The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Elon Musk for making a series of Nazi-related jokes on X, calling it "inappropriate and offensive to make light" of the "singularly evil" Holocaust.
Why it matters: Just days earlier, the ADL had defended Musk over an awkward hand gesture during an inauguration event that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute — saying "all sides should give one another a bit of grace."
"This is a delicate moment. It's a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety," the ADL, an organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism, wrote on X.
"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge."
In the days since, Musk has mocked media outlets and liberals who fanned the controversy, accusing them of a "dirty tricks" campaign to smear him over his support for Trump.
On Thursday morning, Musk rattled off a series of puns referencing prominent Nazis like chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler.
"Bet you did nazi that coming," Musk wrote on X along with a laughing emoji.
What they're saying: "Making inappropriate and highly offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust only serve to minimize the evil and inhumanity of Nazi crimes, denigrate the suffering of both victims and survivors and insult the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah," the ADL said in a statement.
Flashback: Almost exactly one year ago to the day, Musk visited the former Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland, as part of an apology tour for endorsing an antisemitic post on X.
Musk later said "it might be literally the worst and dumbest post I've ever done."
President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is "blatantly unconstitutional," a federal judge said Thursday, temporarily blocking it nationwide, multipleoutlets reported.
The big picture: The decision came a day after the presidentoffered his first defense of the order, which seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents and undocumented immigrants.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Trump told the World Economic Forum that he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon in order to discuss a possible peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Ending the war is one of Trump's primary foreign policy objectives. He said recently that he'd like to secure a deal in the next six months, after previously promising a deal on "day one."
What they're saying: "Our effort to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway. It is so important to get that done. Millions of soldiers are getting killed. Millions of Russians and millions of Ukrainians. It has to end," Trump said in his video address to Davos attendees.
State of play: Trump said Ukraine wants to make a deal to end the war and stressed Russia needs to come to the table.
On Thursday, several hours before Trump's speech, Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin didn't see any "new elements" in what Trump was proposing, but that Putin was ready for "an equal and mutually respectful dialogue."
Peskov said of Trump's rhetoric: "He likes these methods, at least he liked them during his first presidency."
Between the lines: Trump has been placing most of the onus for a deal on Russia since taking office, after repeatedly urging Ukraine to make peace during the campaign.
"He called me," Trump said about the call, after the Chinese government claimed it took place at Trump's request.
Trump said he hopes China will use its influence with Putin to help stop the war.
The big picture: Trump said he wants to push for "denuclearization" of the world and claimed that towards the end of his first term in office he discussed this with Putin.
"He liked the idea of cutting down... Putin wanted to do it. China would have joined. It would have been an unbelievable thing for the planet," Trump said.
Reality check: China — which has far smaller stockpiles than the U.S. or Russia but has been building them up — repeatedly rejected overtures from the first Trump administration to negotiate on arms control, while several Cold War era arms control agreements with Moscow actually ended on Trump's watch.
What to watch: Trump's envoy for Russia-Ukraine diplomacy Keith Kellogg is expected to travel to Europe in February to discuss the issue with U.S. allies, European diplomats said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called a last-minute closed-door meeting on Thursday to hash out the party's internal fight over engaging with Republicans.
Why it matters: Schumer has put himself right in the middle of his caucus' tug-of-war over immigration. More tough votes are coming, including over Israel and trans rights.
Schumer is juggling two different parts of his caucus. One wants to engage with the GOP on some of its priorities. The other thinks the party should fight back against the MAGA agenda.
Behind the scenes, Schumer was hands off in dealing with the GOP's first immigration crackdown bill, letting Democrats engage with Republicans on the bill but ultimately voting against the legislation on the floor.
Senate Democrats on both sides of the immigration issue told Axios that Schumer needs to find a better strategy in dealing with Republican bills which fracture the party.
Between the lines: Sources around Schumer argue the Democratic leader is good at providing cover for both flanks of his party.
But multiple Senate Democrats, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about the caucus, said Schumer should do more to give them leverage in negotiations over the GOP bills.
Between the lines: The meeting on Thursday will give Senate Democrats a chance to air the grievances ahead of a battle over proposed sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Republicans have prioritized in their first weeks in power.
The ICC issue is another which splits Democrats — some believe the court's arrest warrants for top Israeli officials are unjust, while others believe the Israeli government should be held accountable for the war in Gaza.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) started the process of getting the bill through the chamber on Thursday.
As Democrats lobbed attacks over Project 2025 last year, Trump said he had "no idea who is behind" it. He also said he disagreed with some details of the blueprint, calling them "absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."
"As President Trump has said many times, he had nothing to do with Project 2025," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement to Axios this week.
A review of Trump's early executive orders shows clear parallels with Project 2025 on key proposals, such as dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; loosening environmental regulations; and ending certain international agreements.
Trump orders mirror Project 2025 recommendations
Project 2025 called for rescinding a 1965 executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in order to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Trump nixed Johnson's effort by signing an executive order dashing decades of diversity and affirmative action policy in the federal government, stripping the OFCCP of one of its core authorities.
The bedrock Civil Rights order barred federal contractors from employment discrimination and required them to take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity "based on race, color, religion, and national origin."
Trump targeted the OFCCP in his executive order, saying it must stop promoting diversity and affirmative action.
Zoom in: Project 2025 also recommended the repeal of executive order 14020, which Biden signed to establish the White House Gender Policy Council. Trump rescinded the Biden order on day one.
Trump also signed an executive order declaring there are "two sexes, male and female" and that "sex" is not a synonym for gender identity — echoing a section of the Heritage Foundation's plan.
Project 2025 says the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary "should never conflate sex with gender identity or sexual orientation" in anti-discrimination policy statements and "should proudly state that men and women are biological realities."
He also rescinded Biden-era protections allowing transgender Americans to serve in the military, a throwback to his first term that Project 2025 also called for.
Project 2025 urgedthe expansion of oil and gas drilling in Alaska, noting "national energy security interests in the region including rare earths, oil, and natural gas."
Trump signed an executive order promoting the use of "Alaska's vast lands and resources" on his first day in office.
Additionally, Project 2025 echoed Trump's pledge to eliminate what he called Biden's "electric vehicle mandate," which Trump fulfilled with a day-one executive order.
The plan also called for the repealing a Biden-era executive order promoting offshore wind energy development, which it said was "being used to advance an agenda to close vast areas of the ocean to commercial activities."
Trump on day one paused offshore wind leasing in federal waters.
Project 2025 immigration, refugee policies
One of Trump's day one executive orders called for troops to be sent the southern border, including the National Guard.
That mirrors Project 2025's proposal for "use of active-duty military personnel and National Guardsmen to assist in arrest operations along the border."
Additionally, Project 2025 suggested that addressing the influx of migrants at the southern border would necessitate the "indefinite curtailment of the number of USRAP refugee admissions."
Trump signed an order Monday suspending U.S. Refugee Admissions Program resettlements "until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States."
Paris Climate, WHO and Schedule F executive orders
Zoom out: Trump also reinstated several policies from his first term that Project 2025 wanted reinstated.
He signedorders to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO). Project 2025 called for him to again leave the Paris agreement and withdraw from WHO.
Project 2025 recommended reinstating Trump's Schedule F order — and it was. Trump signed an order Monday that effectively reclassifies certain federal workers as political appointees and makes it easier to fire federal employees deemed to be disloyal.
Trump executive orders not in Project 2025
Yes, but: Trump also took steps Project 2025 did not explicitly mention, like declaring an energy emergency and attempting to end birthright citizenship.
There are scores of recommendations in the Heritage Foundation plan, like outlawing pornography, that Trump hasn't touched so far.
President Trump said in a virtual address at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that he will mandate the Federal Reserve lower interest rates imminently, a threat that undermines the Federal Reserve's political independence.
Why it matters: In his first major speech since the inauguration, Trump re-upped pressure on the central bank — a frequent feature of his first term, though it had previously been rare for presidents to comment on Fed policy.
The Fed — led by Jerome Powell, who Trump first nominated — makes its borrowing costs decisions independent of the White House.
Any sense of political interference in its interest rate decision-making process would roil financial markets.
What they're saying: "I'll demand that interest rates drop immediately— and likewise, they should be dropping all over the world," Trump said before an audience of global business leaders and government officials in Davos, Switzerland.
While Trump did not attend the conference in person, his presence was felt all week. Global leaders, particularly those in Europe, worried about the impact Trump's policies might have on the global economy.
For his part, Powell has lauded the importance of the Fed's political independence.
"We're supposed to achieve maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of all Americans and keep out of politics completely," Powell said last month at a conference hosted by the New York Times.
He said he was not concerned about the risk that the Fed could lose its independence.
Driving the news: The Fed has already lowered interest rates by a full percentage point since last September after raising borrowing costs sharply to wrangle inflation.
While down from its peak, inflation has taken longer than anticipated to return to the Fed's 2% target. Officials signaled fewer rate cuts this year than previously thought as it appeared inflation might be higher for longer.
The intrigue: Trump's own policies might prevent interest rates from lowering further.
Some Fed officials fretted that Trump's tariffs and hardline immigration policies could reignite inflation — and is one reason why they anticipated fewer rate cuts this year.
The Fed will begin a two-day policy meeting next week. Financial markets widely anticipate rates will be left unchanged.
In his speech, Trump played up his plans to impose tariffs on goods produced outside the United States.
"My message to every business in the world is very simple: come make your products in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth," Trump said.
"But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff," he added.
Of note: Trump said he would tell members of OPEC, the oil cartel that includes Saudi Arabia, to lower energy costs.
"You got to bring it down, which frankly, I'm surprised they didn't do before the election," Trump said.
President Trump celebrated the start of his administration Thursday while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, lauding his agenda while taking digs at former President Biden.
Why it matters: Trump vowed this week to usher in a "golden age" in the U.S. andimmediately issued a flurry of executive orders reshaping the country's immigration and environmental policies, civil rights protections and federal workforce.
Driving the news: "What the world has witnessed in the past 72 hours is nothing less than a revolution of common sense," Trump told the gathering business leaders and European officials in Davos.
Recapping his executive orders, Trump claimed his administration had accomplished more in less than four days since taking officethan other administrations had done in four years.
Trump said his administration was tasked with fixing the "disasters" of the Biden administration, adding that his predecessor had "totally lost control of what was going on in our country."
Zoom in: Trump also outlined some of his goals for his term.
The president said he plans to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to "bring down the cost of oil" and that once oil prices begin falling he will "demand that interest rates drop immediately."
He will also ask all NATO members to raise their defense spending to 5% of their GDP. Just over half of NATO members currently meet the 2% spending target.
Trump also pledged to lower the corporate tax rate down to 15% — from the current 21% — for companies that "make your product in the U.S."
Trump also repeated his pledge to soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Economic orthodoxy is out. Rule-busting and experimentation are in. That's a key takeaway from this week's gathering of top executives and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Why it matters: Economic mini-experiments are happening in nations big and small as government officials embrace tariffs, protectionism, anti-immigration and other policies.
The goal is to invigorate economic growth after tried-and-true policies have failed, despite warnings from mainstream economists that such approaches will damage the economy.
However, the conventional wisdom around the economic benefits of free trade and a more interconnected world became that for a reason — and risks abound.
Driving the news: "My message to business is simple: Come make your product in America, and we will give you the lowest tax rate on Earth. But if you don't make the product here, you will have to pay a tariff," President Trump told the gathering in a virtual appearance — a reminder that the world's largest economy is led by a figure who rejects the mainstream economic view that tariffs are harmful.
What they're saying: Top executives may not love the prospect of big tariffs but say they believe the set of policy changes on the way will be good for the economy on net.
"Lower regulatory burden will result in higher profit margins, will then allow us to manage the tariff burden differently," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview with Axios on Thursday, so long as tariffs are used "in moderation."
"We absorbed the tariffs put in during the first Trump administration and they never came off. Ten years later, we're talking about outsized economic growth relative to trend and relative to the rest of the world," Moynihan said.
Or as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon put it to CNBC on Wednesday when asked about tariffs, "If it's a little inflationary but it's good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it."
The intrigue: For the second year in a row, Argentine President Javier Milei gave a special address at Davos criticizing mainstream economic thought.
"I say to all global leaders, it is time to break free of the script," Milei said. "The truth is that there is something badly mistaken about the ideas that have been promoted through forums such as this one."
"It is essential to break these ideological chains if we want to usher in a new golden age," he added, borrowing a phrase from Trump's inaugural address.
What to watch: European leaders face a harsh reality about their economy: Take a new approach, or fall even further behind after its yearslong slog.
Officials in Germany are debating whether to upend a longtime debt rule enshrined in their constitution to jumpstart the stagnant economy.
Speaking in Davos, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed to expand borrowing to invest in infrastructure — an idea that helped tank the government last year.
The nation's top central banker backed the idea, telling a German newspaper that the longstanding debt rule has worked well. "But now we live in a world of tectonic change and we have to address that. ... We have to start thinking outside the box."
When nations raise economic barriers as tools of foreign policy, it could lead to a meaningful economic cost, a report out Thursday from WEF and consultancy Oliver Wyman finds.
State of play: The report examines the likely consequences if world leaders continue their march toward greater use of sanctions, export controls, tariffs and other tools of statecraft that create bigger economic barriers between nations.
In particular, it looks at the risk of falling into an increasingly bifurcated world, with separate financial systems for China and Russia versus the West.
By the numbers: Financial system fragmentation — dividing the world into fully separate blocs — would reduce global GDP by up to 5%, or $5.7 trillion a year, the report finds.
The hit would be disproportionately felt in smaller emerging economies, which could see GDP losses of up to 11%.
Between the lines: In the United States, the use of sanctions as a geopolitical tool has ramped up steadily for two decades, across administrations. Trump imposed tariffs in his first term in office that the Biden administration kept in place.
The last many years have been, in effect, a one-way ratchet toward a world with more barriers to the flow of money, goods and people.
This has made countries with which the U.S. has hostile relationships more eager to develop financial networks of their own, even at a cost of efficiency.
The bottom line: "We're not saying that these type of economic statecraft tools shouldn't be used," Daniel Tannebaum, an author of the report and partner at Oliver Wyman, tells Axios, "but that they should be used smartly and to ensure no unintended consequences to the global economy."
Why it matters: Trump's desire to dismantlediversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government's employment practices could set the tone for private companies nationwide to do the same.
Trump's executive order targeting DEI practices undid a whole host of previous orders that sought to prohibit discrimination in the workplace. Among the landmark pieces of legislation were anti-discrimination rules enacted by President Lyndon Johnson in the Civil Rights era.
What is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act?
Signed by Johnson in 1965, Executive Order 11246, mandated government contractors to give equal opportunity to people of color and women in recruitment, hiring, training and other employment practices.
It prohibited employment discrimination and called on federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure employees are treated equally, "without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."
Johnson signed the act just a year after signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Congress later expanded on the executive order in the Equal Opportunity Employment Act of 1972, increasing the number of employees covered by the workplace protections and requiring state and local governments to follow the rules outlined.
What does Trump's executive order say?
Trump's expansive executive order states that "Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 ... is hereby revoked."
The executive order claims that both the private and public sectors "have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences," and that these DEI practices "can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation."
It noted that federal contractors could continue complying with the act for the next 90 days.
Caveat: Trump's executive order targets the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces Executive Order 11246.
It orders the OFCCP to "immediately cease" promoting diversity, holding federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for affirmative action practices, and "allowing or encouraging" those same entities "to engage in workforce balancing" on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion and nation of origin.
What's been the response?
Trump's executive order has already sparked outcry from civil rights leaders and advocacy groups.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are aligned with American values," National Urban League president Marc H. Morial told Axios. "They are about uniting us, not dividing us. Efforts to paint DEI as a preference program are nothing more than campaigns of smear and distortion."
Judy Conti, government affairs director of the National Employment Law Project, slammed Trump's executive order in a statement Wednesday.
"This is not a return to so-called 'meritocracy.' Rather, it's an attempted return to the days when people of color, women, and other marginalized people lacked the tools to ensure that they were evaluated on their merits," Conti said.
Editor's note: The story and headline have been corrected to note that Johnson's executive order was revoked by Trump (not the Equal Opportunity Employment Act signed by Congress).
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, standing behind a podium bearing the Seal of the President of the United States, on Monday twice gave what scholars, journalists and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
It doesn't seem to have done him (or his company Tesla) any visible harm.
Why it matters: Musk shrugged off accusations of Nazi symbolism as "dirty tricks," laughingly thanking the Anti Defamation League after they said it was merely "an awkward gesture."
His reaction only served to further inflame much of the glee with which the sign was received within the far right.
Context: Musk has been making inroads into the far right for some time, endorsing the hard-right AfD in Germany, failing to stop the posting or amplification of pro-Nazi content on his social media site X, and responding to an antisemitic post on X as "the actual truth."
Musk apologized, saying "it might be literally the worst and dumbest post I've ever done," and went on an apology tour to Auschwitz.
Follow the money: Financial markets have been bidding up Tesla stock as Musk has cemented his bonds to President Trump.
On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed largely unchanged from their previous levels, indicating that in the eyes of the market, Musk did no harm to his position.
The stock is up 65% since Trump's election, far outpacing peers and the market.
Between the lines: Steve Bannon, a self-appointed avatar of alt-right America, has called Musk "evil" and wants him removed from the White House.
Musk's body language (regardless of his intent), insofar as it gains him the support of Bannon's base, will help neutralize that threat.
The bottom line: Musk seems to have roughly the same degree of control over his right arm as Dr. Strangelove.
He also seems be just as central to the inner workings of the U.S. government.
President Trump's order to revoke what he calls the "EV mandate" gives automakers a welcome reprieve from regulatory hurdles — but could make it harder for them to compete on a global scale with Chinese rivals.
Why it matters: The rise of lower-cost Chinese manufacturers is an existential threat to U.S. car companies that are already in the midst of a once-in-a-century transformation.
Trump's policies, while meant to help the domestic industry, could leave it fighting China globally with one hand behind its back.
Driving the news: Just hours after taking office Monday, Trump signed a broad energy-focused directive that includes a plan to "eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate" — ostensibly to give consumers more choices.
Trump revoked a 2021 executive order from President Biden that aimed to make 50% of new vehicle sales electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.
He also halted distribution of unspent government funds for EV charging stations and said the U.S. would terminate the EPA waiver that allows California and 11 other blue states to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035.
Not specifically mentioned, but also likely to end: $7,500 tax credits for EV buyers and sharply stricter rules on tailpipe emissions that would necessitate more EVs starting in 2027.
What they're saying: Industry leaders loved Trump's unwinding of prescriptive policies that they say distort the U.S. market.
"Artificial government mandates and subsidies are not working," Toyota told Axios in a statement.
John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, cited a mismatch between EV demand and sales targets built into current regulations.
"There's a saying in the auto business: You can't get ahead of the customer," he said.
Between the lines: Automakers aren't thrilled if EV tax breaks go away, but the impact is small since only about 15 models qualify.
They're more worried about defending the far richer production tax credits for EV and battery manufacturing in the U.S., which are worth billions of dollars and critical to making EVs profitably.
They're waiting to see if Trump's administration rewrites the tax credits' guidance or otherwise makes the credits difficult to access.
"Many of our plants in the Midwest that have converted to EVs depend on the production credit," Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters at the recent Detroit auto show. "We would have built those factories in other places, but we didn't ... It changed the math for a lot of investments."
Zoom out: Regardless of what happens with U.S. policy, however, the auto industry is a global one.
EVs are coming — much sooner in other parts of the world.
If the U.S. wants to be a global leader, automakers must somehow match their lower-cost Chinese competitors, whose head-snapping growth is already upending the industry.
Carmakers in China are heavily supported by government subsidies and most of the EV battery supply chain is based there.
That gives companies like BYD, Geely and SAIC huge cost advantages that they've leveraged through global exports.
Chinese cars aren't sold in the U.S., and a newly enacted ban on software from China will likely keep it that way.
But Chinese brands are rapidly expanding across Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Even in Mexico, one in five cars is now made in China.
State of play: For the rest of the industry, that's going to require further belt-tightening, more innovation and increased collaboration to help shoulder the investment burden of new technologies.
Ford has a "skunkworks" project under way in California to develop a new low-cost EV platform. The first model, a medium-sized pickup truck, will debut in 2027.
General Motors is building a vertical EV supply chain to lower costs and control risks, and is also partnering with Hyundai for better global purchasing clout.
Alliances are popping up everywhere: including Volkswagen's investment in Rivian and Honda's plan to merge with Nissan and Mitsubishi.
"One of the reasons we're so committed to making our business more efficient is because we can't count on government actions to save our business," General Motors CEO Mary Barra told me onstage at an Automotive Press Association event in December.
And Ford's Farley told reporters: "We have to get our company fully fit to compete globally with the Chinese OEMs."
The bottom line: Taking regulatory pressure off carmakers isn't going to help that effort.
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn would the "clear frontrunner" in the 2026 GOP primary for governor if she decided to run, Donald Trump's longtime pollster tells Axios.
Why it matters: The fact that Tony Fabrizio is polling for Blackburn indicates that she's seriously thinking about leaving the U.S. Senate next year in a bid for the governor's mansion in Nashville.
Axios first reported Blackburn's interest in switching offices earlier this month.
Zoom in: Fabrizio recently surveyed Tennessee Republicans on their early views about next year's GOP gubernatorial primary. The winner will be the odds-on favorite to win the general election in the deep-red state.
Several other Republicans are considering a run for the office.
In theoretical head-to-head matchups, Fabrizio said, Blackburn would have a significant advantage over U.S. Rep. John Rose.
Blackburn has a favorability rating of 82% among GOP primary voters and just 12% view her unfavorably, Fabrizio wrote in a polling memo obtained by Axios.
Blackburn, a Trump loyalist, has an even higher job approval rating among that group: 84%.
"This poll is evidence of Marsha Blackburn's strength in Tennessee because of her conservative record of delivering for the people ... and that if she decides to run for governor, she will win," Blackburn spokesperson Abbi Sigler said.
Note: Fabrizio, Lee & Associates conducted a statewide survey of 800 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee from Jan. 13-16, 2025. The margin of sampling error at the 95% confidence interval is ± 3.46 percentage points.
Immigrants and advocacy groups nationwide are scrambling to prepare for the waves of raids President Trump has promised under his plan to deport millions of people unauthorized to stay in the U.S.
Why it matters: Confusion and persistent rumors about how the raids will be carried out — and what will happen to those detained by immigration agents — are leading some anxious immigrants to refuse to go to work or send their children to schools, the groups say.
State of play: Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said his group received 400 calls to its hot line on Monday alone, compared to 800 calls in January before Trump's inauguration.
The New Mexico-based immigrant rights advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido said it's launching a "Know Your Rights" campaign around the state to help immigrants.
Other groups are handing out cards to immigrants that advise them to not allow federal agents into their homes without a warrant. Some groups are preparing an army of lawyers to jump into immigration cases.
The intrigue: Denver's public schools are among several districts bracing for possible immigration raids on students. They've directed principals to lock down campuses if federal immigration agents come knocking.
Some Chicago restaurants are keeping I-9 documents and other worker verification paperwork ready in case of visits by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Eater reports.
Chicago's police department said in a statement it "will not assist or intervene in civil immigration enforcement," but "as always, we will continue to enforce the law if a crime occurs."
Trump officials have designated Chicago and other Democrat-run cities as targets of the deportation plan.
"Unfortunately, part of the goal of this administration is to try to use fear tactics [so] that people go into hiding and maybe people would be deterred and actually leave the country," Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association told reporters Tuesday.
Zoom in: Trump advisers initially indicated that ICE would first focus on noncitizens convicted of crimes.
But the overall plan to crack down on illegal immigration remains unclear — and scattered reports of ICE agents raiding big-city restaurants have many immigrant communities, and business owners, on edge.
Between the lines: Trump has said he favors using the military to help round up immigrants — a move that civil liberties advocates warn would be unlawful.
The advocates have begun a series of lawsuits fighting Trump's plans, specifically against his order to end birthright citizenship.
Officials in 22 states have gone to court to challenge Trump's push to end birthright citizenship — a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. An estimated 300,000 babies are born to undocumented parents in the U.S. each year.
Legal specialists say Trump's executive orders on immigration suggest that the president's team is better prepared for challenges to its crackdown on immigration than Trump's first administration was.
They say several of the orders are written in a way that could insulate the administration from certain legal tactics challenging Trump's plans.
Some orders, for example, call for a study of an issue and reports to be completed before new actions are taken. The slower approach could build a stronger legal basis for future court decisions.
"What we're seeing with a second Trump administration is already a recognition of some of the experience of the first Trump administration," Doris Meissner of the Migration Policy Institute told reporters.
"You can see just by the number of actions that have been prepared and signed within 24 hours how much work and effort behind the scenes has been placed on these executive orders."
The other side: Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, tells Axios that those trying to keep undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are swimming "against the tide."
"Radical leftists can ... reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda," Fields said.
"These lawsuits are nothing more than an extension of the left's resistance — and the Trump administration is ready to face them in court."
President Trump's threats of retribution are rapidly materializing in policies across the U.S. government, an early warning to Trump critics that bygones will not be bygones.
Why it matters: Trump is flexing his vast new powers to target what he's described as "the enemies from within" — enforcing loyalty tests, purging career officials and attempting to rewrite the history of the last eight years.
Trump has at times downplayed his thirst for revenge — but his first moves back in office suggest resentment against Democrats, former allies, prosecutors and the media will be a driving force in his second term.
"For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution," the president promised supporters on the campaign trail.
Zoom in: Some of Trump's acts of vengeance this week have been petty and personal.
On Day 1as president, he revoked the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter in 2020 saying the Hunter Biden laptop scandal carried "classic earmarks" of a Russian disinformation campaign.
On Day 2, he publicly fired thousands of Biden presidential council appointees, including former Joints Chief of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Biden-supporting celebrity chef José Andrés.
Within hours of taking office, Trump revoked Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton, who has been targeted for assassination by Iran.
He pardoned about 1,500 supporters convictedor charged in the Jan. 6 Capitolriot, including hundreds who violently attacked the police officers protecting the building.
Trump's new FCC chair plans to reinstate complaints against ABC, CBS and NBC for allegedly biased coverage, which the former Democratic chair had dismissed as a partisan attempt to "curtail freedom of the press."
The big picture: In his 2023 book, Trump's ultra loyalist nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, compiled a list of "government gangsters"he saidshould be targeted for sabotaging Trump's first presidency.
Even with Patel's confirmation in flux, there are clear indications that the second Trump administration will channel his aggressive approach to rooting out the so-called "Deep State."
At least 15 senior Justice Department officials have been removed or reassigned, including one who played a key role in the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 as prosecutors sought evidence that Trump had mishandled classified documents.
Between the lines: In his final days in office, Biden pardoned Milley, Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney and members of his own family as a precautionary measure against the retribution Trump had telegraphed.
Trump and his allies have harshly criticized Biden, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested Wednesday that House Republicans may investigate the circumstances of the pardons.
Johnson also announced a new subcommittee that would continue investigating "the false narratives peddled by" the Jan. 6 committee — a sign Trump will have allies on Capitol Hill as he pursues his revenge tour.
"I went through four years of hell by this scum we had to deal with," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity when asked if the attorney general should investigate his enemies. "It's really hard to say they shouldn't have to go through it also."
The Trump administration, seeking to stamp out federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, is calling on government employees to snitch on any colleagues that continue to follow such policies.
Driving the news: In a series of form letters sent to government departments Wednesday, President Trump's acting agency chiefs threatened "adverse consequences" for anyone still doing work related to DEI initiatives in defiance of a Trump executive order.
The letters followed an order from the new administration directing agencies to close their DEI offices and place those staffers on paid leave by 5pm ET Wednesday, in advance of being laid off.
The big picture: DEI guidelines — which in one way or another have been part of the U.S. government's hiring practices for six decades to try to ensure equality and counter generations of racial bias — were targeted by Trump during the presidential campaign.
Trump and many Republicans maintain that DEI programs lower hiring standards and promote bias against whites, among other things.
Zoom in: The snitch letters sent to employees of the departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, NASA and other agencies. The letters told employees they have 10 days to report anyone continuing to do DEI work.
The letters asks people to consider recent "contract description or personnel position" changes that may be referring to DEI work.
"We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language," the letters to DHS and VA staffers say.
"These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination," the letters said.
Catch up quick: Besides signing an executive order rolling back DEI programs, Trump put a freeze on federal hiring and is moving to strip thousands of civil servants of their employment protections.
Freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) will introduce his first piece of legislation on Thursday — a bill that would significantly restrict access to asylum.
Why it matters: Moreno, a Colombian immigrant, won the most expensive Senate campaign in history with a big focus on cracking down on the border.
Some of the policies Moreno proposes in his bill mirror executive actions President Trump has already put in place, such as Remain in Mexico.
Zoom in: The bill will be titled Refugees Using Legal Entry Safely — or "RULES" — Act.
It would:
Require asylum seekers to file their application at legal ports of entry, refusing access to those who illegally cross the border.
Stops the release of asylum seekers into the U.S. before their cases are decided.
Prevents someone from applying for asylum again if they have already been denied once.
Restrict anyone who is caught by law enforcement out of legal immigration status from claiming asylum.
What he's saying: "If you want to live in this country, you have to respect our laws, and that starts at our borders," Moreno said in a statement.
"But our broken asylum system has overwhelmed our borders with millions of migrants who enter the country illegally, claim asylum, and are just released into the county."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and two of its chapters are suing to halt President Trump's attempt to expand "fast-track" deportations without a full hearing.
Why it matters: The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is the latest of many legal challenges against the Trump administration in its first week after the president signed several executive orders on immigration.
Catch up quick: The Trump administration issued a new rule Tuesday that dramatically expands expedited removal to immigrants who cannot prove they have been continuously living in the U.S. for over two years.
The new rule allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to decide expedited removals, with limited exceptions, of immigrants who can't show that proof to "the satisfaction of an immigration officer."
"The effect of this change will be to enhance national security and public safety — while reducing government costs — by facilitating prompt immigration determinations," the Trump administration said.
Yes, but: The ACLU said in court documents that the new rule violates current federal law and the Fifth Amendment's due process clause since it nearly erases full court hearings entitled to immigrants.
"The expansion means that low-level DHS officers can now immediately and without process subject individuals in the interior of the United States to expedited removal, without any consideration of their family ties," the ACLU alleged.
The ACLU also said previous studies show current expedited removals are plagued with error and often result in deportations of immigrants by mistake.
Zoom in: The case was filed on behalf of Make the Road New York, an immigrant advocacy group.
The ACLU is asking a federal judge to issue a stay against the rule and declare it unconstitutional.
"President Trump's decision to fast-track deportations is chaotic, unfair, and inhumane," said Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at the ACLU of the District of Columbia, in a statement.
The other side: The White House said in a statement Wednesday that Trumphas the authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act "to prevent the physical entry of illegal aliens into the United States across the southern border."
The White House said President Trump to direct the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State to immediately "repel, repatriate, and remove illegal aliens."
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
The bottom line: The executive orders and new rules seek to expand presidential powers by skirting existing laws, Supreme Court precedent, and even the U.S. Constitution for planned mass deportations of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
The orders and rules are expected to face numerous legal challenges, which will likely slow down the adoption of mass deportations soon.
Why it matters: The measure, which would require the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for some crimes, is poised to be the first bill Trump signs into law during his second term.
The legislation is named for a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed on the University of Georgia campus. Its passage hands Trump an early win on a key campaign priority.
Driving the news: The bill passed the House 263-156, with 46 Democrats voting for it.
President Trump plans to have a "whole big discussion very shortly" on the Federal Emergency Management Agency because he'd "rather see the states take care of their own problems," according to an interview broadcast Wednesday evening.
Why it matters: Trump has signed a multitude of executive orders since taking office again on Monday and he indicated on Fox News in his first interview since being inaugurated that he could have FEMA in his sights.
Trump and others in the GOP have in recent months complained that FEMA's disaster response has beenbiased against Republicans.
Driving the news: "The FEMA is getting in the way of everything," Trump said on Fox News' "Hannity."
"FEMA is a whole 'nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything," he told Fox News' Sean Hannity in the prerecorded interview.
"FEMA has not done their job for the last four years."
Trump gave the example of if Oklahoma were hit by a tornado, then the state should be allowed to respond "and then the federal government can help them out with the money."
Flashback: After Trump and others amplified claims that FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene was biased against Republicans affected by the storm in North Carolina and that money for those impacted was diverted to housing for illegal immigrants, the agency launched a fact-checking page on its storm response.
Between the lines: Trump's suggestion would require a major shakeup in emergency response, given how Congress has expanded FEMA's authority by assigning responsibilities to it, codifying it in various laws.
But given how his administration has moved to crack down on undocumented immigrants and stamp out federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during his first week back in office, such an overhaul cannot be ruled out.
Project 2025 suggests "reforming FEMA emergency spending to shift the majority of preparedness and response costs to states and localities instead of the federal government" — though during the 2024 campaign Trump disavowed the Heritage Foundation-backed blueprint that some of his Cabinet picks have ties to.
Zoom in: FEMA employs over 20,000 people nationwide, with headquarters in D.C. and 10 regional offices, as the agency responds to disasters and other emergency situations by providing financial and on-the-ground assistance.
It was officially created in a 1979 executive order by then-President Carter and became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, according to the agency's website.
Congress passed legislation in 2006 that established FEMA as a distinct agency within DHS following the devastating Hurricane Katrina the previous year.
Zoom out: Trump also discussed with Hannity his planned Friday visits to wildfire-hit California and North Carolina — where FEMA announced Monday it was extending its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program for two months in response to the state's request for further assistance for families displaced by Hurricane Helene.
As Southern California faces fresh wildfire threats, Trump told Hannity "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into their system."
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
President Trump announced on Wednesday that he is once again designating the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization.
Why it matters: Trump's decision reverses a decision by then-President Biden in 2021 to remove the terrorist designation from the Houthis.
Biden had lifted the designation over concerns about the ability of the UN and other humanitarian organizations to deliver aid to civilians in Yemen.
Trump's move is expected to be welcomed not only by Israel but also by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Trump spoke on Wednesday with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi state news agency said.
MBS told Trump that Saudi Arabia will increase its investment in the U.S. by $600 million dollars during the next four years, the Saudi state news agency said.
Driving the news: After the Houthis attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea and fired rockets and drones at Israel last year, the Biden administration mobilized an international coalition against them.
The U.S. and the UK conducted numerous air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen but couldn't deter additional attacks.
Former Biden administration officials told Axios that in his last weeks in office Biden considered re-designating the Houthis as terrorists.
USAID had objected to the move ,claiming it will harm humanitarian aid efforts.
After the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal was announced earlier this week, the Houthis said they are suspending their attacks.
What they are saying: "Supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform," Trump's order read.
The order stressed that the Houthis had launched attacks on civilians in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel and attacked commercial vessels more than 100 times, "forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation."
What to watch: Trump ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to submit a report within 30 days concerning the designation and to take action to designated them within another 15 days.
Trump's order also said the State Department and USAID will conduct a review of all U.S. aid to Yemen and terminate every project, grant or contract that might benefit the Houthis.
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