Meta announced Tuesday that it will end its fact-checking program on its platforms in exchange for X-style community notes as part of a slate of changes targeting "censorship" and embracing "free expression."

Why it matters: It's part of a growing trend among online platforms, which are shifting away from policing misinformation and content amid charges of bias. The shift will have consequences for digital safety and young users.

• The changes echo calls from the right to walk back "censorship" on social media and coincide with President-elect Trump's return to the White House.

Driving the news: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined in a Tuesday post a series of content moderation reforms, impacting billions of users across Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

• Beyond replacing its fact-checkers, Meta will bring back more political content to its platforms and end restrictions on certain topics "out of touch with mainstream discourse," Zuckerberg said, "like immigration and gender."
• It will also adjust filters scanning for policy violations to only tackle illegal and "high severity" violations. Those include topics like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams, per a Tuesday release.
• Additionally, Zuckerberg said, the company's U.S. content review team will be moved to Texas from California, contending it will help Meta "build trust to do this work in places where there is less concern about the bias of our teams."

What they're saying: Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, said on Fox & Friends on Tuesday that Meta's third-party fact-checkers have demonstrated "too much political bias."

• Kaplan, a prominent Republican, replaced Meta's policy chief Nick Clegg last week.
• Rules governing content on Meta's platforms have "become too restrictive over time," Kaplan said, "including about those kind of sensitive topics ... that people want to discuss and debate, immigration, trans issues, gender."
• He added, "If you can say it on TV, you can say it on the floor of Congress, you certainly ought to be able to say it on Facebook and Instagram without fear of censorship."

Context: Dropping fact-checking is also another step toward embracing MAGA for Meta.

• The company was quick to pledge a $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration.
• The company on Monday added three people to its board, including close Trump friend Dana White.

Flashback: Meta began to ramp up its fact-checking efforts following the 2016 U.S. election, when it was criticized for misinformation on its platform.

• It relied on a network of fact-checking partners that were part of a third-party consortium called the International Fact-Checking Network to do the fact-checks.
• By 2019, it had nearly quadrupled the number of fact-checking partners it worked with to combat misinformation globally.

Yes, but: Those efforts soon became politicized, with critics arguing its fact-checking partners were biased.

Zoom out: Meta did a lot to appease critics and dodge regulatory scrutiny during the first Trump era, even when those efforts were at odds with Zuckerberg's bigger vision of acting as a neutral platform for speech.

• The company invested millions of dollars in paying news partners globally, only to cut those investments when it changed its algorithm.
• Zuckerberg famously reversed the company's policies on Holocaust denialism following criticism.

The big picture: The politicization of fact-checking has contributed to a decline in the number of fact-checking sites globally, according to data from Duke Reporters' Lab, Axios has reported.

• In North America, the number of active fact-checking sites decreased from 94 to 90 from 2020 to 2023.

What to watch: In the U.S., fact-checking mostly serves as an exercise to ensure Meta doesn't get in trouble for allowing blatant political misinformation.

• But abroad, Meta's fact-checking network has been critical in stopping manipulation and abuses on its platforms, including posts that have led to real-world violence.

Go deeper: Meta deletes 2023 AI-generated profiles after uproar

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details and context.

McDonald's on Monday said it is rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Why it matters: Backlash against corporate DEI efforts appears to be intensifying ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration.

• The president-elect has been an outspoken opponent of corporate diversity efforts.

Where it stands: In a letter to franchise owners, suppliers and current employees, McDonald's proclaimed its commitment to diversity and inclusion but said it would modify some practices after conducting a "civil rights audit."

• The fast food company cited the Supreme Court's ruling in 2023 that ended affirmative action in universities, and the shifting legal landscape.

Zoom in: The company said it would end "aspirational representation goals." That could include specific hiring targets that have come up for criticism in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision.

• It will pause "external surveys," which could include participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.

Between the lines: The announcement came just days after anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck first reached out to the fast food giant, he said in a post on X.

• Starbuck said the company made its decision just three days after he'd told them he'd be doing a story on their "woke policies," per his post.
• "As our first corporate flip of 2025 I just want to say, HAPPY NEW YEAR!," he posted to X.
• "Things move faster now because so many companies have hired consultants to pre-plan how to respond to me," Starbuck told Axios in a text, taking credit for the changes.
• His campaigns have led to similar retreats at Walmart, Tractor Supply Company, and John Deere.

Context: This update has been "considered over recent months," the company told Axios in an email from its press account.

• "Our plan has been to communicate our updated approach at the start of the year."
• The message on Monday noted the "evolving landscape around DEI policies and programs in the U.S."

Flashback: McDonald's has repeatedly hailed DEI as essential in the past.

• "We believe everyone deserves a safe, inclusive and accepting workplace where they can thrive," McDonald's global chief diversity officer Suheily Natal Davis said last year on LinkedIn.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comment from McDonald's.

Mark Zuckerberg moved further in the direction of MAGA on Monday, when he appointed three white men, including UFC chief executive and Trump friend Dana White, to the board of directors of Meta.

Why it matters: We're a long way from 2022, when Peter Thiel resigned from the same board in order to be able to support Trump-aligned candidates.

By the numbers: After Thiel's resignation, the Meta board was 44% female — five men and four women. Today, it's 23% female — 10 men and three women.

• In terms of corporate control, of course, only one vote matters. Thanks to his Class B shares, Zuckerberg will always have the final say.
• The company did not return a request for comment on the changes.

Between the lines: Seven of the 10 men — Marc Andreessen, John Arnold, John Elkann, Drew Houston, Hock Tan, Tony Xu, and Zuckerberg himself — are billionaires.

• White might not have reached the $1 billion mark quite yet, but he's well on his way.

Driving the news: The reinvention of Facebook can be seen in the departure of liberal Democrat Nick Clegg as the company's policy head, and his replacement by prominent Republican Joel Kaplan.

• It can also be seen in the $1 million that Meta donated to a Trump inauguration fund, a donation made by many other tech companies.

The bottom line: As Axios has reported, the fate of Big Tech over the next four years depends on who has Trump's ear at critical junctures.

• Zuckerberg seems to be doing everything he can to ensure that Meta is in exactly that position.

President Biden blocked Japan's Nippon Steel from buying U.S. Steel last week, earning the approval of the United Steelworkers union, which desperately wanted the deal crushed.

• But steel workers themselves may be less than enthused.

Why it matters: It's not at all clear that the president's pro-union move will actually wind up benefiting rank-and-file members of U.S. Steel or other workers in the Pennsylvania region where the storied company is based.

Catch up quick: U.S. Steel has warned that without a deal it would be forced to close some operations in Pennsylvania, where it employs close to 4,000 people.

• Most threatened, as Axios' Dan Primack has reported, is believed to be Mon Valley Works, a steel processing plant with more than 3,000 workers. U.S. Steel also said it might relocate its Pittsburgh headquarters.
• Industry observers have said the company's future is rocky without outside investment. That would deliver a huge blow to the Pennsylvania economy, hurting the voters that Biden had been wooing in blocking the deal.
• President-elect Trump was opposed to the deal and has an evolving relationship with organized labor himself, raising questions around if or how he might step in to help the workers. (He's also changed his mind on deals with national security complications before, like TikTok.)

Zoom in: While the union's top brass vehemently fought Nippon, it's not totally clear rank-and-file members lined up behind them.

• Many said they supported the deal, seeing it as a "lifeline" for a dying industry, as the Washington Post recently reported.
• Hundreds of workers staged a protest last month demanding the government let the deal go through.

Between the lines: Ostensibly, the deal was blocked due to national security concerns.

• Almost no observers or experts buy that argument, and some of Biden's closest advisers reportedly wanted the deal to happen.
• "President Biden claiming Japan's investment in an American steel company is a threat to national security is a pathetic and craven cave to special interests that will make America less prosperous and safe," Jason Furman, who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration, posted on X last week. "I'm sorry to see him betraying our allies while abusing the law."

Japan is typically seen as a very low-risk investor country, says Alexis Early, a partner at Jenner & Block who specializes in CFIUS cases.

• If there were national security concerns over, say, the availability of steel for U.S. defense needs, CFIUS would typically try to mitigate that risk by requiring the foreign buyer to enter into a "supply assurance agreement," she says.
• The decision in this case leaves us "scratching our heads," she says, calling it a "brouhaha car-wreck" that's spooking low-risk foreign investors. The risk is some may decide to pull back. "That could hurt workers beyond the steel industry," she says.

Reality check: There are many unknowns ahead for U.S. Steel, amid lawsuits and the possibility that another buyer could jump in.

• So it's too soon to definitively say this will or won't hurt workers.
• The company's been steadily shedding workers for years from nearly 50,000 in 2008 to around 23,000 last year. At the height of its power, in the 20th century, U.S. Steel employed hundreds of thousands of workers.

What to watch: If layoffs do happen, then clearly this wasn't good for the rank and file, says Lee Adler, a lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

• Or for the Democratic Party, since Biden and union leadership will catch the blame, he says. "This is a cauldron."

Republicans are set to control the legislative process in nearly twice the number of states as Democrats in 2025.

Why it matters: State laws can have an even greater impact on your life than those passed by Congress.

• Democratic lawmakers and governors, meanwhile, could be a bulwark against some of the incoming Trump administration's policies in states they control.

By the numbers: Republicans will control the legislative process in 24 states to Democrats' 15, per Cook Political Report.

• The process is split in 10 others, including Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and more.
• Nebraska, meanwhile, has a unicameral legislature unique among U.S. states — though the Cornhusker State has a Republican-leaning supermajority.

What they're saying: "Republicans notched the two biggest legislative victories" of Election Day 2024, per Cook's Matthew Klein: Flipping Michigan's House of Representatives and splitting the Minnesota House.

• Democrats ended Republicans' veto-proof supermajority in the North Carolina House, among other wins.

Yes, but: North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill last month stripping some power from state Democrats.

The bottom line: All politics, as they say, are local.

Hill leaders are setting up the first votes of the 119th Congress this week — on a bill at the center of a heated political debate over illegal immigration.

Why it matters: The expected votes in both chambers on the Laken Riley Act make clear Republicans plan to keep hitting the border issue — putting pressure on vulnerable Democrats trying to find their post-election footing.

Driving the news: The House will vote Tuesday on the bill, which requires the detention of undocumented immigrants who commit certain nonviolent crimes such as theft, according to a House leadership aide.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune began the process to allow a vote on the Senate version of the bill — likely on Friday, a senior Senate GOP aide confirmed.
• The bill is named after a nursing student who was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been arrested on theft charges.

What they're saying: "I am thrilled that we're going to get moving," Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told us about the bill, which she introduced in the Senate last year.

• Britt anticipates the bill will get Democratic votes "if they're being honest about what we need to do to protect Americans."

What to watch: The bill already passed the House in 2024 with bipartisan support. It will need to pass the House again as it's a new Congress.

• Expect the bill to pick up Democrats in the Senate — though it's not clear it will be enough to overcome the 60-vote filibuster.
• Two House Democrats who voted in favor of the bill last year are now in the Senate — Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).

At least one other Trump-state Democrat is expected to vote in favor, according to a source familiar.

• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) — Riley's home state senator — is up for reelection in 2026. Ossoff told us he would "carefully consider any legislation that comes to the floor of the Senate."

The bottom line: The Democratic support highlights the new reality for the party, which is still reeling from their 2024 losses.

• Democrats have been forced to move right on the immigration issue in particular, and are already signaling their willingness to work across the aisle on measures to secure the border.

President-elect Trump is seeking to stop special counsel Jack Smith from releasing a final report on the Republican leader's two dismissed federal criminal cases, per a letter included in court filings on Monday night.

The big picture: Monday's letter from Trump's attorneys to Attorney General Merrick Garland was included in filings from his former co-defendants in his dismissed classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

The latest: Smith responded in a court filing Tuesday that it will be up to Garland to decide whether any part of the report will be released to the public.

• While Garland has not yet reached a decision, if he does choose to release any part of the report pertaining to the classified documents case, he won't do so before Jan. 10, Smith wrote.
• Smith added that he wouldn't submit his report to Garland until later Tuesday and would file a response to the defendants' motion Tuesday evening.

Driving the news: Both Trump's attorneys and lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira wrote in the Monday letter that they reviewed a two-volume draft report in a conference room at Smith's office in Washington, D.C., from Friday to Monday.

• Attorneys for Nauta and De Oliveira said in the filings submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida that the timeframe "reflects that public release is imminent."
• They noted that prosecutors are appealing the dismissal of charges against Nauta and De Oliveira in a federal appeals court in Atlanta.
• There remained "the threat of future criminal proceedings" that they argued would "be irreversibly and irredeemably prejudiced" by the release of a report from Smith, the pair's attorneys wrote.

The intrigue: Trump's lawyers said in their letter to Garland, "Equally problematic and inappropriate are the draft's baseless attacks on other anticipated members of President Trump's incoming administration, which are an obvious effort to interfere with upcoming confirmation hearings."

What we're watching: Trump's lawyers can't make Garland block the report's release, but they argue in their letter to Garland "because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly."

• They added: "If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump's incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People."
• It's not clear if U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has the authority to direct the attorney general on the matter.
• Representatives for Garland and Smith did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.

Zoom out: Smith moved to wind down his two federal criminal cases against Trump in the wake of the president-elect's election win in November.

• A judge that month granted Smith's request to drop all charges against Trump in the case alleging that he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
• Smith also asked a federal court in Florida in November to pause his appeal related to Cannon's dismissal of the classified documents case.

Go deeper: Trump pushes to halt New York hush money sentencing

Editor's note: This article has been updated with a new court filing from the special counsel's office and additional details throughout.

President Biden mourned with New Orleans Monday night at a prayer service at the St. Louis Cathedral.

Why it matters: The community gathering was meant to help begin the healing after a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street killed 14 people and injured at least 35 more.

The big picture: "New Orleans defines strength and resilience," Biden said, "whether it's in the form of this attack or hurricanes or superstorms. This city and its people get back up."

• He and First Lady Jill Biden laid flowers at the Bourbon Street memorial built by residents on their way to the cathedral. He also met two of the NOPD officers injured in the gunfight taking down the accused attacker.
• His comments at the service focused on grief, which he said he is too familiar with. His first wife and child were killed in a car wreck. His son died of brain cancer.
• "It's not the same," he said. "We know it's been five days staring at that empty chair around the kitchen table, without hearing their voice."
• "I promise you the day will come ... when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye. ... My prayer is that that day comes sooner rather than later."

Zoom in: Each of the names of the dead were read in the standing-room only cathedral: Kareem Badawi, Martin "Tiger" Bech, Drew Dauphin, Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, William "Billy" DiMaio, Hubert Gauthreaux, Reggie Hunter, Terrence Kennedy, Nicole Perez, Edward Pettifer, LaTasha Polk, Brandon Taylor, Matthew Tenedorio and Elliot Wilkinson.

• Biden and others placed candles for the dead and injured, while more than a dozen faith leaders offered prayers for healing, unity and peace.
• There were rabbis, imams, bishops and deacons from across the city, reflecting the diversity of the victims and New Orleans. Pope Francis also sent a message.
• Gov. Jeff Landry, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, NOPD chief Anne Kirkpatrick, Congressman Troy Carter, Gayle Benson, Mitch Landrieu, City Council members, first responders, law enforcement and officials across the region packed the pews.

In the room: The feeling was solemn and surreal, with many attendees talking about events earlier in the day for Twelfth Night to kick off the Mardi Gras season.

• The Joan of Arc procession was lining up elsewhere in the French Quarter while the Voices of Peter Claver choir members were singing "Let There Be Peace on Earth" inside the cathedral.

McDonald's on Monday said it is rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Why it matters: Backlash against corporate DEI efforts appears to be intensifying ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration.

• The president-elect has been an outspoken opponent of corporate diversity efforts.

Where it stands: In a letter to franchise owners, suppliers and current employees, McDonald's proclaimed its commitment to diversity and inclusion but said it would modify some practices after conducting a "civil rights audit."

• The fast food company cited the Supreme Court's ruling in 2023 that ended affirmative action in universities, and the shifting legal landscape.

Zoom in: The company said it would end "aspirational representation goals." That could include specific hiring targets that have come up for criticism in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision.

• It will pause "external surveys," which could include participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.

Between the lines: The announcement came just days after anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck first reached out to the fast food giant, he said in a post on X.

• Starbuck said the company made its decision just three days after he'd told them he'd be doing a story on their "woke policies," per his post.
• "As our first corporate flip of 2025 I just want to say, HAPPY NEW YEAR!," he posted to X.
• "Things move faster now because so many companies have hired consultants to pre-plan how to respond to me," Starbuck told Axios in a text, taking credit for the changes.
• His campaigns have led to similar retreats at Walmart, Tractor Supply Company, and John Deere.

Context: This update has been "considered over recent months," the company told Axios in an email from its press account.

• "Our plan has been to communicate our updated approach at the start of the year."
• The message on Monday noted the "evolving landscape around DEI policies and programs in the U.S."

Flashback: McDonald's has repeatedly hailed DEI as essential in the past.

• "We believe everyone deserves a safe, inclusive and accepting workplace where they can thrive," McDonald's global chief diversity officer Suheily Natal Davis said last year on LinkedIn.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comment from McDonald's.

A Louisiana resident has died after being hospitalized for a severe case of H5N1 bird flu, the state's health department said Monday.

The big picture: This marks the first bird flu-related human death in the U.S. Louisiana's health department has not identified any additional cases of the illness or evidence of human transmission, the department said in a news release.

Zoom in: The patient, who became the first person hospitalized with severe bird flu in the country last month, was over the age of 65 and reportedly had underlying medical conditions, according to Louisiana officials.

• The person was exposed to sick and dead birds in a non-commercial backyard flock, as well as wild birds.

By the numbers: 66 cases of bird flu in humans have been reported so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State of play: To avoid contracting bird flu, people should not touch sick or dead animals or eat uncooked poultry, eggs and other animal products, including unpasteurized milk, the release said.

• "While the current public health risk for the general public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk," the Louisiana Department of Health wrote.

President-elect Trump is set to visit Senate Republicans on Wednesday — after publicly siding with House Speaker Mike Johnson over how to pass major policy wins.

Why it matters: The new GOP trifecta needs to get on the same page before the much harder decisions come due.

• Some Senate Republicans want to convince Trump that it's in his interest to divide his "one big, beautiful bill" into two separate packages.
• Trump has backed one strategy and then the other — he just wants to get it all done. In a Hugh Hewitt interview on Monday, Trump indicated he would be fine with two bills too.

Between the lines: Wednesday's Senate GOP invite is a standing offer, we're told.

• Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) will host Trump at the upcoming meeting as policy chair and has made it clear he's welcome whenever he wants to come, according to a source familiar.
• Trump is expected to join the Senate GOP at its 6pm ET meeting. He'll be in town for the late President Jimmy Carter's funeral.

Zoom out: Some Republicans are agnostic on whether they should cram all their priorities into one massive package or move first on a border and deportation bill and then turn to tax legislation.

• Many are privately concerned that attempting to fit everything into one bill will condemn it to failure.

Zoom in: Johnson, fresh off his squeaker of a speaker's victory, knows math isn't his friend when he's looking for 218 votes.

• He is convinced he needs to wrap all of Trump's priorities — from ending taxes on tips to increasing border funding — into one massive bill and then convince his colleagues to all hold hands together, listen to Trump … and jump.
• Trump will host a series of House Republicans at Mar-a-Lago later this week, including members of the Freedom Caucus, people pushing to restore the SALT deduction and various committee chairs.

What they're saying: Two of Trump's most frequent phone buddies — Sens. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) — said nothing's set in stone.

• "If we can get both of them done in one package, great, if we got to split them up, great," Mullin said. "All I'm saying is that I know that his Senate can deliver.
• "I had multiple conversations with the president. He just wants it. He just wants the legislation to become permanent."
• "Whatever they think they can do over there [in the House] is what we need to do," Tuberville told us. "I think it could still go either way."

The bottom line: Senate GOP leader John Thune tried to downplay the differing ideas, telling Punchbowl News the split over strategy is less important than the substance of what gets passed.

• But Trump and his Hill leaders have been clear they intend to move fast. A divide over mechanics could slow things down.
• The historically slim margins in the House could mean that Thune defers to Johnson based on what can pass the chamber.

As the bird flu outbreak grows, egg prices soar and food recalls mount, consumers may be left wondering whether it's safe to have that morning omelet.

The big picture: Yes, eggs sold at grocery stores remain safe for human consumption, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

• "The likelihood that eggs from infected poultry are found in the retail market is low and proper storage and preparation further reduce the risk," an FDA spokesperson said in an email Friday.

Driving the news: The first bird flu-related human death in the U.S. was reported Monday in Louisiana.

• The person was exposed to sick and dead birds in a non-commercial backyard flock and to wild birds, state health officials said.

Yes, but: The risk of people becoming infected with bird flu through the consumption of contaminated shell eggs is low, the FDA and the the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service found in a 2010 risk assessment.

• Kalmia Kniel, professor of animal and food sciences at the University of Delaware, told Axios that the poultry industry "has excellent biosecurity which is critical to reducing the risk of avian influenza and the spread of the virus to flocks."
• There is a routine testing program for chickens in commercial production, she added, and the industry monitors the birds carefully for signs of infection or illness.

Be smart: It's recommended that consumers buy eggs sold from a refrigerator and that they open the carton and make sure that the eggs are clean and the shells are not cracked, Kniel said via email on Friday.

• At home, refrigerate your eggs at a temperature of 40F or less, she added.
• It is generally advised to cook eggs until the white and the yolk are firm.
• "After cracking eggs and handling egg shells it is a good idea to wash your hands and also wipe any spills that may have occurred if cracking eggs and cooking with children," Kniel said.

The bottom line: Cooking poultry, eggs and other animal products to the proper temperature, in addition to preventing cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods, are key for food safety.

• To avoid contracting bird flu, people should also avoid touching sick or dead animals.

More from Axios:

• Bird flu causing egg prices to soar to new record high
• Why food recalls are mounting this year
• California declares emergency over bird flu outbreak

Coming out of the House chamber Monday after certifying President-elect Trump's 2024 victory, Democrats argued that their party set an example by allowing the process to go smoothly and peacefully.

Why it matters: The uneventful 30-minute proceedings reversed a precedent in recent election cycles of members of Congress trying to object to elector slates for the opposing party's presidential candidate.

• In 2017, several House Democrats tried unsuccessfully to object to Trump's electors.
• In 2021, a much more organized effort to overturn the election resulted in votes on certifying the Arizona and Pennsylvania electors — and the deadly riot targeting the U.S. Capitol.

What they're saying: "Obviously there was a huge difference between this Jan. 6 and the other Jan. 6 ... We hope that'll be a good example for years to come," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).

• House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said the public should "take note: This is how the peaceful transfer of power has happened for 250 years."
• "The anomaly of the last four years cannot be repeated," Morelle said, adding that Democrats "respect the democratic institutions even when they're not in our favor."
• Said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.): "We were acting as Constitutional patriots, and this is exactly what the peaceful transfer of power should look like."

What we're hearing: Despite most Democrats echoing that line, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), the chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, stressed that the messaging did not come from leadership.

• "Most of us are feeling the same way. We're all talking to each other, there's a lot of 'peaceful transfer,' and 'it's our job to make sure the American people see.'"
• "There's nobody saying [to members], 'Be on that same page,'" she added.

Between the lines: Monday's proceedings were an intensely bitter pill for Democrats to swallow, with Vice President Harris — Democrats' candidate against Trump — charged with certifying her opponent's victory.

• Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said her wish is that Democrats set a precedent, but she told Axios she is "not that hopeful, even though ... I try to have a glass that is half full."
• "Seeing the attitudes of Republicans sitting across the aisle from me, smirking — this was a serious ceremony. They were acting like juveniles," she added, arguing Republicans were "rewarded for their bad behavior" with their election win.

The other side: Several Republicans who spoke to Axios pointed to Democrats objecting to Trump's 2016 electors and former President Bush's in 2004 — with some also arguing that election objections aren't necessarily a negative thing.

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said members of Congress "should have the right to object. We should have the right to look into every part of an election."
• "The right exists. It's there. Who am I to take it away," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.).

President Biden has signed a bill that renames the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles after the Latino parents who helped end legal school segregation in California and set up the 1954 landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling.

The big picture: Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez U.S. Courthouse comes decades after Latino activists tried to draw attention to the pre-Brown case, which set the stage for racial desegregation nationwide.

Zoom in: It's the first federal courthouse in U.S. history named after a Latina and sits just blocks from where the 1947 Mendez v. Westminster case was originally decided.

• U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) sponsored the renaming bill as part of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 that Biden signed Monday.

Flashback: In 1945, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez sued a school district in Westminster that refused to enroll their children, who were Mexican American and Puerto Rican, because of their dark skin color.

• The case brought together Black and Latino intellectuals and lawyers. Education scholar George I. Sanchez and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, then with the NAACP, soon started corresponding about future school desegregation strategies.

The result: The case went to trial in federal court in Los Angeles and the plaintiffs won.

• On April 14, 1947, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision. Two months later, then-California Gov. Earl Warren outlawed school segregation in the state.

Yes, but: The Mendez case was for decades forgotten outside of historian, legal and academic circles since it was overshadowed by the more well-known Brown vs. Board of Education case.

Zoom out: The May 17, 1954, Supreme Court Brown decision ruled that "in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place" in U.S. society.

What they're saying: "This courthouse will serve as a lasting tribute to their civil rights advocacy and the enduring Latino American legacy in our nation's history," U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said in a statement.

• Gomez, who sponsored the bill, said the Mendez couple had the courage to fight school segregation and bring equality across the U.S.
• "I could have never imagined that one day there would be a law honoring my parents and the four other brave families' fight for equality," said Sylvia Mendez, one of the children at the center of the Mendez case.

A chorus of European leaders is pushing back against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's meddling after he suggested Britain's prime minister should be imprisoned and questioned whether the U.S. should "liberate" its ally.

The big picture: Musk's influence looms large over U.S. politics with his MAGA alignment. Now he's casting a shadow over elections overseas, lambasting world leaders in recent days with his social media megaphone.

• Across dozens of posts over several days, Musk has attacked Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Sunday Musk turned on Nigel Farage writing that the Trump-aligned Reform Party leader "doesn't have what it takes."
• Musk threw his support behind Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is known for its anti-immigrant views.
• He's also gotten cozy with a number of right-wing populist politicians, including Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.

Friction point: While Musk has found a home in the MAGA movement, other world leaders are telling him to stay in his lane.

• Starmer hit back against those he said were "spreading lies and misinformation" about child sex grooming gangs and investigations into child sex abuse in the UK, the subject of several of Musk's posts.
• In one post, Musk said another Labour minister, Jess Phillips, should be "in prison" for rejecting the idea of a national probe of historic child sexual abuse, which she said should be handled locally.
• Starmer told reporters Monday that when the "poison of the far right" led to threats against Phillips and others, "a line has been crossed," CNN reported.

What they're saying: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Monday that "This is not the way things should be between democracies and allies," Reuters reported, pointing to Musk's attempted meddling.

• "I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and huge economic resources involves himself so directly in the internal affairs of other countries," he told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

Zoom out: Other mainstream political leaders shared Støre's sentiment.

• French President Emmanuel Macron in a speech to French ambassadors wondered who a decade ago "could have imagined ... that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections."
• Macron, who in the past has enjoyed a civil relationship with Musk, did not mention the tech mogul by name — but there was little doubt for whom the jab was intended.
• Neither X nor the Trump transition team immediately responded to Axios's request for comment.

Between the lines: Some senior politicians across UK political parties have privately urged Trump's allies to rethink his relationship with Elon Musk after his comments this weekend, Bloomberg reported.

State of play: Musk's comments were met with outrage from German leaders, with Berlin accusing him of trying to influence the country's snap elections next month in his X commentary and an opinion piece he penned praising AfD

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he's staying "cool" amid personal digs from Musk, per the AP, but finds it "much more worrying" that Musk waded into German politics by "supporting a party like the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, which preaches rapprochement with Putin's Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations."
• Robert Habeck, the German Green Party's chancellor candidate, cautioned Musk against interfering in the country's politics, telling Der Spiegel magazine, "Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!"

Go deeper: Musk & Milei: How an international bromance could shape Trump-era spending cuts

A New York judge rejected Monday President-elect Trump's latest attempt to halt sentencing for his felony hush money case conviction.

Why it matters: Judge Juan Merchan has already indicated Trump will not face jail time when he is sentenced just 10 days before his inauguration. But the president-elect's legal team is still trying to walk back his historic conviction.

• Merchan has repeatedly rejected Trump's attempts to toss his conviction based on presidential immunity claims, writing in a filing last week that the Supreme Court's ruling that presidents have immunity from prosecution for "official acts" does not apply to this case.

Driving the news: The court found that Trump's points are, for the most part "a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past," Merchan wrote in a Monday filing.

• The move effectively strikes down Trump's defense attorney's argument that sentencing should be paused pending the president-elect's appeal.

Catch up quick: While Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records would allow for a jail time sentence, Merchan wrote in a filing last week that was not inclined to impose such a sentence.

• Trump has the option to attend the sentencing in person or virtually.

The bottom line: The back-and-forth over Friday's sentencing came as a joint session of Congress gathered Monday to certify the results of the 2024 election — and on the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Go deeper: How prosecuting Trump backfired

A federal judge on Monday declared Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for failing to respond to information requests in a defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: After two days of being grilled in court, Giuliani faces more legal troubles. He's previously been disbarred in Washington, D.C. and New York, had a failed bankruptcy claim, and saw the attorneys representing him in the defamation case quit.

• Judge Lewis J. Liman in New York City said Giuliani, President-elect Trump's former lawyer, failed to properly provide evidence after being ordered to pay $148 million in the case, per the AP.
• Giuliani testified before the court on Friday in New York City and Monday virtually from his condo in Palm Beach, Florida.

Catch up quick: The former New York City mayor was ordered in October to hand over personal property to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, mother-daughter election workers in Georgia.

• The judge said he must turn over assets including cash accounts, jewelry, watches, valuables, a signed DiMaggio shirt and a legal claim for unpaid attorneys' fees.

What he's saying: Giuliani said on Monday that he didn't turn over everything requested because he believed the requests were broad, inappropriate or a "trap," the AP reported.

• "It's tragic to watch as our justice system has been turned into a total mockery, where we have charades instead of actual hearings and trials," Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement.
• Goodman said the case was part of an "ongoing politically motivated vendetta" against Giuliani.

Go deeper: Rudy Giuliani ordered to hand over penthouse to defamed Georgia election workers

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Giuliani's spokesperson.

For members of Congress who trudged through a snowstorm to certify President-elect Trump's victory in the Electoral College, Jan. 6, 2025 was almost bizarre in its uneventfulness.

Why it matters: Just four years ago today, former Vice President Pence had to be rushed to a secure location when the Jan. 6 Capitol riot interrupted the Electoral College certification for President-elect Biden.

That was in stark contrast with Monday's joint session, in which tellers ran swiftly through each elector slate.

• Vice President Harris — who presided over the meeting — "certified her own defeat, and the victory of her opponent who said nasty things about her," Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) told Axios.
• Harris having to certify Trump's victory after he "nearly stole our democracy four years ago was "the part that is most painful to me," said Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.).
• Lawmakers applauded when electors were announced for their respective candidates, but when Harris announced Trump's victory, both sides gave a standing ovation.

Driving the news: Unlike in 2021, when Congress reconvened following the riot and certified President Biden's victory after midnight, the joint session on Monday concluded after just a half hour.

• No lawmakers stood up to try to object to any of the elector slates, though the new Electoral Count Reform Act passed in 2022 would have made that difficult to do anyway.
• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told reporters he felt the applause for a traditionally perfunctory, non-partisan process was misplaced: "I didn't really understand that on either side of the aisle … We were not on the floor of our party conventions."

Between the lines: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), one of two sitting House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the Capitol riot, told Axios: "See how easy it can be? How much difference four years can be?"

• Newhouse said he has been "watching all the reruns [of Jan. 6] the last few days on TV," saying of Monday's proceedings, "Surreal — I guess that's probably a good term for it."

What they're saying: "We're not fans of Donald Trump, but he won the most votes," Gomez told Axios, saying it was "a little strange on the [House] floor" during the proceedings.

• Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), who was one of the tellers, said "it was a little bit to process ... the trauma of four years ago and feel it in a personal way."
• "For the country, it may feel a little surreal that we're back here," Morelle added.

The bottom line: For some Democrats, there was more than a twinge of bitterness about just how smoothly the process went.

• Torres noted the contrast between how fortified the Capitol was on Monday versus four years ago: "I only wish that we would have had the number of security of personnel."

The CIA monitored Mexican American and Puerto Rican civil rights activists fighting for equal education and to honor the late Martin Luther King, Jr., — and against police brutality and the Vietnam War, newly released CIA documents show.

Why it matters: The documents confirm Latino civil rights pioneers' long-held suspicions that the federal government was monitoring — even disrupting — their activities.

• The documents from 1968 to 1983 were released in late December deep on the CIA's website at the request of Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA).

The big picture: The cache of documents gives a glimpse into how the CIA viewed activists' work as threats.

• That includes Denver-based activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez.
• Documents also show how the CIA sought to keep tabs on Mexican American student activists in Arizona, California and Colorado, even having undercover agents infiltrate student groups.
• The documents primarily relate to Operation CHAOS — a CIA domestic espionage project targeting American citizens that operated under former Presidents Johnson and Nixon.

Zoom in: The CIA kept close tabs on Gonzales, a leader in the radical Chicano Movement of the 1970s, as he pressed for equal rights and called for "the potential formation of independent local, regional, and national Chicano political parties," documents show.

• Like the Black Power Movement, the Chicano Movement focused on racial pride, nationalism and fighting poverty.
• The CIA also was monitoring if Chavez would attend demonstrations organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in New York City on the 3rd anniversary of King's 1968 assassination.
• The CIA was following Salvatore H. Castro, a teacher and advisor in the 1968 Los Angeles high school walkouts over discrimination.
• The agency also tracked members of the Brown Berets, a Chicano militant group.

Documents show the CIA and the University of Arizona had an agreement to monitor students apparently making demands for Mexican American studies classes.

• University of Arizona spokesman Mieczyslaw J. "Mitch" Zak did not immediately have a comment about the newly released documents after Axios sent him a link.

What they're saying: "This document release is an important window into the government's efforts to surveil and disrupt peaceful Latino organizing in the 1960s and 1970s," Castro said in a statement to Axios.

• Castro praised CIA director William J. Burns for the transparency.
• "I'm hopeful that these documents will help us build a better record of past overreach and establish stronger guardrails to protect against unwarranted surveillance in the future."

Yes, but: The FBI has not released any documents on Latino civil rights leaders as requested by Castro.

Between the lines: Historians in recent years have uncovered quite a bit about FBI surveillance of Latino leaders through open records requests, Brian Behnken, an Iowa State University history professor, tells Axios.

• The FBI monitored the works of civil rights leader Héctor P. García; the New York-based Puerto Rican Young Lords Party; and later the activities of the Chicano Movement.
• Works by scholars and activists over the years have also uncovered that the FBI has monitored Chicano Movement leaders Gonzales, Reies López Tijerina, José Angel Gutiérrez, and Dolores Huerta.

Little was known about how active the CIA was involved in monitoring Latino civil rights groups and leaders.

• Some Latino leaders and their families may not even know about the FBI files and wouldn't know they needed to file open records requests.

The intrigue: Castro's mother, Rosie Castro, was monitored by the FBI for her activities in the Chicano Movement, files show.

• An FBI informant noted that Rosie Castro "was observed buying two small posters of Angela Davis for 50 cents each, which were mentioned by Rosie Castro as having been printed in Cuba," the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Four years after President-elect Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, Congress on Monday peacefully certified his 2024 victory with Vice President Harris overseeing her own loss.

The big picture: Though the electoral college certification proceeded peacefully, local law enforcement stepped up security around the U.S. Capitol out of an abundance of caution.

• Trump has repeatedly said pardoning the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters is something he will consider on his first day back in the Oval Office.
• Many prominent Republicans have followed Trump's lead in the four years since the attack to downplay the violence of the day.

Driving the news: In a stark juxtaposition from the certification of the 2020 election, there were no disturbances or objections during Monday's joint session of Congress.

• Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was present at Monday's certification, won the election with 312 electoral votes to Harris and Gov. Tim Walz's 226 votes.
• The whole count took roughly 30 minutes.
• Trump had called the certification "A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY" in a Truth Social post before the process began.

Vice President Harris joined the small club of vice presidents throughout history who had to preside over the certification of their defeat — a duty she characterized as a "sacred obligation."

• "The chair declares this joint session dissolved," Harris said at the end of the session. "Thank you."
• She shook hands with members as she exited.

What they're saying: Former Vice President Mike Pence, who four years ago was the target of rioters' ire for refusing to interfere in the certification of President Biden's victory, applauded the peaceful count in a Monday X post.

• "I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings," he wrote, congratulating his former running mate and commending Harris as "particularly admirable" for overseeing the certification of her loss.

Zoom out: In response to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, Congress passed legislation to reform an 1887 law that determined how presidential elections are certified.

• The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 made it more difficult to contest electors and clarified the vice president's role in the counting as purely ceremonial among other changes.

Go deeper: Johnson, Jeffries duel over certifying 2024 election

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Harris and Pence.