A West Texas city reported Wednesday that an unvaccinated child with measles died after being hospitalized amid the recent outbreak.
The big picture: It's the first death officials have reported in the outbreak that began late last month. At least 124 people have been infected in the state so far.
It's the largest measles outbreak in Texas in 30 years, following smaller outbreaks in 2013 and 2019.
The surge in cases this year has prompted an uptick in vaccinations among parents who had previously declined to vaccinate their children, NBC News reported.
Driving the news: Officials for the city of Lubbock, in West Texas, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed the death in a joint press release Wednesday.
"The patient was an unvaccinated school-aged child, and passed away in the last 24 hours," the press release stated.
They said no further details were forthcoming.
A representative for Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
The outbreak has sparked fears among health officials that the disease could be rebounding in the U.S. amid falling vaccination rates. Measles was previously declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
The vast majority of patients infected with the respiratory virus in the current outbreak have been unvaccinated.
Zoom in: Measles is a "highly contagious" respiratory virus that can be spread via respiratory droplets in coughs or sneezes or contact with an infected person, per the CDC.
Measles can survive in the air up to two hours after an infected person has left the area.
Measles symptoms typically appear one to two weeks after exposure, and include fever, cough, runny nose, and rash, as well as red, watery eyes.
It can especially cause dangerous complications, like pneumonia, in children under five years old.
President Trump shared what appeared to be an AI-generated video late Tuesday night depicting his vision of "the Riviera of the Middle East" if his plan to "take over the Gaza strip" comes to fruition.
Why it matters: The video recasts the enclave that's been devastated by the Israel-Hamas war as an oasis of Trump's fantasy, complete with bellydancers, a golden statue of himself and Elon Muskdancing under a shower of money.
Driving the news: The AI-generated video Trump posted on his Truth Social account opens with a shot of ruins labeled "Gaza 2025" and set to a dance track.
The video then asks "what's next?" before segueing into idyllic visions of children running on a beach, skyscrapers, cruise ships and a rebuilt city — as what sounds like an AI-generated voice sings, "no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here."
Zoom in: The bizarre images in the video include:
Bearded men belly dancing on a beach;
Elon Musk eating what appears to be hummus on the beach, followed later of a shot of him dancing on the beach as U.S. dollars rain down;
Trump, dancing with a scantily-clad woman in a club;
A skyscraper emblazoned with "Trump Gaza" in golden letters;
A toddler holding a large, golden balloon of Trump's head;
A shot of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in swim trunks sipping drinks at a poolside resort.
The big picture: Trump said earlier this month that his takeover plan would entail a "permanent occupation" of Gaza by the U.S. that would see Palestinians displaced with no right of return, a plan that would violate international law.
The plan was rejected by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as well as the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.
Faced with backlash, Trump seemingly walked it back, stating that the U.S. would not pay for the rebuilding or send in troops. No one seems to have a clear idea of how the plan would actually work.
Between the lines: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres lambasted Trump's proposal as "tantamount to ethnic cleansing."
Reality check: Even members of the Trump administration admit that the president's rebuilding plan is unlikely to happen anytime soon, even without the geopolitical hurdles it would have to clear.
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios last month that rebuilding Gaza could take between 10 and 15 years.
The bottom line: A vision of Gaza filled with luxury skyscrapers is unlikely to happen in Trump's lifetime, let alone his presidency.
A grassroots movement is calling on Americans to abstain from shopping with major retailers on Feb. 28 as part of an "economic blackout."
Why it matters: The economic protest comes as many everyday Americans struggle to keep up in the current financial landscape, characterized by high housing costs, surging egg prices and stubborn inflation.
Between the lines: This week's economic blackout is the latest, but not the first, grassroots movement against consumerism that has gained steam in the face of high costs of living.
Earlier this year the "no buy 2025" challenge gained traction on social media for similar reasons.
Who is behind it?
The Feb. 28 economic blackout is an initiative by The People's Union USA, which describes itself as a "grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform."
The group says it has no political affiliation but is rather focused on uniting Americans against corporate greed.
The movement was founded by John Schwarz, who describes his movement as raising awareness about the ways the "system is rigged" against everyday Americans.
What is the economic blackout?
The Feb. 28 economic blackout calls on consumers to avoid all unnecessary purchases, either in-person or online, from midnight Thursday through midnight Friday.
"No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy," The People's Union USA website reads. "Nowhere!"
It further urges participants not to spend money on fast food, major retailers or gas, and to avoid using credit or debit cards to make nonessential purchases.
The blackout makes an exception for buying "essentials of absolutely necessary" — like medicine, food or emergency supplies — but urges consumers to make those purchases at small, local businesses.
Zoom in: The People's Union USA has other targeted economic actions planned for after the blackout.
These include weeklong blackouts against specific retailers, including Amazon, Nestlé and Walmart.
What is the goal?
The economic blackout is "about solidarity and sending a clear message: we have the power," the group's website states.
Schwarz echoed the sentiment in an Instagram video posted last week, saying the blackout is meant to push back against the notion that Americans have "no choice" but to accept the economic system.
"For our entire lives, they have told us we have no choice ... that we have to accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle to just to get by," he said.
"For one day, we are going to finally turn the tables," he added.
Our thought bubble, from Axios' Ben Berkowitz: Boycott threats regularly make headlines, but their impact is usually more optical than financial.
In fact, decades of research into boycotts suggest they often end up having a counterintuitively positive effect, as a larger, silent majority votes with their dollars by shopping instead of staying home.
In 2014, the #BoycottBlackFriday movement after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., did appear to have some short-term impact, as total sales during that key weekend fell versus 2013. But if there was an effect, it didn't last, as overall sales for the year's holiday season rose.
The Kremlin emphasized Tuesday that Russia had not dropped its opposition to peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, contradicting a claim that President Trump made a day earlier.
Why it matters: Trump is pushing to reach a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the three-year war. Peacekeeping forces are seen as a key component for any peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Driving the news: During a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron Monday, Trump told reporters that he had "specifically asked" Russian President Putin about the prospect of deploying European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine following a peace deal.
"He has no problem with it," Trump said of Putin's acceptance of the proposal.
When asked about Trump's claim Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov referred reporters to an earlier statement on the matter from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reported.
Lavrov told reporters last week that the deployment of peacekeeping troops from NATO countries would be unacceptable to Russia, and would be perceived as a "direct threat" to Russian sovereignty.
Citing Lavrov's previous comment on the issue, Peskov said he had "nothing to add" on the matter, per Reuters.
Instead, the Trump administration has pressed Ukraine to sign a minerals deal in a purported effort to secure a return on the U.S.'s wartime aid to in Ukraine.
In an interview Monday, Putin said he would be willing to allow the U.S. access to the rare earth minerals in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella canceled planned remarks at CPAC Friday, after ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon made a "gesture referring to Nazi ideology," according to a statement to French news agency Agence France-Presse.
Why it matters: Bardella's change of plans is the strongest rebuke yet of Bannon, who, during his remarks at the annual conservative conference made a gesture that appeared to mimic a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
"This is a lie … It's a wave … I acknowledged a crowd after the best speech @ CPAC," Bannon told Axios.
Bannon added that he sees Bardella as "gutless ... not tough enough to be a leader of France — he's a spokesmodel."
A CPAC representative did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Driving the news: "At this forum, (Thursday), while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers allowed himself, out of provocation, a gesture referring to Nazi ideology," Bardella said in a statement to AFP.
"As a result, I have taken the immediate decision to cancel my speech scheduled for this afternoon at the event."
The big picture: TheBannon incident comes about a month after Trump-ally Elon Musk also made a hand gesture that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute.
Despite blowback, Musk dismissed the criticisms, writing on X: "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she will propose constitutional reforms to crack down on foreigners involved in gun smuggling in the country.
Why it matters: The move came after the U.S. State Department formally announced it has designated eight drug cartels — including six in Mexico — as global terrorist organizations that pose a threat to national security.
The designations prompted worries in Mexico about the U.S. military crossing the border to target the cartels, AP reported.
Trump allies prior to his inauguration reportedly discussed a "soft invasion" of Mexico to target cartels with cross-border special forces operations or drone strikes.
Driving the news: Sheinbaum said at a press conference Thursday that the proposed reforms would shore up Mexico's sovereignty by ensuring foreign agents can't operate in Mexico without the permission and collaboration of the Mexican government, per AP.
The reforms would also include calling for the highest penalties to be applied to foreigners who are found guilty of smuggling and distributing guns.
Zoom out: The U.S. is a major conduit for the flow of weapons into Mexico each year, helping fuel gun violence in the country.
Earlier this month, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) introduced legislation aimed at curbing the supply of guns from the U.S. to Mexico.
Roughly 200,000 to 500,000 American-made guns are trafficked into Mexico each year, primarily from sources like unlicensed gun dealers and straw purchasers, they said.
Reality check: Updating the country's constitution is just a first step in a long road towards prosecuting offenders of gun smuggling.
The Mexican justice system has a large case backlog that can lead to delays in prosecutions. Statistics show that only about 40% of incarcerated people in Mexico have actually been convicted of a crime.
Mexico is threatening to sue Google over the tech giant's use of President Trump's "Gulf of America" (renamed from Gulf of Mexico) label on its maps.
Why it matters: It's the latest fallout over Trump's executive order to rename the body of water.
Driving the news: During a press conference Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum argued that Google's decision to change its map labels was "incorrect" because Trump's order only applied to the U.S.' continental shelf in the Gulf, CNN reported.
"What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump's decree...We do not agree with this," she said.
Mexico's foreign minister had sent Google a new letter regarding the issue.
"We will wait for Google's response and if not, we will proceed to court," Sheinbaum added, per AP.
Google did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Tuesday.
The big picture: Google began rolling out updated map labels last week to reflect the name change in official government sources.
Google Maps users in the U.S. will see "Gulf of America" over the body of water but people in Mexico will continue to see "Gulf of Mexico" on their maps.
Everywhere else around the world, users will see both names, denoted as "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)."
Reality check: The U.S. does not exclusively control the body of water and doesn't have full say over what it's officially named.
The U.S. has jurisdiction over roughly 46% of the Gulf, while Mexico controls 49% and Cuba 5%, per AP.
Already engulfed in a political firestorm, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) appeared on "Fox & Friends" alongside Trump administration border czar Tom Homan Friday morning.
Why it matters: Adams, who is facing calls for his removal from his fellow Democrats after receiving a legal lifeline from Trump's Department of Justice, publicly solidified his alignment with the new administration and pledged collaboration on its immigration crackdown.
Driving the news: Appearing together on "Fox & Friends" Friday, Adams and Homan touted their partnership.
Adams said the executive order would work toward "getting dangerous people off our streets."
The appearance followed an announcement from Adams Thursday that he had met with Homan and was working on implementing an executive order that would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) to operate at Rikers Island jail.
Adams said in an X post that the shift would allow ICE to assist in criminal investigations, particularly "those focused on violent criminals and gangs."
Adams was indicted last year on charges of bribery and fraud following a federal investigation into allegations that his campaign had illegally conspired with wealthy foreign businesspeople and Turkish officials to collect donations.
Adams' collaboration with Homan is also a litmus test for Adams' relationship with the Trump administration, after it ordered the case against him dropped, the New York Times noted.
The big picture: Adams has faced mounting pressure to resign for months.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) did not rule out the possibility of removing Adams from his post during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday.
Asked about the possibility of removal, Adams told "Fox and Friends" that Hochul "has her role, I have my role."
Elon Musk and the State Department pushed back on reports Thursday that the agency was slated to purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla Cybertrucks.
Why it matters: Musk, arguably the most powerful bureaucrat in the Trump administration, has faced mounting questions about his potential conflicts of interest while working inside the government.
As the head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), Musk is leading the Trump administration's efforts to radically reshape the federal government.
At the same time, Musk's companies — like SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink — receive lucrative government contracts.
Driving the news: Musk took to X early Thursday morning to refute the alleged contract, responding to a user who had posted about it.
"I'm pretty sure Tesla isn't getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least," he wrote.
A State Department official also denied the reports to Axios, saying that "no government contract has been awarded to Tesla or any other vehicle manufacturer to produce armored electric vehicles for the Department of State."
Zoom in: The Biden administration had explored interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles, but the plan never reached the stage of an official solicitation, the official said.
"The solicitation is on hold and there are no current plans to issue it," the official added.
State of play: The State Department's 2025 procurement forecast states that the administration is set to purchase $400 million worth of "armored electric vehicles."
The entry on the procurement forecast — which was initially published last December, before Trump took office — shows that it was edited Wednesday evening.
Yet a previous version of the forecast viewed by Axios showed an entry for the same amount listed as "Armored Tesla (Production Units)." The description appeared to point toward Tesla's steel-covered Cybertrucks.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The big picture: Musk, the world's richest man, is a bonafide Republican megadonor and gave at least $288 million to help elect Trump and other GOP candidates in the 2024 election.
Musk waved off questions about his potential conflicts of interest during a Tuesday press conference with Trump, touting the transparency of his actions heading up DOGE.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the House's DOGE subcommittee, called on Elon Musk to testify before the body during its first meeting Wednesday.
Why it matters: Stansbury delivered a blistering criticism of the new Department of Government Efficiency, accusing President Trump and DOGE head Musk of wielding the new department to break the law.
Driving the news: Stansbury said during the hearing she supported the goal of ensuring the government works better and more efficiently for Americans, but said lawmakers "can't just sit here today and pretend like everything is normal."
"While we're sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government," Stansbury said.
She went on to accuse Republicans of shielding Musk and Trump as they break the law and took aim at Vice President JD Vance for purportedly undermining the judiciary.
State of play: If Musk is as committed to transparency as he claims to be, he should testify before the subcommittee, Stansbury said.
"Come and testify in front of the American people under oath, because we want to know what you're up to," she said.
The big picture: The DOGE Subcommittee on Oversight is the congressional arm of the new department, and Stansbury had previously vowed to use her position on the committee to fight back against the dismantling of federal agencies.
In the first weeks of the new Trump administration, DOGE has swept through federal agencies, gutting programs and career civil servants in the name of cost cutting.
Eight of the federal agency watchdogs abruptly fired by President Trump last month filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging their terminations.
Why it matters: The group of inspectors general argue that their firings violated federal law and that they should be reinstated to their posts.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., joins a tsunami of other legal challenges that hope to stop Trump's bid to radically reshape the federal government.
Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general just days into his second term.
Driving the news: The lawsuit was brought by the former inspectors general of the Departments of Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and Agriculture, as well as the Small Business Administration.
The plaintiffs argued that their terminations violated federal statutes meant to protect them from interference in carrying out their "critical, non-partisan oversight duties."
This includes a 2022 law stipulating that the president must notify Congress at least 30 days before firing an inspector general and provide "substantive, case-specific rationale" for the decision.
The big picture: Calling their firings "unlawful and unjustified," the lawsuit noted that the Trump administration revoked the inspectors general's access to their government-issued phones, email accounts and computer systems, and even "physically disabled" them from entering the buildings where they worked.
The lawsuit calls on the court to declare their firings "legally ineffective" and allow them to remain the inspectors general of their respective agency "unless and until" Trump removes them in a way that complies with federal law.
Between the lines: Inspectors general are tasked with identifying fraud, waste and corruption and are intended to be "non-partisan officials."
The lawsuit disavowed Trump's claim that such firings are "common," instead noting that "since 1980, there has been a bipartisan consensus that it is improper for a new presidential administration to remove IGs en masse."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information throughout.
Alexander Vinnik, the Russian co-founder of a bitcoin exchange, was handed over to Russian authorities in Moscow on Thursday after being repatriated as part of a prisoner swap that freed American teacher Marc Fogel, a U.S. official told Axios.
Why it matters: President Trump has hailed the exchange as a "fair deal" after panning past prisoner exchanges with Russia as imbalanced or otherwise poorly negotiated.
The latest: The Trump administration released Vinnik as part of the exchange for Fogel, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Vinnik, the co-founder of the bitcoin exchange BTC-e, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was due to be sentenced this coming June.
Vinnik had been in U.S. custody in California.
Driving the news: Earlier Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to identify the Russian prisoner by name at a press briefing, though he confirmed a swap would occur, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The swap's order of events varies from typical prisoner exchanges, in which prisoners are released simultaneously, with their identities revealed at the same time, AP reported.
State of play: Fogel, 63, is from the Pittsburgh area and was a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
He was arrested in 2021 while he tried to enter Russia with a small amount of medical marijuana in his luggage. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Fogel arrived back in the U.S. Tuesday night.
Zoom out: Trump has been critical of prisoner exchanges in the past.
"Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals," Trump wrote, adding that offering other countries something in exchange set a "bad precedent."
He was also sharply critical of the Biden administration's prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner, which saw Russia receive a notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange.
Flashback: While Trump did manage to secure the release of some American detainees without an exchange during his first term, he also presided over at least four prisoner swaps, CNN reported.
Pope Francis denounced the Trump administration's plan to carry out mass deportations of migrants in a letter to U.S. bishops Tuesday, while appearing to take a direct jab at Vice President JD Vance.
Why it matters: Vance — a devout Catholic — has invoked Catholic theology to justify the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.
Driving the news: Pope Francis wrote in the letter that he has been following the "major crisis" in the U.S. concerning the mass deportations program.
While the pope acknowledged countries have the right to defend themselves and keep their communities safe, he urged all his followers "not to give in to narratives that discriminate" against migrants and refugees.
"The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness," he wrote.
The pope also drew a distinction between legal regulation of immigration and wholesale deportation. "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly," he wrote.
The big picture: The Trump administration has already taken a number of steps to curb immigration.
These include reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, aiming to end "birthright citizenship" for children born to undocumented immigrants, and allowing federal officials to arrest undocumented immigrants in "sensitive" spaces, like churches.
Zoom in: Vance recently defended the administration's actions by invoking on X the Catholic theological concept of "ordo amoris."
Translated from Latin, "ordo amoris" means"order of love" or "order of charity," AP reported.
Vance argued that the concept denotes a hierarchy of obligation — that one's responsibility to one's family is greater than the obligation to a "stranger who lives thousands of miles away."
"You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world," Vance posted, per AP.
Other Catholic figures, like Jesuit priest James Martin, pushed back on Vance's interpretation. "Jesus's fundamental message is that *everyone* is your neighbor," Martin wrote on X last month.
Pope Francis weighed in on the concept in his Tuesday letter.
"Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," Francis wrote.
"The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating ... on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception," he added.
A spokesperson for the Vice President did not immediately respond Tuesday to Axios' request for comment on the Pope's letter.
Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan hit back at the pope Tuesday, telling reporters that Francis "ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us," The Hill reported.
Zoom out: It's not the the first time Christian groups have rebuked the administration over its immigration policies.
A group of Quaker congregations filed a lawsuit against the administration in January over its policy to allow arrests at houses of worship and other sensitive spaces.
After Trump first took office, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde implored him to "have mercy" for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.
Why it matters: The speed at which USAID, the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid arm, has been gutted has stunned U.S. allies and humanitarian groups around the world.
The teardown of USAID, coupled with the administration's freeze on foreign aid, is posed to endanger millions of lives around the world and diminish U.S. influence.
Driving the news: Ranking member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and committee member Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) on Friday outlined the scope and goals of the probe in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the new acting administrator of USAID.
The letter accused the Trump administration of engaging in an "opaque and Orwellian effort to dismantle" USAID, noting the illegitimacy of eliminating the agency without Congressional authorization.
It also urged the administration to reverse course on its foreign aid freeze and to "restore the functions, leadership, and employees of USAID."
Zoom in: The letter requested that Rubio provide documented answers by Feb. 20 to a series of questions about Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's activities and the aid freeze.
This would include a "comprehensive explanation of the legal authorities" used by Musk and the DOGE team to dismantle USAID, as well as details about Musk and DOGE staffers' "federal employment status."
It also requested further details about the exemptions carved out of the foreign aid freeze, the criteria being used to determine which programs should be eliminated, and how the freeze has impacted different foreign aid programs.
The big picture: Both President Trump and Musk have railed against USAID, which has been targeted by Musk's DOGE, which is not an official government entity but has rushed through the federal bureaucracy looking for spending cuts.
Republicans have sought to portray USAID as overly-aligned with liberal values and ideologies.
Earlier this week it was announced that all direct hires at the agency, abroad and at home, would be placed on administrative leave by the end of Friday.
The Trump administration intends to only keep a few hundred employees on at the agency, a vast reduction from the more than 10,000 it previously employed, Reuters reported.
Why it matters: President Trump has moved to swiftly gut critical agencies in order to reshape the federal workforce and cut costs from foundational portions of the federal government.
Driving the news: While the Trump administration has targeted the National Weather Service's (NWS) parent agency, the NWS had the highest approval rating among the agencies respondents were surveyed about (76%).
Elon Musk's DOGE has set its sights on remaking the U.S.' air traffic control system, butmost Americans favorably view the Federal Aviation Administration (62%) and Transportation Security Administration (59%).
While disaster relief has become increasingly politicized, 55% of Americans said they favorably view the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
As Trump has sought to purge the FBI of agents who investigated Jan. 6 cases, 57% of Americans said they view the bureau favorably.
Zoom in: While the new administration could radically reshape food and vaccine safety, most Americans say they approve of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (63%) and Food and Drug Administration (61%).
State of play: Trump's overhaul of the federal bureaucracy has been wide-reaching and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Trump administration's widely criticized overhaul of the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid agency has drawn some international praise — from Russia and Iran.
Driving the news: Iran's government has seemingly welcomed the agency's overhaul and freezing U.S. foreign aid, with state media reports suggesting the moves will cut off support pro-democracy activists, AP reported.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Elon Musk — Trump's righthand man who has led the charge against USAID — for "trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat."
Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin praised the USAID's takedown as a "critical blow to globalism" in the right-wing outlet Arktos.
USAID was "aimed at the worldwide imposition of liberal democracy, market economics, and human rights, while dismantling sovereign states and overthrowing regimes capable of resisting this on a global scale," he added.
The big picture: USAID — the world's single largest humanitarian donor —has historically administered programs that fight disease outbreaks, reduce poverty and provide relief to people impacted by conflicts and natural disasters.
Since Trump returned to the White House, the agency was thrown into disarray after a funding freeze on foreign aid ground much of the humanitarian sector to a halt.
Trump, meanwhile, railed against USAID, saying the agency was run by "radical lunatics."
On Tuesday night it was announced that all direct hires at the agency, abroad and at home, would be placed on administrative leave by the end of Friday.
A U.S. federal judge on Monday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration's spending freeze.
Why it matters: District Judge Loren AliKhan expressed concern in her order that the Trump administration was still enforcing the spending freeze despite the temporary restraining order.
Catch up quick: The White House ordered a "temporary pause" on federal funding on Tuesday that prompted intense confusion and backlash.
AliKhan issued an initial temporary pause on the order last week, which was due to expire Monday.
The Office of Management and Budget rescinded the memo on Wednesday, following AliKhan's order. However, the White House said pulling back the memo didn't mean withdrawing the funding freeze.
Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's social media posts claiming the freeze was still in effect despite withdrawing the order were grounds for the lawsuit to continue.
What they're saying: AliKhan said in her order that plaintiffs had proven certain funding sources outside of executive order parameters were inaccessible even after the OMB rescinded its memo.
The government, AliKhan wrote, had "offered no rational explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance."
AliKhan added that the plaintiffs had proven that the injuries caused by the freeze were "sufficiently concrete" and "potentially catastrophic."
"Each day that the pause continues to ripple across the country is an additional day that Americans are being denied access to programs that heal them, house them, and feed them," she added.
The Trump administration has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for potential shut down, the latest in its broad and escalating push to radically reshape the federal government.
Why it matters: USAID is the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid arm and administers a wide array of programs around the world focused on fighting disease, reducing poverty and providing relief to people impacted by conflicts and natural disasters.
The U.S. government is the world's single largest humanitarian donor, per the United Nations.
The big picture: In the 2023 fiscal year, USAID disbursed roughly $44 billion of aid across 160 countries and regions around the world, per the agency's foreign assistance dashboard.
Ukraine was the top recipient of foreign assistance funds in FY 2023, with over $16 billion issued. Israel received more than $2.2 billion in disbursements, while Ethiopia and Jordan each received over $1 billion.
Other top recipients also included Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
State of play: From virtually the start of the new Trump administration, USAID's ability to carry out its work was thrown into disarray after a funding freeze on foreign aid ground much of the humanitarian sector to a halt.
Elon Musk, head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said Monday morning that President Trump had "agreed" to "shut" USAID down.
This followedreports that two senior USAID officials were placed on administrative leave after barring DOGE representatives from internal systems during a recent visit.
Trump himself has railed against USAID, telling reporters this weekend the agency was run by "radical lunatics."
Case in point: USAID's website and X account have both been taken down.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday announced new leadership and a potential restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),the agency that leads foreign aid programs around the world.
Why it matters:President Trump's administration appears poised to dramatically overhaul, or attempt to shutter, the critical foreign aid agency, in a move that Democrats are sounding the alarm over.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head ElonMusk said Monday that Trump had "agreed" to "shut" USAID down. Musk railedagainst the agency over the weekend, labeling it as corrupt and wasteful.
The latest: The State Department announced Monday that Rubio had been appointed as USAID's new the acting administrator.
In a letter to lawmakers from both parties Monday, Rubio accused USAID of having "conflicting, overlapping, and duplicative" activities with the State Department, which result in "discord in foreign relations," Punchbowl News reported.
Rubio said he had appointed Trump loyalist Peter Marocco to oversee a review of the agency and "potential reorganization," which he said could include eliminating or downsizing certain programs.
Catch up quick: Employees of the agency were barred from entering its headquarters on Monday, AP reported.
That came after two senior USAID officials were placed on administrative leave for barring DOGE representatives from internal systems during a recent visit.
Dozens of career officials were also put on administrative leave last week, the Washington Post reported, over accusations they tried to sidestep Trump's foreign aid freeze.
Here's what you need to know about the agency:
Why was USAID founded?
President John F. Kennedy founded USAID via executive order in 1961 to implement the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which CRS describes as the "cornerstone" of the country's foreign assistance programs.
USAID brought together several existing foreign assistance programs under one umbrella, per an archived version of the USAID website.
Building on the Marshall Plan, which assisted postwar Europe's recovery, USAID's early focus was on "technical and capital assistance programs," per its archived site.
Through the decades, it expanded its scope to promote "human needs" — like nutrition and education — as well as democracy and free markets.
What does USAID do?
Its workforce of 10,000 managed some $43 billion in appropriations and assisted approximately 130 countries with disaster relief and economic development in fiscal year 2023.
Thetop funding recipients included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health programs were the largest USAID funding sector since the 1990s, according to CRS.
USAID and its partners supported HIV and AIDs testing for more than 79.6 million people as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2019.
Health remained the top USAID sector until fiscal year 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humanitarian assistance surpassed health for a time and was then passed by governance in FY 2023, a result of U.S. support for Ukraine.
By the numbers: The over $40 billion USAID managed in FY 2023 was still less than 1% of the federal budget.
Zoom in: It's not just other nations that benefit from USAID assistance.
For example, the USAID Food for Peace Program, which provides emergency food assistance around the world, purchased 1.1 million metric tons of food from U.S. farmers of ranchers in fiscal year 2023.
What has Trump said about it?
Trump told reporters Sunday evening USAID was run by "a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out."
Responding to a report that two senior agency officials were put on leave after trying to stop DOGE reps from accessing restricted spaces, Musk wrote on X, "USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die."
Zoom out: The State Department ordered a freeze on all U.S. foreign assistance funded through the State Department and USAID earlier this month to review whether programs are "efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda" in accordance with an order from Trump.
After widespread confusion, Secretary Marco Rubio signed a waiver Tuesday allowing "existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs" to continue work.
Yes, but: In the wake of the freeze, USAID partners and contractors were directed to halt work supplying critical drugs treating HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, Reuters reported.
And in Pakistan, officials were ordered to cease working on several projects, including reconstructing police stations damaged by flooding, NPR reported.
What we're watching: Trump has yet to make an official statement on USAID's future but told reporters Sunday the administration would "make a decision."
Democratic lawmakers, after reports Trump was considering merging the agency with the State Department, urged the administration in a letter to the USAID acting director to respect USAID's independence and life-saving work.
The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
The Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid threatens to derail global efforts to fight disease outbreaks, counter terrorism, and provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict.
Why it matters: President Trump's desire to shape an "America first" foreign policy — which was also a focus of his first term — could alter America's posture on the world stage and impact communities around the world.
The U.S. government is the single largest humanitarian donor in the world, according to the United Nations.
The foreign aid freeze undermines the U.S.' standing as a "reliable and credible partner" for its allies when they face crises, Michelle Strucke, director of the Humanitarian Agenda and Human Rights initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Axios.
Driving the news: The State Department issued the freeze on all foreign assistance for 90 days last week, effectively implementing an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office.
The freeze also includes a review of all federal assistance programs to ensure they align with Trump's foreign policy agenda.
The only initial exemptions were for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt were exempted from the freeze, per AP.
Zoom in: Amid widespread confusion and upheaval across the humanitarian sector, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had signed an additional waiver for "life-saving humanitarian assistance."
The waiver signed Tuesday claimed that the exemptions would apply to "core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance."
It specified that it would not include areas targeted by the Trump administration, such as "activities that involve abortions, family planning conferences … gender or DEI ideology programs, transgender surgeries, or other non-life saving assistance."
Between the lines: Despite the State Department's efforts to clarify the terms of the freeze, confusion persists among international aid workers.
Many humanitarian organizations are still seeking clarity on what qualifies as "life-saving" assistance, the Washington Post reported.
Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, an advocacy organization focused on HIV treatment that collaborates with groups impacted by the freeze, told Axios the new waiver was "meaningless" and that "massive disruptions are still in effect and threatening literally millions of lives."
"People are right to be confused, because there's only been a two paragraph communication," she said, denouncing the lack of guidance of how to implement the waiver in practice.
Even once a guidance is issued, the chaos is likely to continue. "When you trigger massive ... programs to fire their staff, they can't start back up again overnight," Russell noted.
The State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
What is foreign assistance?
Foreign assistance is a conduit for helping the U.S. achieve its foreign policy goals.
This foreign aid is often distributed by the government in the form of grants to support projects implemented by NGOs, businesses, foreign governments, or even U.S. government agencies, per a Nov. 2024 report from the Congressional Research Service.
Foreign assistance can also come in the form of direct budget assistance — essentially, cash — to foreign governments and multilateral organizations, like the UN, per the report.
By the numbers: The U.S. spent roughly $70 billion in foreign assistance in the 2022 fiscal year, the latest year for which comprehensive data is available, the CRS report stated.
This accounted for about 1% of the total federal budget.
What kinds of humanitarian aid is included?
U.S. foreign assistance is critical to sustaining a plethora of humanitarian and relief efforts around the world.
In 2024, the U.S. provided more than 40% of the UN's humanitarian aid budget.
Foreign assistance grants are also critical to sustaining the work done by public health organizations and demining organizations.
The big picture: In the wake of the freeze, public health partners and contractors that work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were ordered to haltthe supply of critical drugs for the treatment of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as part of the freeze, Reuters reported.
This includes programs like the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created by former President George W. Bush.
The State Department's backpedaling with the issuance of a humanitarian aid waiver has still led to disruptions for PEPFAR, with many health clinics in southern Africa remaining closed amid the confusion, the New York Times reported.
For some clinics, there has been "absolute chaos" around the dispensing of HIV-related medications and the processing of blood samples, Russell noted.
Former USAID official Atul Gawande warned in an X post Saturday that the freeze would do "serious damage to the world and the U.S.," noting that the freeze would impact global efforts to fight Marburg virus, monitor bird flu outbreaks, and eradicate polio.
What else does foreign assistance cover?
Some U.S. foreign assistance falls outside of the scope of traditional humanitarianism.
Charles Lister, director of the Middle East Institute's Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs, pointed out in an X post Monday that the freeze would also impact security at camps in northeast Syria where ISIS members and their families are held.
In the wake of the aid freeze, some camp guards stopped showing up for work. The State Department quickly worked to push through an exemption and resume funding Tuesday, Lister posted on X.
"We narrowly escaped disaster and it just shows this team has no idea what they're doing," an unnamed U.S. official told Politico.
State of play: Counterterrorism is an "objective of a significant amount of U.S. foreign assistance," Strucke told Axios.
Foreign assistance can also include funding for counternarcotics operations in places like Colombia, an initiative that the first Trump administration prioritized, she added.
Cutting off funding for such operations could lead to increased drug trafficking, including into the U.S., she noted.
For Ukraine, while the freeze doesn't impact U.S. military aid, it could hit funding for humanitarian assistance, such as for programs that promote accountability for Russian war crimes, Strucke noted.
