern states had been holding the line at $3.98 or $3.99 a gallon in recent days.Stunning stat: The average price of a gallon of gas is up 53 since the war started. What to watch: There are signs that things could get much worse. Widely watched GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said Wednesday morning that the national average could hit an all-time record north of $5.03 per gallon if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through mid-summer.

Trumps grip is slipping on Latino voters Latino voters have soured on President Trump after powering his 2024 comeback.Why it matters: Republicans hoped Trumps gains represented a realignment, but poll after poll suggests Latino voters are up for grabs in the midterms.Zoom in: Latino registered voters in 17 House swing districts remain highly fluid after Trumps 2024 breakthrough, according to a new TelevisaUnivision/Harris poll out Wednesday.52 say they are undecided or could still change their minds in the midterms.73 say they are merely surviving financially. Neither party can escape cost-of-living frustration, including among Latinos.This is a wide-open competition, and the campaigns that engage Hispanic voters directly, speak to their economic reality, and show they understand their lives will win this vote – and they will win these elections, said Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision.The big picture: Trumps 2024 Latino gains were real. Latino voters swung 22 points toward Republicans in 2024, per Pews validated-voter study.But its dealignment, not realignment, GOP strategist Mike Madrid argues: Latino voters are becoming less loyal to either party.Democrats believe inflation, tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement are reopening Latino-heavy battleground districts they feared were slipping away.By the numbers: The signs of Republican slippage among Latinos keep popping up. 25: Share of Hispanic adults with a somewhat or very favorable view of Trump in an AP/NORC poll from October 2025.78: Share of Hispanic adults who say Trumps policies have been harmful to Hispanics (Pew). 66: Trumps approval rating among Latinos who voted for him, down from 93 at the start of his second term (Pew, May 2026).Between the lines: Texas Republicans redrew congressional maps around the assumption that Trumps Latino gains would hold through the midterms, as Axios Russell Contreras previously reported.The new poll adds a warning sign: A majority of Latino voters in battleground districts say they could still change their minds.The other side: NRCC Chair Rich Hudson has called Hispanic voters the most important voting bloc for House Republicans to keep their majority.Republicans will continue to earn the support of Hispanic voters because we are working to deliver opportunity, security, and a better life, NRCC Hispanic press secretary Christian Martinez told Politico.Trump was honored to receive a record level of support from Hispanic Americans in 2024 and has spent every day since his inauguration working to make life better for them, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster told Newsweek in a statement.The bottom line: Neither party has a monopoly on Latino voters.Methodology: The TelevisaUnivision Poll was conducted online April 24-May 6, 2026, by The Harris Poll. The poll is based on a sample of 700 Hispanic registered voters age 18 or older who lived in one of 17 competitive House districts.The margin of sampling error is ±4.7 percentage points at the 95 confidence level.

Google reinvents search before AI rivals replace it Google is reinventing the product that made it one of the richest companies in history: search.Why it matters: Search is the cash cow that funds Googles sprawling empire. But it faces an existential threat from AI chatbots, so the company is moving proactively to upend its own core business before someone else does. Its also an acknowledgment that describing what youre looking for in conversational language is a better way to find information than guessing the right keywords.Driving the news: In what it billed as the biggest change to the search box since its debut, Google announced Tuesday that it is allowing the box to expand for longer queries and chat-style exchanges.Google has been headed in this direction for a while. It already puts AI-generated summaries at the top of search results and has a more chat-like experience known as AI Mode.But the companys announcement pushes that strategy much farther, signaling Googles determination to keep more users from drifting to standalone chatbots.As part of that effort, Google is bringing the hottest trend in AI — agents — into search. Instead of just finding out when your favorite band is coming to town, users can create a standing query that alerts them if any of the acts announce shows nearby. Similar information agents can help with recurring questions around shopping and news.What theyre saying: Agents in search is the next step, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis said in an interview. One of the cool things we get to do here at Google is build technologies that get immediately deployed into multi-billion dollar products.The big picture: Googles AI infusion goes far beyond search. Its betting that AI is breaking free from the chatbot and will find a home in virtually everything it makes, including new types of hardware, such as wearables.The company is putting AI wherever it thinks customers might want it. For example, a new Ask YouTube feature lets people ask a how-to question and get both a text answer and a video that contains the answer.The Gemini app has been designed for those who want to use agents for a wider range of tasks. In addition to an updated model — Gemini 3.5 Flash — Google has added Spark, a personal assistant that will eventually also be integrated into the Chrome browser and other apps. On the hardware front, Google is finally moving forward with AI glasses, more than a decade after the flop of Google Glass. Meta has had success here with its Ray-Ban smart glasses and Google sees its AI and search prowess as a way to stand out from its rival.Google said the audio-only version of the smart glasses it is co-developing with Samsung and eyewear makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster will be available this fall.The company is also giving the first hands-on look at Project Aura, the wearable device being developed with Xreal. The product is something of a tweener, with a far wider field of view than the display-equipped glasses, but less fully immersive than the Galaxy XR mixed reality headset.Its a really exciting use case for where AI can get out into the real world, Hassabis said.The bottom line: Googles answer to the AI threat is to turn all of its products into AI products.

Taiwan soldiers on through Xis threats and Trumps ambivalence TAIPEI — Theres a postmortem playing out here after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Trump to be careful on Taiwan, and Trump responded with ambivalence about U.S. arms sales and the islands chances in any conflict.Why it matters: Some Trump advisers left the summit thinking a Chinese move on Taiwan was growing more likely. But in Taipei there was no panic, at least on the surface.Taiwanese officials continue to advocate for arms deliveries, while also emphasizing the need to shore up self-defense initiatives, indigenous defense-tech and critical infrastructure.And while Trump and Xis remarks were closely scrutinized, Taiwanese officials and citizens tell Axios theyre accustomed to life in the shadow of potential war.There is unsurprisingly a very high degree of sensitivity in Taiwan about military aggression and information warfare from China, said Tsung-Yi Tang, a representative for civil-defense organization Kuma Academy. But in terms of the daily operations, actually we are still more relaxed.What theyre saying: Luo Wen-jia, secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, on Monday told visiting journalists the world must understand Taiwan will neither provoke China nor let it trample over the island. Its a delicate dance.Taiwan needs to strengthen our own self-defense. We need to make adjustments in terms of national defense, he said through an interpreter. We also have to think about Taiwans uniqueness, our geopolitics and what kind of risks will arise.The SEF is a semi-official organization that handles civil and business affairs between Taiwan and China. It has offices just blocks from the national defense ministry.Its not that Taiwanese people are naive. We do know that, given this hostility and difficult situation, we still need to be optimistic, he added. Of course we do not want to see war.State of play: Trump said after the meeting that he was unsure whether hed approve a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, which his administration has delayed despite bipartisan support.He also suggested the weapons wouldnt make a difference should Beijing make a move.When you look at the odds, China is a very powerful, big country. Thats a very small island, he told Fox News. Its 59 miles away. 59 miles. We are 9,500 miles away.They ought to both cool it, Trump said of China and Taiwan.The other side: Leaders including President Lai Ching-te pushed back on Trumps characterization of the weapons as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China relationship.Chinas military threat remains the primary source of regional instability, driving countries in the first island chain to strengthen their defense capabilities in coordination with the United States, the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are both part of U.S. security commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and a key element of collective deterrence against regional threats.Washington has been arming Taipei for decades. Trump 2.0 in December blessed an $11 billion weapons shipment that included HIMARS launchers and howitzers.Threat level: Xi has instructed his military to be prepared for a takeover as soon as 2027.While many doubt that timetable, preparations are undoubtedly ongoing. The Peoples Liberation Army encircled the island in 2025 and entered its air defense identification zone more than 3,000 times in 2024.Digital networks, too, are bombarded daily.Between the lines: Despite Trumps skepticism, Taiwan is no easy target, even for a force as large as the PLA. Its insulated by rough seas and steep mountains, and its whole-of-society approach to defense has been invigorated by Ukraines fortitude.Ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, Taiwans military kicked off live-fire beach defense drills.More from Axios:Lockheed tapped for Taiwan F-16 sensorsU.S. and China could agree on AI guidelines, says HicksDrills, deals and doubts in the Pacific as Trump visits ChinaEditors note: This trip, attended by more than a dozen members of the media, was organized and partially funded by the Taiwanese government.

Small business profits sink as gasoline prices soar Small business profits are sinking as owners get squeezed by rising labor costs and energy prices spiking from the Iran war.Why it matters: Businesses with fewer than 250 workers created half of all new jobs over the last half-decade.The big picture: Entrepreneurs are dealing with persistent concerns around labor availability, inflation and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to a new report from the Bank of America Institute.Zoom in: Small business profitability in April suffered its biggest decline in two years, falling 1.3, according to the report.That came after gas prices spiked due to the Iran war, which shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping lane for energy.The average price of gas was $4.53 on Tuesday, up 43 from a year earlier, according to AAA.Threat level: Small businesses spent 31 more on gasoline in April than they did a year earlier, according to the BofA Institute report.Plus, small business sales appear to be slowing despite strong consumer spending growth, the analysts reported.Yes, but: Americans are starting businesses at a record pace — an entrepreneurial hot streak that helps set the U.S. apart from the rest of the global economy, Axios Courtenay Brown wrote this month.Americans are filing paperwork to start new businesses at near-record rates — averaging 470,000 applications a month in 2025. Thats about 66 above pre-pandemic norms.The bottom line: Americas capacity for entrepreneurialism remains strong but is coming under pressure.

Rubio offers new relationship to Cuban people Secretary of State Marco Rubio marked Cuban Independence Day on Wednesday with a Spanish-language video message to the people of the island that blamed their unimaginable hardships on their communist leadership.Why it matters: This is the first time Rubio has addressed the Cuban population directly as secretary of state. Its part of the Trump administrations multi-layered pressure campaign targeting Havana.The real reason you dont have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people, Rubio says in the speech.Later Wednesday, the Justice Department will unveil the indictment of Cubas de facto leader, Raúl Castro, for allegedly ordering the shootdown of two Miami-based rescue planes in 1996.Zoom in: Rubios speech focuses on the Cuban military business conglomerate known as GAESA — founded by Castro — that has an estimated $18 billion in assets and controls 70 of Cubas economy through its control of hotels, construction, banks, stores and cash remittance from the U.S.Rubio contrasts the wealthy elites who run GAESA with the lives of destitute Cubans, seeking to show that revolutionary communism is a kleptocratic sham.Cuba is not controlled by any revolution. Cuba is controlled by GAESA, Rubio says.The only role played by the so-called government is to demand that you continue making sacrifices and repressing anyone who dares to complain.He adds: Today, from media to entertainment, from the private sector to politics, and from music to sports, Cubans have reached the top of virtually ALL industries, in all countries, except one ... Cuba.The other side: Cubas government and supporters blame the islands troubles on the longstanding U.S. embargo, the Trump administrations new sanctions and the lack of oil it used to receive for free from Venezuela before the U.S. seized leader Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3.Acting as the worlds policeman and in blatant violation of international law and the fundamental principles of free trade in goods and services, the sovereign right of all states that have or wish to maintain economic, commercial, and financial relations with Cuba is being explicitly, blatantly, and directly attacked, read a May 8 editorial in state-run media that criticized Trumps recent executive order imposing new sanctions.At Rubios suggestion, Trumps executive order was issued on May 1 because it coincided with the communist International Workers Day.The big picture: Cubas economy and government have never been in such an advanced state of decay as it is now. Food and fuel are scarce. Electricity is available for only two hours a day in some places.President Trump is offering a new relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. But it must be directly with you, the Cuban people, not with GAESA, Rubio says.The Trump administration is offering $100 million in food and medicine for you, the people, he says, but it needs to be distributed by the Catholic Church or other trusted charitable groups. Not stolen by GAESA to sell in one of their stores.Meanwhile, U.S. officials told Axios, Cubas government has found enough money to buy at least 300 attack drones from Russia and China in case hostilities erupt.Cuba also hosts Iranian, Russian and Chinese military and intelligence officials.Flashback: In Trumps first term, Rubio was a U.S. senator from Florida and helped the president in 2017 construct a new sanctions regime that revolved around starving GAESA of money.A year later, Rubio and his fellow Cuban Americans from Miami called for the indictment of Castro by the Justice Department, which will officially happen today.Between the lines: The Castro indictment signifies that U.S. negotiators arent making significant progress with Cuban leaders in negotiating a peaceful transition to a more democratic country thats no longer considered a state sponsor of terror by the U.S.State Department personnel and CIA Director John Ratcliffe have flown to Cuba and spoken to leaders there, including Castros grandson, Raulito Castro, who has also met with Rubio.All U.S. officials have delivered the same message urging Cuba to free political prisoners, hold free elections and return land to U.S. persons and businesses that were seized after the 1959 revolution.Zoom out: May 20 marks Cubas birth as a republic in 1902 following the Spanish-American War, but the holiday isnt celebrated on the island itself.Fidel Castros government scrapped the holiday after the 1959 revolution.Whats next: More indictments of other Cuban officials and more sanctions announcements are likely on their way from the Trump administration.Rubios speech doesnt mention that, but instead offers you, the ordinary Cuban, and not just GAESA, the right to own a business, whether its a gas station or a media company.A new Cuba, Rubio says, would be a place where people can vote on their government officials and where you can complain about a failing system, without fear of going to jail or being forced to leave your island.This is not impossible. All of this exists in the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and even just 90 miles away, in Florida. If owning your own business and having the right to vote is possible around Cuba, why is it not possible for you in Cuba?

Democrats eye 2027 crackdown on AI in election ads House Democrats plan to push legislation regulating the use of AI in political ads if they retake power next year, Axios has learned.Why it matters: The use of AI in election ads has exploded in the 2026 midterms, with some campaigns using the new technology to push the limits of negative campaigning.One satirical ad in Kentuckys 4th district accused Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) of being in a throuple with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and included phony, AI-generated videos of the three dining together, holding hands and checking into a hotel.Another ad in that race used AI to depict Massie rival Ed Gallrein fleeing a Trump rally, changing his voter registration and abandoning President Trump in a WWII-style foxhole — all without any apparent disclosure.What theyre saying: Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, told Axios that regulating the use of AI on the campaign trail will absolutely be a priority for him.The New York Democrat, whose committee has jurisdiction over federal elections, has already begun laying the groundwork for that effort.I have had a number of conversation[s] with the AI community about the issue generally and about my bill to require disclosure of the use of AI in political ads, he said.State of play: AI-generated ads and videos have begun to proliferate in federal, state and even local elections across the country.The National Republican Senatorial Committee has used AI to create deepfake videos of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Texas state Rep. James Talarico reciting written comments.Online supporters of Spencer Pratt, a Republican former reality TV star running for Los Angeles mayor, have made headlines for churning out AI-generated videos promoting his candidacy.A PAC backing Republican Jonathan Bush in the Maine gubernatorial election is running an ad that consists entirely of AI-generated deepfakes of GOP rival Robert Charles, including one in which he is holding bags of money while former President Obama places a hand on his shoulder.The other side: While it has mostly been Republicans utilizing AI on the campaign trail, some Democrats have embraced the technology as well.A Democratic House candidate in upstate New York released an AI-generated video attacking Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) last July.Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who lost the Democratic Texas Senate nomination to Talarico in March, was accused of using AI to enhance a crowd in the closing shot of one of her ads.Jesse Jackson Jr., an unsuccessful House candidate in Illinois, used AI to enhance the voice of one of his endorsers, former Rep. Bobby Rush, whose vocal cords were damaged by throat cancer.Between the lines: AI is being embraced by a growing number of campaigns as a method to save on the often exorbitant and prohibitive cost of producing ads.That means, despite considerable criticism and public wariness of its use, it likely isnt going anywhere.

Scoop: Trump AI executive order seeks early government access to frontier models The White House plans to release its much-discussed executive order on cybersecurity and AI safety as soon as this week, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.Why it matters: In its current form, the order seeks to bolster cybersecurity around advanced AI models and outlines plans for a voluntary framework for AI developers to inform the government about new releases, according to a readout shared with Axios and confirmed by a second source familiar with the plans.The big picture: Should the plan work as intended, the Trump White House will have made good on its promise to address AI safety after the latest cyber-capable models like Anthropics Mythos spooked the government.Still, the measures described to Axios are far short of what some more hardline voices in Washington and across the country have been pushing at a time when anti-AI sentiment is rising.The Mythos conundrum has softened the Trump administrations full-speed-ahead approach to AI, but the convoluted process around drafting the executive order has exposed how conflicted the administration is on the matter. Any policy announcement will come directly from the President. Discussion about potential executive orders is speculation, a White House official told Axios.Whats inside: The executive order as described in its current form has at least two sections, the sources say: cybersecurity and covered frontier models.The cybersecurity component aims to secure the Pentagon and other national security agencies, boost cyber hiring, shore up cybersecurity systems across the country at places like hospitals and banks, and encourage threat sharing about breaches between the AI industry and government.The frontier model component would involve multiple layers of government review to determine what qualifies as a a covered frontier model, and then to assess such models prior to their public release.The intrigue: The draft, in its current form, calls for a voluntary framework to be established under which AI labs would share their models with the government at least 90 days before public release and also give access to certain critical infrastructure providers.Its not entirely clear which parts of the government would be involved in that framework, but both national security and civilian agencies appear to have roles in the EOs enforcement.

Massie loses primary challenge in victory for Trump Rep. Thomas Massie lost his primary Tuesday against Ed Gallrein, a huge win for President Trumps unprecedented campaign to oust the Kentucky Republican.Why it matters: Massies loss sends another warning to Republicans about the dangers of crossing Trump, and shows that the presidents broader political problems havent diminished his power with the base.The race was Trumps last, and most important, stop on his revenge tour to oust Republican defectors.Trumps political operation launched an aggressive effort to unseat Massie last year, its first such effort to defeat a sitting Republican incumbent.The fight between Massie and Gallrein was the most expensive House primary in history, drawing more than $32 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact.Driving the news: Trump spent months portraying Massie as disloyal to the MAGA movement. Hes called Massie a moron, a nut job and a major Sleazebag.Were in a fight against the worst congressman in the history of our country, Trump said in an Oval Office video posted on Truth Social Monday.At a March rally in Massies district, Trump said: Give me somebody with a warm body to beat Massie, and I got somebody with a warm body, but a big, beautiful brain, and a great patriot.Gallrein is a farmer and former Navy SEAL officer hand-picked by Trump to challenge Massie.Hes unequivocally backed the Trump agenda, saying Monday: There has never been a more important time to stand behind our president.The other side: Massie contends the White House wants 100 compliance.I vote with the President 90 of the time. I voted for the SAVE Act. I voted for DHS. In fact, by most scorecards, Im the most conservative Republican, so its only the 10 of the time theyre mad about, he said.Catch up quick: Massie and Trumps contentious relationship dates back to Trumps first term.In 2020, Massie opposed Trumps COVID relief package, leading the president to call for Massie to be thrown out of the Republican Party.Massie was also one of only two House Republicans to vote against Trumps one big, beautiful bill in 2025. Last summer, Massie sought to repair his relationship with the president, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was able to broker a truce, Axios previously reported.The ceasefire didnt last long. Days later, Massie ramped up his public criticism of the administrations handling of the Epstein files, and later led the push to release the files in defiance of Trump.Between the lines: Trump has taken out a number of Republican politicians who cross him.Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a top target of the president, lost his reelection bid on Saturday when he failed to finish in the top two in the states GOP primary.Trump also exacted retribution on a group of Indiana Republican state legislators who blocked his push to redraw the states congressional map.

Trumps revenge spree stuns Senate Republicans Senate Majority Leader John Thune — and most of the GOP conference — was reeling Tuesday from President Trumps snap endorsement of Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP Senate runoff. Why it matters: Thune (R-S.D.) called it Trumps decision. But its Thunes problem to pass Trumps agenda, with a trio of senators the president can no longer hurt.Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has been unbowed since announcing his retirement in July 2025 after clashes with Trump.Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) voted with Democrats Wednesday to advance an Iran war powers vote to debate.Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has a runoff May 26 but will enter it with Trump backing someone else.😓 Adding to Thunes degree of difficulty: a president sick of the Senate and its rules, and rank-and-file Republicans seething over Trumps knifing of Cornyn.I dont understand. He [Paxton] is an ethically challenged individual, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).Im supremely disappointed, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said.Driving the news: Trumps endorsement of Paxton came in the middle of his 10-day GOP revenge tour.Cassidy fell Saturday, failing to make the runoff in Louisianas Senate primary.Horrible Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), as Trump called him, has his primary today.What were watching: The $72 billion reconciliation package will be the first test for the Senates newly combustible environment.I just came off the campaign trail. People love the president, Cassidy said. But I can tell you, a billion dollars for the ballroom … thats not where their head is, and thats not where my head is.Zoom out: Trumps relations with the Senate have sunk to new lows over his frustration with the Senate parliamentarian, Republicans refusal to abolish the filibuster, and GOP handwringing over ballroom security funding.Thune pronouncing himself not a big fan of the new $1.76 billion Department of Justice anti-weaponization fund this morning could have been the final straw.What theyre saying: Hes done with the Senate bullsh*t and Thune and all of them. They cant deliver, said a Trump confidante.The only reason the president was holding out for Cornyn was the SAVE Act, the confidante said. And when that became a lost cause, it was Why the f*ck should I support this guy?[Trump] saw some polling this weekend.… The polling showed Paxton will win in November. It might have been Paxtons polling. But its Texas, a Trump adviser said.⚡️ Zoom in: GOP lawmakers have several must-pass bills in the next five months, followed by several nice-to-pass pieces of legislation.Trump is demanding money for ICE and Border Patrol before June 1. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires June 12. The farm bill needs to pass by Sept. 30.Republicans are working to pass a housing bill to lower costs and looking for 60 votes on a bill to provide market structure for cryptocurrency.A reconciliation 3.0 package is still being discussed — with varying degrees of earnestness and snickering — in both chambers.🙀 The bottom line: Trump has always enforced GOP loyalty with raw fear, naked threats and decisive punishment.Now hell learn whether fear loses its hold on lawmakers who have already lost — or are staring at defeat.

Scoop: Trump to attend G7 summit in France despite friction with allies President Trump will attend the G7 leaders meeting in France in June to talk artificial intelligence, trade and crime-fighting, a White House official told Axios.Why it matters: Its customary for U.S. leaders to attend the annual summits, but Trumps attendance was not a sure thing due to his increasing anger with G7 members like the U.K., France, Germany and Italy for not aligning with his war effort in Iran.The White House official said the G7 meeting wont produce actual signed deals but instead seeks to build consensus on which future agreements can be based.Trumps birthday falls in the middle of the G7 meeting, on June 14. He will turn 80.Zoom in: The June 15-17 meeting takes place in Évian-les-Bains, in southeastern France. And though Iran will likely be on the agenda, Trump wants to talk business:Linking U.S. aid with trade that are mutually beneficial for both investor and recipient nations, the official said.Promoting the adoption of AI tools developed in the U.S.Agreeing to reduce Chinas hold over critical mineral supply chains.Fighting drug smuggling and illegal immigration.Promoting U.S. exports, reducing regulatory barriers and increasing energy production — particularly of fossil fuels.Between the lines: French President Emmanuel Macron, a target of Trumps occasional ire, wooed the American president by offering a grand post-summit dinner at Versailles, the height of French Baroque gilded opulence that Trump loves.Its unclear if Trump plans to attend the dinner.Zoom out: The war in Iran still hangs over the relations between the U.S. and almost all of its major allies in the G7 and beyond.Even if an deal is struck between now and mid-June, some rancor might still hang in the air.No European countries have aided the U.S. in its effort to guarantee safe passage to cargo vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, though Trump has said at times he doesnt want their help and several leaders say theyll contribute after the war is over.On Tuesday, during a meeting of the groups finance ministers in Paris., U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the group to impose more sanctions to fight Iranian terrorism and the financing that sustains it.Crushing the threat of terrorism compels all of you to step up and join us, Bessent said at the meeting in Paris.We call upon all our G7 and indeed all of our allies and the rest of the world to follow the sanctions regime so that we can crack down on the illicit finance that is fueling the Iranian war machine, Bessent said, and get this money back to the Iranian people.

DOJ settlement prevents pending tax investigations of Trump and his family A settlement between President Trump and the IRS that created a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund was expanded Tuesday to bar additional tax investigations into him, his family and his businesses.Why it matters: The expanded waiver intensifies scrutiny of a controversial settlement involving agencies Trump effectively oversees.Whats inside: The one-page document says the IRS is forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims related to the plaintiff or affiliated individuals.Between the lines: The expanded settlement was not included in the Justice Departments initial nine-page agreement released Monday, nor was it signed by the same parties.Tuesdays waiver is signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trumps personal lawyer in his cases including his New York criminal fraud trial.Mondays agreement was signed by the CEO of the IRS, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and Trumps legal counsel.The intrigue: Most federal officials, including the president, cannot stop the IRS from pursuing specific investigations.However, the attorney general appears to be excluded from that restriction. Catch up quick: The settlement was reached after Trump dropped his suit against the IRS after a former contractor leaked his confidential tax returns to members of the media.Instead of receiving a direct payout, attorneys for the president settled to create a $1.776 billion fund to compensate those who were targets of political weaponization, or who faced prosecutions for political aims.The decision sparked outrage from critics who said it was unusual for the president to pursue damages from an agency he controls.The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios Tuesday afternoon request for comment.Go deeper: Trump creates $1.8B anti-weaponization fund after dropping IRS suit

Exclusive: Clean energy deals on track for biggest year ever Data: Clean Energy Buyers Association; Chart: Amy Harder/AxiosCorporations are poised to buy more clean energy this year than ever before, driven by the AI boom and a rush to secure expiring tax credits, according to a new report shared exclusively with Axios.Why it matters: The surge underscores the enduring influence of corporate demand on the clean energy market — and the resilience of cleantech investment even after President Trump rolled back federal support.Driving the news: Companies contracted 13.4 gigawatts of clean energy capacity in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to the Clean Energy Buyers Associations annual report.That exceeds the total contracted during all of 2021.Its hard to imagine this wont be our biggest year ever, Rich Powell, CEO of the association, told Axios ahead of the reports release Tuesday at the groups annual gathering in Seattle.Reality check: The first half of 2026 may prove unusually strong because developers are racing to qualify projects for expiring wind and solar tax credits under Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act.To qualify, projects must either begin construction by July 4 or enter operation by the end of 2027.What were watching: Powell said growth is expected to continue even after those deadlines, increasingly driven by what the industry calls clean, firm power — including advanced nuclear, geothermal and natural gas paired with carbon capture.Contracting for those technologies in the first quarter alone is already nearing the total clean, firm power for all of 2025, Powell said.

DOJ settlement prevents future tax investigations of Trump and his family A settlement between President Trump and the IRS that created a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund was expanded Tuesday to bar additional tax investigations into him, his family and his businesses.Why it matters: The expanded waiver intensifies scrutiny of a controversial settlement involving agencies Trump effectively oversees.Whats inside: The one-page document says the IRS is forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims related to the plaintiff or affiliated individuals.Between the lines: The expanded settlement was not included in the Justice Departments initial nine-page agreement released Monday, nor was it signed by the same parties.Tuesdays waiver is signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trumps personal lawyer in his cases including his New York criminal fraud trial.Mondays agreement was signed by the CEO of the IRS, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and Trumps legal counsel.The intrigue: Most federal officials, including the president, cannot stop the IRS from pursuing specific investigations.However, the attorney general appears to be excluded from that restriction. Catch up quick: The settlement was reached after Trump dropped his suit against the IRS after a former contractor leaked his confidential tax returns to members of the media.Instead of receiving a direct payout, attorneys for the president settled to create a $1.776 billion fund to compensate those who were targets of political weaponization, or who faced prosecutions for political aims.The decision sparked outrage from critics who said it was unusual for the president to pursue damages from an agency he controls.The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios Tuesday afternoon request for comment.Go deeper: Trump creates $1.8B anti-weaponization fund after dropping IRS suit

The new college graduation ritual: booing AI As artificial intelligence forces students to rethink their majors and reshapes the job market, its clear that graduates dont want to hear about the technology on their big day. The big picture: Several commencement ceremonies have been interrupted by boos and jeers when speakers have brought up AI, an indicator that while the tech is easing into many parts of life, not everyone is on board. Driving the news: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt drew repeated boos Friday while discussing AI at the University of Arizonas commencement.Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield called AI the next industrial revolution at the University of Central Floridas commencement, and was immediately drowned out by boos from arts and humanities graduates. Okay, I struck a chord, she said.Music executive Scott Borchetta, who discovered Taylor Swift in 2005, told Middle Tennessee State University graduates that AI is rewriting production as we sit here, prompting boos. He retorted: deal with it… Like I said, its a tool. You can hear me now or pay me later.After an AI system skipped several students names at Glendale Community College in Arizona, President Tiffany Hernandez blamed the technology for the errors — and immediately was booed.The other side: Not every commencement speaker who mentioned AI was jeered.When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Carnegie Mellon graduates that AI will be a net positive and cause every industry to change, but that the answer is not to fear the future, he drew no audible pushback.By the numbers: Roughly 42 of Gen Z say AI will harm job opportunities and wages for people like them, compared with 33 of millennials, 39 of Gen X and 37 of baby boomers, according to the latest Axios Harris Poll released Tuesday.Those concerns show up in job hunting data too, with 43 of Americans aged 15 to 34 saying its a good time to find a job, compared to 64 of those 55 and older — a 21-point gap, per Gallup.Zoom in: Concerns of the AI boogeyman are not without merit.A slew of top companies, including Meta, Pinterest and Block recently cited AI automating some tasks as they announced layoffs.Between the lines: Schmidt seemed almost apologetic to the graduates during his speech, acknowledging uncertainty about AIs long-term impact.There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create, he said.Still, he compared being AI-adverse to missing a defining opportunity: When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat, you just get on. Graduates, the rocket ship is here.Zoom out: AI is creating more jobs than its killing, and fewer CEOs now expect AI to reduce hiring than they did last year, per EY-Parthenon research. Huang warned graduates that AI is not likely to replace you, but someone using AI better than you might.Despite fears over job displacement, young people are increasingly using AI to help with homework, brainstorming, news consumption and entertainment — suggesting they see AI as a useful tool.The bottom line: Young people arent vehemently anti-AI — theyre just scared of being left in the digital dust.Axios Avery Lotz contributed to this reporting.Go deeper: Americas job market optimism gap is the worst in the world

Trump held meeting on Iran war plans after pausing attack President Trump convened a meeting on Iran with his top national security team on Monday evening that included a briefing on military options, two U.S. officials told Axios.Why it matters: The meeting took place several hours after Trump announced he was suspending attacks he claimed were planned for Tuesday.Trump continues to claim Iran has only a few days to reach a diplomatic breakthrough. He said Monday that the deadline was two-three days, maybe Friday or Saturday, early next week.While Trump has repeatedly threatened military action during the ceasefire without following through, the fact that he was briefed on military plans on Monday suggests hes seriously considering resuming the war.Behind the scenes: U.S. officials say Trump hadnt actually made a decision to strike Iran before announcing a pause. On Tuesday, he said hed been an hour away from giving the order.Some officials did expect Trump to decide on strikes in a meeting with his national security team that was expected on Tuesday, but ultimately took place on Monday evening.His decision to hold off was partially due to concerns raised by several Gulf leaders about Iranian retaliation against their oil facilities and infrastructure, U.S. officials and regional sources say.The U.S. officials said the Gulf leaders urged Trump to give negotiations another chance. In the room: Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other senior officials attended the meeting, the sources said. It focused on the way forward in the war with Iran, the status of the diplomatic efforts and various U.S. military plans for strikes on Iran.The White House did not respond to a request for comment.Between the lines: A U.S. source close to Trump said that several Iran hawks who have spoken to the president since his announcement on Monday got the impression that he is in the mood of cracking their head open to get them to move in the negotiations.Many other U.S. officials were surprised by Trumps announcement on Monday, and admit theyre confused as to which direction Trump is heading. Some think he might punt on a decision again if no diplomatic breakthrough is achieved.Trump claimed there were serious negotiations underway, though a senior U.S. official told Axios the latest Iranian counter-proposal did not show significant progressA regional source said the mediators are working to get the Iranians to present a more flexible position that addresses the U.S. nuclear demands.The bottom line: We may have to give Iran another big hit. I am not sure yet. You will know soon, Trump said on Tuesday.

Why health officials are worried about containing the Ebola outbreak The ongoing Ebola surge has public health experts anxious about the worlds capacity to contain its spread.The big picture: Ebola epidemics arent new, but the current outbreak has been identified as the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has no vaccine, and is located in a populated, mobile and conflict-stricken part of the world.Thirty cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while two confirmed cases, including one death, have been recorded in Uganda from people who traveled from the DRC, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday.There are more than 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths, he said. One American working in the DRC tested positive and is being taken to Germany for treatment, the CDC confirmed Monday.The World Health Organization has deemed the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.Context: Nasia Safdar, an infectious diseases physician and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells Axios that Ebola concerns her more than the recent hantavirus outbreak, noting the cruise ship environment where it spread is very different than the outside world. Only one hantavirus strain is known to spread human-to-human, but four Ebola strains cause illnesses in people, per the CDC. Hantavirus rarely spreads among people, but public health experts pointed to the recent outbreak as evidence that more research is needed into its spread.Once spillover to humans occurs, the Ebola virus is challenging to contain and regularly leads to the most life-threatening cases of viral hemorrhagic fevers. A 2014-2016 surge in West Africa infected more than 28,600 people and killed 11,325, per the WHO. The fatality rates in the past two Ebola outbreaks have ranged from 30-50.What theyre saying: This particular Ebola outbreak is troubling, says Jennifer Nuzzo, the director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.Many people are worried that we could have another 2014 situation on our hands. That was the largest, deadliest outbreak of Ebola on record, and the conditions on the ground and the lack of tools to combat this particular Ebola virus make people very worried that we could see similar circumstances happen again, Nuzzo says.There was also an apparent delay in health authorities acknowledging the spread.We actually dont know how large the situation already is, but its certainly poised to become much, much larger, she says.Reality check: The risk to the American public remains low, but travel restrictions for those without U.S. passports coming from Uganda, DRC and South Sudan were announced Monday, along with enhanced port health protection response strategies. Friction point: While neither the Ebola or hantavirus outbreaks have been labeled pandemics, general public health reforms have not kept up with the rising pandemic risk, a report released Monday by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, co-convened by the WHO and World Bank, warned.Nuzzo is concerned about what dismantling USAID, which had helped lead past international responses to disease outbreaks, means for on-ground support for contact tracing and other efforts that she says are really the only tools we have at this point to stop the spread.She added: Trying to combat these very serious emergencies with a gutted public health workforce, and with fewer tools — its like were basically leaning into them with both hands tied behind our backs.Go deeper: Why we dont talk about COVID anymore