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Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the nation's infectious disease efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic , invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday and declined to answer questions from a Senate committee investigating the origins of the coronavirus. Homeland Security Chair Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the committee will vote on a contempt resolution against Fauci next week. Why it matters: Fauci said Paul was trying to get him to say something that could put him in legal jeopardy. Paul said his use of th

The Federal Reserve left its interest rate target unchanged Wednesday amid significant internal dissent from officials who preferred to raise rates. The big picture: The central bank elected not to surprise markets with an interest rate hike, contrary to rampant speculation on Wall Street in recent days. But three members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee did favor raising the cost of borrowing. Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari, and

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed skepticism during his meeting with President Trump about the chance of a deal with Iran and discussed increasing economic pressure on Iran "through kinetic and non-kinetic means," a senior Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters. Why it matters: Tuesday's meeting was the first between Netanyahu and Trump since the start of the war on Feb. 28. It came as Trump is still trying to reach a deal with Iran but also considering a return to

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout, Axios has learned. Driving the news: Musk is resuscitating his dormant super PAC, America PAC, which spent more than $260 million to help get President Trump elected in 2024. America PAC will focus on door-knocking, digital advertising and direct mail aimed at turning out the conservative base, including voters who typically are less inclined to cast ballots in a non-presid

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman told Vice President Vance at the White House Wednesday that despite the joint U.S.-Saudi strike on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, Saudi Arabia still favors de-escalation with Iran, a source familiar with the meeting told Axios. Why it matters: The source said the objective of the meeting was to deliver a message from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) about the war with Iran and the situation in the region. Saudi Arabia is one of the key U.S. al

Politicians are increasingly abandoning scripted language and publicly cursing as profanity becomes a more common political tool. Why it matters: The shift suggests politicians are using profanity intentionally to project authenticity, signal confrontation and distance themselves from traditional Washington norms. What they're saying: "There's this dissatisfaction and anti-establishment fervor that's been present for probably at least a decade now," Nick Beauchamp, a professor at Northeastern Un

White House officials will press Senate Republicans behind closed doors Wednesday to pass a blueprint for another GOP-only megabill before they leave for the August recess, but save any possible debt ceiling increase for later, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Senate Republican leaders have been skeptical that there is the time — or the votes — to get it done. President Trump and his team disagree. White House officials want the Senate to build in flexibility to jam through as much of the SAVE

The U.S. military conducted "a heavy wave" of airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday evening, U.S. Central Command said in a statement . Why it matters: These are the first U.S. strikes in Iran since President Trump paused the bombing campaign Friday to give negotiations another chance. Wednesday's strikes came in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack targeting a U.S. base in Jordan on Tuesday. All of the Iranian missiles were intercepted, according to the U.S. military. What they're saying: " CENT

Data: China's General Administration of Customs; Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios The Iran war has revealed China's enormous power over global oil prices, thanks to its position as the world's largest buyer. Why it matters: China's reaction to the oil shock — by substantially withdrawing from buying on world markets — helped prevent the worst of the price spikes that experts thought would follow from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Catch up quick: After the U.S. and Israel launched the

Data : Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup. Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios Americans fear November's midterms could be stolen or otherwise compromised, with most worried about political pressure to change results or officials mishandling ballots, new Gallup polling finds. Why it matters: President Trump has cast the American election system as under siege and vulnerable with unfounded claims about his 2020 loss. Meanwhile, his critics warn his push to reshape the ways Americans vote are under

Vice President Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a "direct" conversation about their differences in a one-on-one meeting in Washington on Tuesday evening, Israeli and U.S. officials said. Why it matters: Vance has been the most Netanyahu-skeptical voice in Trump's inner circle since the beginning of the war. As the war dragged on, he became increasingly critical of the Israeli prime minister. Vance took on a larger role in war policy and Iran negotiations as the conflict p

The Senate health committee approved the nomination of Erica Schwartz for Centers for Disease Control director Thursday, a step toward refilling the depleted ranks of the Trump administration's health care leadership. The committee also approved the nomination of Sean Kaufman , who's in line for assistant secretary for preparedness and response and had been in trouble because of past anti-vaccine statements . Why it matters: The votes showed Republicans, at least, are still willing to accept the

Central bankers, as a rule, try to maintain stable prices, a strong job market and a sound financial system. The AI boom is a complexifier on all three fronts. The big picture: AI is blurring the usual indicators that central bankers rely upon to set policy, a new paper from a leading international body finds, simultaneously affecting the supply and demand sides of the economy and driving both structural and cyclical change. The upshot, per the Bank for International Settlements — the Basel, Swi

OpenAI is launching a new program Wednesday that will provide 100,000 academic researchers with free access to its advanced AI models through 2027, the company told Axios ahead of the announcement. Why it matters: The program could help scientists, mathematicians and engineers pursue the kind of breakthroughs that OpenAI and other AI companies say the technology could enable. Driving the news: Those selected will have access to OpenAI's most advanced models — including GPT-5.6 Sol Pro — and can

The Supreme Court's approval rating — long the highest among the three branches of government — has sunk to a record low, joining President Trump and Congress in drawing low public support. Why it matters: Americans aren't just unhappy with individual leaders. They're increasingly convinced the country's biggest institutions aren't working for them. By the numbers: 33% of Americans approve of the Supreme Court's performance, according to a Gallup survey of 1,200 adults conducted from July 1-19 —

A super PAC that has invested millions to unseat Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is putting another $700,000 behind his GOP primary challenger in the final week of the campaign, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Ogles was already facing one his most perilous reelection battle to date, with Democrats making him one of their top targets in November. But first he has to get the nomination, which is not a done deal. Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, the clean-energy aligned super PAC working to primary Ogles

The nation's largest known cyclospora outbreak is straining Americans' trust in the food safety system — and could undermine the healthy-foods messaging from the Trump administration. Why it matters: It arrives as the administration urges Americans to eat more whole foods, even as health experts say recent cuts have weakened the public health infrastructure responsible for detecting outbreaks. The big picture: More than 11,000 confirmed or suspected cases of infection have been linked to the par

Senate Majority Leader John Thune repeated to White House officials in private what he's been saying in public for weeks: We don't have the votes . Why it matters: President Trump isn't buying it — and he's questioning whether Thune is the man for the job. "Well, we're gonna find out," Trump said Wednesday. "I'll let you know." Asked Wednesday evening about Trump saying the votes were gettable, Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters, "That must be a different form of math." Driving the news: Hours earlie

America's AI architects are converging on a chilling consensus: The pace of progress may soon demand a slowdown, but no single lab can afford to pull the brake alone. Why it matters: Momentum for an AI pause or pacing mechanism has reached a historic tipping point, ignited by a summer of extraordinary yet unsettling leaps in capabilities. More than 1,200 employees at leading AI companies have signed on to a new petition, " Pacing the Frontier ," urging Washington to back an international framewo

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday declaring that Ghislaine Maxwell , the convicted sex trafficker who aided Jeffrey Epstein 's abuse of underage girls, should never receive a presidential pardon. Why it matters: Democrats wanted to put every Republican senator on record as opposed to a potential pardon. By failing to object to Sen. Jacky Rosen's resolution, Republicans agreed that the president "should not grant a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency to

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has one of the toughest jobs in Washington. It could get even harder next year. Why it matters: Thune is one of the few Republicans in Washington who's managed to say "no" to President Trump and still keep his job. But the Senate leader could enter the next Congress with diminished power, leading a conference whose loyalty increasingly lies with Trump. Republican control of Congress could be weakened , if not lost. The Senate's MAGA flank is poised to grow. And

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in an interview Tuesday that he asked President Trump for an emergency "winter package" of Patriot air defense interceptors to help thwart Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Why it matters: Ukraine's stockpiles of the interceptors have been almost depleted, and without them the country can't defend itself against ballistic missiles. It was the reason Ukraine couldn't stop recent Russian attacks on Kyiv. If this problem isn't solv

Anthropic spent this winter and spring as the darling of America's AI boom, conquering the frontier while casting itself as the industry's moral conscience. By summer, the Claude maker had found itself alone on an island of its own principles. Why it matters: Anthropic is simultaneously the world's most valuable startup and its most isolated AI leader. The company's idiosyncrasies have strained its relationship with developers, policymakers and partners as it barrels toward a potential trillion-

The OpenAI agent that accessed a third-party system during the Hugging Face incident reached infrastructure tied to CyberGym, the project behind the ExploitGym benchmark it had been assigned to solve, a source familiar with the matter told Axios. Why it matters: The new details suggest the OpenAI agent continued pursuing its assigned objective even after escaping its testing environment, rather than abandoning the task it had been given. Catch up quick: OpenAI's AI agent system accessed an asset

Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles toward a U.S. military base in Jordan on Tuesday in what U.S. Central Command described as an "attempted surprise attack." All of the missiles were intercepted, CENTCOM said in a statement . Why it matters: This marks Iran's first ballistic missile attack against a U.S. base in the region since President Trump paused strikes against Iran on Friday to give diplomacy another chance. The attack threatens to unravel the fragile pause and could force Trump to

House and Senate Republican leaders are heading to Dallas to embrace the president who has done the most to shape — and complicate — their political fortunes. Why it matters: Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson don't have much of a choice about attending September's midterm convention. President Trump doesn't tolerate high-profile dissent, and both leaders know their best chance of staying in power is by staying united. But for Republicans in tight races, the two-day political ex

In a massive show of bipartisanship, 86 senators voted to move forward with a Russia and Iran sanctions bill championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham . Why it matters: The vote came hours after senators gathered to honor Graham's memory, and immediately following a closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky . The vote was 86-12. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote against it. It is a procedural vote, but leadership hopes that the strong bipartisan suppor

House Republicans are pressuring the Senate to advance their reconciliation package as President Trump pushes for quick action. Why it matters: The roughly $95 billion package is House Republicans' latest effort to enact Trump's priorities without Democratic votes using the reconciliation process. The framework already cleared some early hurdles, but House Republicans are pressing the Senate to move quickly to keep Trump's legislative agenda on track before the midterm elections. The reconciliat

President Trump 's lawyers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment he was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll, Axios has learned. The judgment stemmed from Trump's 2019 statements in which he denied Carroll's claim that he'd sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and attacked her credibility, accusing her of making up the allegation. Driving the news: Trump's lawyers argue he's entitled to presidential immunity because he made the comments while he was serv

Legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians in the U.S. have ended after the Supreme Court upheld the termination of their Temporary Protected Status, a ruling that could reshape the program's future. The big picture: The justices limited courts' ability to review Homeland Security's TPS decisions — making challenges harder and leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of losing legal status, work authorization and protection from deportation. Established in 1990, T

While Democrats across the country are pulling their hair out over Michigan's brutal Democratic Senate primary , a key House race in the state is also quietly giving party leaders heartburn. Why it matters: Infighting between establishment Democrats could create an opening for a progressive who many Democratic strategists and lawmakers are skeptical can win the seat in November. Moderate Democrats and party leaders' inability to coalesce behind a single candidate has become the source of conside

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office Tuesday for a "productive" 90-minute session on the Iran war — free of any public sign of tensions that have marked their relationship over the past several weeks. Why it matters: The meeting could have gone the other way, given Trump's frustration with the Israeli leader over the war, which he even alluded to publicly shortly before Netanyah arrived at the White House. The fact that both sides described it as p

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met Tuesday with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as the Trump administration investigates potential violations involving Nvidia chip exports to China, according to a source familiar. Why it matters: Huang is in Washington as the Trump administration finalizes a framework that would give the government early access to the most advanced AI models before their release. Officials are also weighing their approach to open-source AI and China. Driving the news: Huang is holdin

AI appears to improve workers' efficiency in a number of sectors. The U.S. has experienced a surge in economy-wide productivity in the last couple of years. But the former isn't necessarily driving the latter. The big picture: Companies are achieving more output per person-hour of labor because they are making better use of existing capital, a provocative new analysis finds — not, at the moment at least, by making major use of AI. AI advances may be generating substantial micro-level gains in so

The U.S. blood supply has reached crisis levels, prompting the American Red Cross and the Surgeon General's Office to urge people to donate. Why it matters: A prolonged blood shortage could delay surgeries, trauma care and other treatments that depend on timely blood transfusions. The Red Cross says it has "less than a one-day national supply of type O positive blood," which is the most commonly transfused blood type. Due to the shortage, the organization is limiting distribution of type O blood

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) demanded in a blunt letter sent to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his staff that McConnell verbally address constituents and demonstrate his ability to serve or resign his seat. The big picture: It's been more than 40 days since 84-year-old conservative stalwart McConnell was hospitalized and appeared outside photos released by his office. His lengthy absence and past health scares are fueling speculation about his capacity to serve. Driving the news: Beshear wro

👉 Watch a video version of this column. Republicans didn't decide to become President Trump's party . They surrendered to him, one stage at a time, over a decade, in plain sight. Democrats swear that socialism's growing grip on their party is different , and can be contained . The early signals suggest otherwise. Why it matters: Party transformations follow a predictable six-stage evolution — recoil, squint, rationalize, submit, amplify, and purge. Each stage has language you can hear long befor

President Trump 's controversial "self-deportation" program, which pays unauthorized immigrants to leave the U.S., is on pace to account for more than 200,000 departures, according to internal data shared with Axios. Why it matters: Launched last year alongside a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, the initiative is virtually the only carrot in an aggressive immigration crackdown that has been long on sticks. Through July 16, the nearly $600 million program — dubbed Project Homecoming by the Depart

Data: International Energy Agency ; Note: In terrawatt-hours; Chart: Amy Harder/Axios A recent United Nations call to power data centers with renewable energy highlights a central tension in the AI boom: Renewables are rising, but so is reliance on fossil fuels. Why it matters: Electricity demand for data centers is projected to at least double in the next four years, and where that power comes from will influence investments — and the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. Driving the news: Un

Data: Company reports, Funda via "Key Context"; Chart: Ben Berkowitz/Axios AI revenue is accelerating so fast that it's starting to dwarf some of the world's most recognizable brands. Why it matters: AI infrastructure spending forecasts in the trillions of dollars start to make at least a little more sense when investors see how they're paying off. By the numbers: OpenAI and Anthropic, combined, are on track for an annual revenue rate of about $120 billion, "Key Context" Substack author Tae Kim

Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump in the Oval Office Tuesday for the eighth time since the president returned to office. But the Israeli prime minister arrives at the White House weaker and less influential than the previous seven times. Why it matters: On Feb. 28, Trump and Netanyahu went to war together and it looked like there was no daylight between them. But exactly five months later, their interests have diverged more than ever — and bad blood and frustration have deepened as

Canadian travel to the U.S. fell 25% last year, according to a new Canadian government report, which says early 2026 data show the decline has persisted. Why it matters: The report provides some of the clearest measures yet of the economic cost to the U.S. tourism industry after trade tensions, tariffs and President Trump's repeated " 51st state " comments led many Canadians to vacation elsewhere. "Following the change in the U.S. administration in early 2025 and the implementation of America Fi

President Trump's economic assault on Iran has drawn a fraction of the attention devoted to his bombing campaign, even as senior U.S. officials believe it may ultimately do more damage to the regime in Tehran. Why it matters: U.S. intelligence and open-source media reports point to a deepening economic crisis inside Iran, including gasoline shortages in one of the world's most oil-rich countries. "The Iranians want to stop being bombed and they want money," a senior administration official said.

The small businesses behind high-profile legal challenges to President Trump's trade agenda are suing again to block his latest import taxes. Why it matters: The lawsuits set up another legal test of Trump's tariff agenda after courts this year rejected one tariff regime and another remains tied up in court. What's new: One lawsuit was filed on behalf of Burlap & Barrel, which previously challenged Trump's temporary Section 122 tariffs , and watch retailer Collective Horology. The other was brou

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pulling off something today's Republicans rarely attempt: telling President Trump "no." Why it matters: Pressure from Trump and the MAGA base is piling up on Thune (R-S.D.), especially over a voter ID bill, but he has an important insurance policy: GOP senators have his back. "I think he's got strong support. I read all the stories, but I think mostly that's made up by reporters," Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told Axios. "Leaders absorb some of the punishment, b

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Monday that he has "never advocated" for a ban on open-weight AI models , rejecting accusations that his lab is seeking to shield its closed-model business from competition. Why it matters: Anthropic has become the most prominent holdout from a new industry push to defend open-weight AI, after Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Google, OpenAI and dozens of other companies signed a letter urging Washington not to restrict the technology. The push was triggered by the shock d

Data: MIT IT FutureTech and the University of Queensland ; Chart: Herb Scribner/Axios There is a one-in-five chance of AI gaining dangerous weapons capabilities or causing mass harm that could kill millions in the next five years, per global experts surveyed for a recent MIT study . Why it matters: The findings add to the growing debate over AI safety and cybersecurity as governments and companies race to deploy increasingly capable systems. Last week's news of an OpenAI model breaking containme