Several federal websites tracking climate science and health care issues like HIV prevention and transgender care were down as of Friday afternoon.

Why it matters: The sites included topics like contraception, transgender issues and climate change that President Trump and Republicans have repeatedly targeted.

• The administration immediately began changing White House websites after his inauguration.
• The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

State of play: The following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sites or datasets were scrubbed as of Friday afternoon, though it's not immediately clear what day they were removed:

• The Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• AtlasPlus, which housed HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and STD information
• A contraception page for health care providers
• A page on ending gender-based violence
• Evidence supporting recommendations for HPV vaccination harmonization across genders, ages 22 through 26 years
• Heart disease death rates by gender, by county, Florida
• Information about transgender and gender diverse people (archived Friday morning)
• Pages related to the HIV prevention drug PrEP
• Social vulnerability index, related to demographic and socioeconomic factors adversely affecting communities
• Health Disparities Among LGBTQ Youth

Context: Trump on Jan. 22 ordered key federal health agencies to pause all external communications.

• He's targeted transgender health care in several executive orders.
• He also pulled the U.S. from the World Health Administration.

Zoom out: USDA websites that were down as of Friday afternoon included:

• The climate change homepage and resources
• A page on climate change and its effects

Catch up quick: Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, which takes a year, and targeted Biden administration climate protections.

Go deeper: Tracking Trump's executive orders: What he's signed so far

Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.

Senate Republicans are holding their breath over President Trump's tariffs, which kick in Saturday against Canada, Mexico and China.

Why it matters: Many senators spent months telling Axios they saw the move from Trump more as a negotiating tactic. But some were concerned about what would happen if he followed through.

🚨 Now, sweeping 25% tariffs start this weekend on Canadian and Mexican imports — and 10% on Chinese goods, the White House said Friday. All three countries have vowed to retaliate against broad tariffs.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Axios in August that "across-the-board tariffs is not something I have been for in the past." Thune is open to the selective use of tariffs.
• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) described Trump's tariffs promises as potentially "problematic."
• Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a former Senate Commerce Committee chair, also told Axios in August he's listening, but "not convinced that's the best approach."

Between the lines: Senators often cite concerns about tariffs leading to inflated prices for Americans — after a campaign cycle where Republicans repeatedly said former President Biden's policies led to inflation.

Zoom in: More tenured senators, especially free traders, have learned the value of waiting instead of staking out positions Trump can upend at any moment.

• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is taking a "wait-and-see attitude," he told Reuters. Iowa is a big farm goods exporter.
• "Normally I'd be stronger in my comments because I am a free trader. I used to be in the majority when free trading was a majority of the Congress, but now I am in the minority," he said.

😈 The newer senators are on Trump's side, and they're content to let him cook.

• "Everybody runs through the streets saying, 'The sky is falling! The sky is falling!' but it doesn't fall," Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.V.) told Reuters.

Zoom out: The list of surprised leaders stretches beyond the Senate.

• "I don't believe that will happen," House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week about across-the-board tariffs.

This week's midair collision between a commercial plane and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., underscores the complexity of the National Airspace System — and that's before lots of drones and electric air taxis are added to the mix.

Why it matters: Despite Wednesday's tragedy, the Federal Aviation Administration has a stellar safety record when it comes to commercial aviation.

• But as people travel in record numbers, and drones and new types of aircraft take to the skies, managing all that congestion will become more challenging for an air traffic system that's already overextended.

Catch up quick: Companies like Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies are preparing to bring electric air taxi services to cities including New York and Los Angeles within a couple of years.

• Air taxis would relieve road congestion, help the environment and make people's lives easier by whisking commuters over traffic in quiet, clean, speedy vehicles, the companies say.
• The new battery-powered aircraft are called eVTOLs — for electric vertical takeoff and landing — and are a mix between a helicopter and plane.
• Multiple electric rotors help them take off and land vertically, but less noisily than a traditional chopper. Once airborne, they fly more like traditional planes.
• They'll have a human pilot initially, but could eventually fly autonomously, with ground-based monitors.

Reality check: It will be years — perhaps even a decade — before large fleets of air taxis are zipping passengers across cities and suburbs.

• "At the very beginning these operations are not going to change the operations of a city," advanced air mobility expert Sergio Cecutta, founder of SMG Consulting, told Axios.
• On-demand air transportation will start slowly in 2026 or 2027, he said, with just a handful of air taxis in operation.
• By the mid-2030s, however, there could be thousands of eVTOLs in the sky, which is why the industry and FAA are working to develop an unmanned traffic management system for urban air mobility.
• "We're not just going to throw more stuff in the same pot and not expect it to overflow," Cecutta said.

The tragedy in D.C. will not upend the industry's path toward innovation, says former acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen, now chief safety officer at Archer.

• "There is no reason to believe this incident will have any impact on the timeline for the FAA to certify eVTOL," he told Axios.
• "What it does reiterate is that we need to make sure we work together to integrate eVTOL into the airspace in a responsible and thoughtful manner."

Zoom in: Reagan National Airport has the country's busiest runway with more than 800 daily takeoffs and landings — about one every minute — on its main strip.

• Military helicopters, sometimes carrying government VIPs, routinely share the air space with passenger planes.
• Last year, despite worries about overcapacity, Congress approved an expansion to Reagan airport, adding five more long-haul daily flights.

By the numbers: While D.C.'s situation is unique, congestion is a problem at many airports.

• There are about 5,000 airports in the U.S., but the vast majority of air traffic flies in and out of 30 major hubs.
• The FAA, which has about 14,000 air traffic controllers, said in October it had hired 1,800 new controllers. But due to attrition and retirements, the net increase was just 36, The Air Current reported.
• They manage more than 45,000 flights a day and up to 5,400 planes in the air at peak times.

Zoom out: Besides commercial jets, private planes and military aircraft, the FAA also has to manage the impact of the growing space industry.

• There were a record 259 rocket launches in 2024 — each one requiring an interruption or redirection of commercial air traffic.
• SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's ambition is 1,000 launches per year.

Drone activity is increasing too, with more than 1.1 million registered commercial and private drones in the United States.

• In Europe, authorities aim to segregate drones from other types of aircraft. But in the U.S., safely integrating them into the national airspace is the FAA's goal.
• The FAA won't directly manage individual drones, though, which is why a drone traffic management system is needed.

What to watch: With all these new aircraft elbowing their way into the airspace, the FAA has a lot of work to do.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional industry 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 halt the 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.

Go deeper: Federal funding freeze sparks health care chaos

New data on Friday gives the best snapshot yet of where economic conditions stand before a potential continentwide trade war.

Why it matters: If tariffs prove disruptive to growth, the U.S. is starting from a position of strength — unlike other major economies — which might cushion the blow of tariffs better than otherwise would have been the case.

• The risk, however, is an interruption of Americans' economic gains in recent years, while making inflation a longer-term feature of the economy.

Driving the news: The latest economic data supports the narrative that the economy came into 2025 with momentum. But inflation still looked sticky, as previewed in Thursday's GDP report — a concern for the many economists who believe tariffs will make above-normal price pressures harder to beat.

• For the third month, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index — which strips out food and energy prices and is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve — didn't budge.
• It rose 2.8% in the 12 months through December, above the Fed's 2% target.
• By a different measure, however, inflation looks more benign: Core PCE rose 2.2% on an annualized basis in the previous three months, down from 2.6% in November.

Between the lines: Consumer spending was solid, rising 0.7% in December, or 0.4% in real terms.

• Still, that jump outpaced the rise in incomes: The personal saving rate was 3.8%, down 0.3 percentage point from November and the lowest level in two years.

Flashback: Fed officials were focused on preserving economic growth during the Trump 1.0 trade wars. This time, the economy is holding up, even under the weight of higher interest rates. There is also a new variable: too-high inflation.

• Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference earlier this week that might play a role in how tariffs land on the economy and whether they result in price hikes.

What they're saying: "We've just come through a high inflation period, and you can argue that both ways: you can say that companies have figured out that they do like to raise prices — but we also hear a lot from companies these days that consumers have really had it with price increases," Powell said.

• "There are lots of places where that price increase from the tariff can show up between the manufacturer and the consumer," he added. "Just so many variables."

The intrigue: In a speech Friday morning, Fed governor Michelle Bowman did not mention Trump's trade threat. But she did warn about upside risks to inflation, noting that global supply chains remain "susceptible to disruption."

• Bowman raised the possibility that interest rates might not be high enough to restrict the economy and cool inflation.
• "In light of the ongoing strength in the economy and with equity prices substantially higher than a year ago, it seems unlikely that the overall level of interest rates and borrowing costs are exerting meaningful restraint," Bowman said.

What to watch: Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on a wide scale Saturday, another key difference between his first White House stint.

• Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he plans to move forward with 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. It's unclear whether they will go into effect right away or exclude any imports.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the nation will hit back.

The bottom line: Trump is at the helm of a different economy now. If his trade threats do materialize, the effects are unpredictable.

President Trump on Friday blamed the flight path of the Black Hawk helicopter for the fatal plane crash near Washington, D.C.

The big picture: Trump — without providing any evidence — had already blamed diversity efforts for the crash, and his latest comments come well before the National Transportation Safety Board has had time to conduct a thorough investigation.

• 'The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot," he wrote on Truth Social. "It was far above the 200 foot limit. That's not really too complicated to understand, is it???"

State of play: Early evidence shows the helicopter may have been flying outside of its approved flight path, multiple outlets reported.

• A Federal Aviation Administration report said one air traffic controller was working two jobs at the time of the crash, per the AP, which was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."

Zoom out: The NTSB's preliminary report is expected within 30 days, and a board member said Thursday it's too early to draw conclusions about the cause of the accident.

• Trump, who ordered a review of federal aviation hiring and safety decisions, on Thursday said it was "common sense" to blame diversity programs for the tragedy without providing any link between the two.
• American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a Thursday memo to staff that the NTSB "will be the sole source of truth going forward."

Go deeper: What to know about the victims of the D.C. plane crash

The conditions are unthinkable — a mass casualty site on the frigid Potomac. The complexity of the operation, numbing.

• After America's deadliest airline crash in a generation, disaster crews turned to the painstaking tasks ahead: recovering every body, identifying each life lost, reuniting the dead with those they leave behind.

The big picture: Emergency responders deployed overnight Wednesday, plumbing the watery grave left by the collision between American Airlines flight #5342 and one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters.

Zoom in: Divers worked in 20-minute shifts around the wreckage, swimming through the pitch-black depths and taking breaks at times to replace their suits, torn by debris.

• An ice-breaking D.C. fire boat couldn't be called in because it was out of service.
• Jet fuel clouded the river.
• Twisted pieces of aircraft snarled the path to some victims.
• The water was 36 degrees.

They train for this. And yet.

• "They normally get calls for aircraft in distress. This time it rang, and all they heard was crash, crash, crash," said David Hoagland, head of the Fire and EMS union.
• As families of the victims were invited to a support center, counselors were deployed to help the disaster crews themselves.

By Thursday morning, currents were pushing debris as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge.

• National Harbor and other neighborhoods temporarily closed the public access to their waterfronts. Search vessels combed the shoreline and surface.
• The expectation being that remnants of the crash will wash ashore.

From the water, boats moved the victims to D.C.'s Southwest waterfront, the transfer of remains from the first responders to the last responders.

• Red tents popped up near Audi Field, a makeshift morgue.
• The last acts of caretaking for the dead began.

By Thursday evening, they had found 28 people. On the flight were young figure skaters with Olympic dreams, five members of a steamfitters union from Annapolis, a pilot who was engaged to be married.

Divers will return today to continue the recovery mission and begin extracting the aircraft from the water, D.C. Fire & EMS told Axios.

• Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will be on the scene, said NTSB member Todd Inman, "for as long as it takes."

After watching 6-plus hours of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifying before two Senate committees, I have no idea whether he'll be confirmed as HHS secretary — I could see it going either way.

• Yes, but: It was still incredibly interesting to watch Kennedy reintroduce himself after decades in the public eye, hear more about how he'd govern and, in some cases, read between the lines of what he wasn't saying.

Here are some major takeaways from the hearings:

He's not declaring himself an entirely new man — on vaccines, on abortion or on many of his Democratic views.

Kennedy didn't deny several of his outlandish past statements, although he frequently tried to add context or explanation. He also began his testimony by saying that "news reports have claimed I am anti-vax or anti-industry. I am neither."

• But he refused to acknowledge that vaccines don't cause autism, saying only that he wouldn't take any preconceived notions into the office with him and would look at the data.
• The problem with that, as several senators pointed out, is that reams of studies have existed for years that find no link between vaccines and autism.

He also made no attempt to convince them he'd had a personal change of heart about abortion policies, saying repeatedly instead that he would implement President Trump's policies and that "every abortion is a tragedy."

• He didn't run away from other liberal positions, either, saying at one point that he and Trump have "agreed to disagree" on climate change.

Deference to Trump — both by Kennedy and GOP senators — may make none of that matter.

That's not to say Kennedy doesn't have any true fans, and he was vocally supported and praised by several GOP senators. Many on both sides of the aisle found points of agreement with him.

• But on abortion, one of his diciest issues, his repeated commitment to follow Trump's lead seemed to satisfy ardent anti-abortion members, although several Democrats did their best to remind those colleagues that Kennedy's personal values have been in stark contrast with their own.
• It's "great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice HHS secretary," Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, said at one point.

He's unfamiliar with the basics of how the federal health programs work.

This first became apparent during Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy's first round of questioning on Wednesday, when he asked a series of Medicaid-related questions. Kennedy's answers contained factual errors about the program and suggested a lack of familiarity with federal health programs.

• Hassan then went in for the kill yesterday, asking him to explain what each of the four major parts of the Medicare program cover. Kennedy fumbled his responses.

If Kennedy is confirmed — or maybe even if he isn't — pharma is probably in trouble.

The hearings yielded very little information about what Kennedy would want to do as secretary outside of public health and vaccine policy. But he did have a few illuminating comments on drug pricing.

• In an exchange with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about how much more the U.S. often pays for pharmaceuticals compared with other countries, Kennedy said that "we should end that disparity" and that he's spoken with Trump about it.
• He told Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) that "I've spoken to President Trump about negotiations. He's absolutely committed to negotiating lower drug prices."
• And in a fiery back-and-forth with Sanders, Kennedy made clear his disdain for the pharmaceutical industry's influence in Washington.
• "Almost all the members of this panel — including yourself — are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests," Kennedy said.

Where it stands: For the handful of senators truly on the fence about Kennedy's nomination, he may not have made the decision much easier for them. As a reminder, Kennedy can only lose three Republicans if every Democrat votes against him.

• At the end of yesterday's hearing, Cassidy told Kennedy that he is "struggling with your nomination."
• Does someone "who has spent decades criticizing vaccines and who is financially vested in finding fault with vaccines — can he change his attitudes and approach now that he'll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the United States?" Cassidy asked.
• "Will you continue what you have been, or will you overturn a new leaf at age 70?"

What the White House is saying: "After two days and over six hours of testimony in two Senate Committees, we are fully confident [Kennedy] will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, 🇺🇸" confirmation spokesperson Katie Miller posted on X.

Almost everyone I talked to thinks this is ultimately going to be a nail-biter, including both Kennedy supporters and critics.

• If he is confirmed, it's also hard to predict which version of himself he'll bring to the job as the nation's top health official.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave government leaders, policy experts and journalists a sneak peek at coming technology Thursday during an off-the-record demo near Capitol Hill.

Why it matters: The briefing was designed both to show how the U.S. can maximize economic benefits of AI, and to warm D.C. leaders to coming capabilities so they're less likely to be caught off-guard.

• Referring to new agentic technology that can independently complete tasks in the real world, Altman said: "My intuition would be that ... these things are [a] single-digit percent of the economic value we will pass to the U.S. economy."
• "This is going to be a big, big efficiency gain."

State of play: Altman and OpenAI's Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil previewed new AI capabilities coming in Q1 and focused on how those capabilities will support science, education, health and government services, Axios' Maria Curi reported ahead of the meeting.

• It marked the second week in a row Altman was in D.C. after attending Trump's inauguration and announcing Stargate — a partnership among companies including OpenAI to invest billions in AI development.

Spotted at the briefing Thursday: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (confirmed yesterday) ... Lynne Parker, executive director of President Trump's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) ... Sriram Krishnana, White House senior policy adviser for AI ... Jacob Helberg, Trump's designee for Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment ... Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) ... Kellyanne Conway ... Wally Adeyemo, former deputy Treasury secretary under President Biden ... retired House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry ... former Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.).

Go deeper: Behind the Curtain — Coming soon: Ph.D.-level super-agents

There's a growing marriage gap in the U.S.: Marriage rates for women without college degrees are falling, while rates for those with four-year degrees are holding steady.

• A fascinating new working paper from researchers at Cornell, Harvard and Yale unpacks the trend.

Why it matters: The drop-off in marriage rates for women without degrees has everything to do with their male counterparts, the researchers find.

How it works: Men without degrees have seen their economic prospects decline over the past few decades, a trend that's been well-documented.

• These financial troubles have led to lower marriage rates for men — and for women without four-year degrees. (Even as these women have seen their incomes rise.)
• In other (potentially outdated) words: a "good" man has become harder to find, at least for women with less than a four-year degree. So they're getting married less.

By the numbers: 71% of women with a bachelor's degree, born in 1980, were married by age 45. That's compared to 52% of women without a degree, per the research.

• The paper looked at government data for women born 1930 - 1980, and also projected out these numbers through to women born in 1994, and found that this trend should continue.

Zoom out: There's been a lot of worrying in recent years that women with degrees would have trouble finding husbands; fewer men are graduating from college, after all. So who would these ladies marry?

• Turns out that a good-sized share of college-educated woman have always married men without bachelor's degrees, per the research.
• These men tend to be the highest earners among their peers. The non-college educated men, born in 1980, who married college-educated women earned $68,000 a year. That's compared to $46,000 for the other men, per the research.
• The pool of men left behind are the ones who are less likely to marry — their incomes have declined over the years, researchers found.

The bottom line: The declining economic prospects of men are undermining the marriage prospects of women.

In his first national tragedy, President Trump posted like a pundit, speculated needlessly, and blamed Democrats and DEI without any evidence to suggest either were involved.

Why it matters: The traditional presidential playbook is boring by design — pray for the lost and their families, reassure the public, promise a swift investigation. That has never been Trump's style.

The big picture: Trump has responded to the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation with a similar approach that he took to COVID — which produced arguably the lowest moments of his first term.

• It's vintage Trump: His instincts for bare-knuckle brawling were a huge asset during his four years in the wilderness, helping to fuel a historic political comeback.
• But Trump is president now, not a powerless pundit. His words carry the weight of the U.S. government.

Zoom in: As bodies were still being recovered from the Wednesday night collision outside Reagan National Airport, Trump began a press conference at the White House with a moment of silence and request for national unity.

• Moments later, he pivoted sharply to attacking his Democratic predecessors, Presidents Biden and Obama, and accusing the Federal Aviation Administration of prioritizing diversity over air safety.
• He acknowledged an investigation was needed to determine the exact causes of the crashes, but cited "common sense" when asked how he knew diversity hiring could have played a role.
• "They actually came out with a directive — 'too white,'" Trump claimed of the FAA under Obama. "Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse."

Trump later signed a memo ordering a review of all federal aviation hiring and safety decisions — and explicitly blaming his predecessors for the collision.

• "This shocking event follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence" in the FAA, the memo alleged.

Reality check: There's no evidence that Obama or Biden's hiring policies at the FAA led to any kind of decline in aviation safety.

• The "disabilities" language that Trump now opposes was in FAA regulations during his entire first term and first appeared around 2013, according to the fact-checking website Snopes.
• The FAA administrator under Biden resigned when Trump took office, and the agency had been leaderless until Trump tapped Chris Rochealeau on Thursday, after the crash.

What they're saying: Democrats reacted with outrage at Trump's finger-pointing, with some lawmakers diverting blame to the president's gutting of a key aviation safety advisory committee and federal hiring freeze.

• "Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," tweeted former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom Trump accused of leading the diversity charge at the FAA.
• "We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch," Buttigieg wrote.

Zoom out: Trump's knee-jerk politicization of the Potomac River crash fits a familiar pattern — one that was on display not only during his first term, but in the weeks before he took office this time.

• After Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina, Trump spread baseless conspiracy theories about the Biden administration purposely refusing to help mostly Republican areas and wasting emergency resources on migrants.
• When an American-born Army veteran drove through a crowd in New Orleans on New Year's Day, Trump falsely linked the terror attack to undocumented migrants crossing the border.
• And when the worst wildfires in California history unleashed mass devastation in Los Angeles, Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom's water policies and floated the idea of placing conditions on federal disaster aid.

Flashback: In a post-2020 election autopsy, Trump's own pollster cited the president's handling of COVID as the leading cause of his defeat.

• Trump's daily pandemic press briefings and public attacks on his own health officials wore down the American public, which ultimately saw Biden as the steadier hand.
• Four years in opposition have helped Trump rehabilitate his image. But by reflexively blaming Democrats and DEI for the country's problems, Trump risks a repeat of the dynamics that weakened his first presidency.

President Trump rallied against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in air traffic control as having contributed to the deadly plane crash outside of D.C. Wednesday, but the data paints a different picture.

The big picture: Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and IPUMS show air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are predominately male and white.

By the numbers: 78% are men, while 22% are women, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau and IPUMS.

• 71% identify as non-Hispanic white.
• The data includes air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists working in air transportation or services incidental to transportation.

Driving the news: Trump on Thursday repeatedly cited DEI policies at the Federal Aviation Administration as having played a role in the crash, and blamed Democrats including Presidents Biden and Obama, for advancing inclusive workplace policies.

• Trump implicitly equated racial, gender and other forms of diversity with a lower-quality federal workforce.

Reality check: In addition to the statistics showing the opposite is true, the cause of the crash has not been determined and there's no evidence that FAA hiring policies led to a decline in aviation safety.

Zoom in: Trump signed a memo Thursday alleging that Biden's administration "egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all agencies to implement dangerous 'diversity equity and inclusion' tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with 'severe intellectual' disabilities in the FAA," according to a person familiar with the matter.

• The "disabilities" language that Trump is opposing was in FAA regulations during the entirety of his first term and first appeared around 2013, per fact-checking website Snopes.
• The American Association of People with Disabilities said on X that FAA employees with disabilities did not cause the crash.
• "It is extremely inappropriate for the President to use this tragedy to push an anti-diversity hiring agenda," the AAPD said. "Doing so makes all Americans less safe."

Go deeper: D.C. plane crash is among country's deadliest in decades

RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard will have to sweat their confirmations over the weekend, based on what GOP senators said at hearings the past two days.

Why it matters: Republicans with choice committee seats can blow up confirmations before they reach the Senate floor.

• Any GOP "no" vote means the nominee won't get the committee's recommendation.
• No recommendation = no floor vote, or at least a very unlikely one, as Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday.

Senate Finance, which votes on Kennedy for secretary of Health and Human Services:

• Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told RFK Jr.: "I've been struggling with your nomination" and "you may be hearing from me over the weekend." Cassidy questioned Kennedy about vaccines at Thursday's HELP Committee hearing and has a vote on the Finance Committee.

Senate Intel, which votes on Gabbard for director of national intelligence:

• Susan Collins (R-Maine) asked Gabbard if she'd seek a pardon or commutation for Edward Snowden. Gabbard said no to both. "I was happy with her responses to my questions," Collins told reporters Thursday night, per CNN.
• Todd Young (R-Ind.) told Gabbard, "It would befit you and be helpful for the way you're perceived by members of the Intelligence Committee" to say Snowden harmed national security. Gabbard repeatedly refused to call Snowden a traitor at the hearing.
• Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) offended Gabbard by saying he wanted to be sure Russia doesn't "get a pass in either your mind or your heart."
• John Cornyn (R-Texas) could not get a direct answer from Gabbard on whether warrants should be required for wiretaps under Section 702 of FISA. (He posted Thursday he's a yes on Gabbard).

The bottom line: Even senators who support Gabbard were taken aback by her Snowden answers.

• "I think there are a lot of questions after," Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told reporters. "I thought that was going to be an easy softball question."

A congressional delegation will visit New Orleans on Friday to review security for the Super Bowl — an unusual step that underscores heightened tension around the Feb. 9 event, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The city is taking extraordinary security measures for the Super Bowl in the wake of the deadly New Year's Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street.

• Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday that law enforcement will conduct bag checks at checkpoints in the French Quarter between Feb. 5 and 10.
• Vehicle traffic will also be restricted in the area, and coolers and ice chests will be prohibited — measures responding to the methods used by the New Year's Day attacker.

Driving the news: The delegation will be led by Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, a spokesperson for the panel told Axios.

• Lawmakers will visit the site of the New Year's Day attack with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and New Orleans police.
• They will then tour the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the Caesars Superdome and be briefed by NFL and law enforcement officials.

Zoom in: Strong will be joined in New Orleans by Reps. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) and Nellie Pou (D-N.J.).

Congressional offices are being warned not to use DeepSeek, an upstart Chinese chatbot that is roiling the American AI market, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Congress has struggled to navigate the security and administrative challenges posed by the rapid advancement of AI technology.

• "At this time, DeepSeek is under review by the CAO and is currently unauthorized for official House use," the House's Chief Administrative Officer said in a notice to congressional offices obtained by Axios.

What they're saying: The notice warned that "threat actors are already exploiting DeepSeek to deliver malicious software and infect devices."

• "To mitigate these risks, the House has taken security measures to restrict DeepSeek's functionality on all House-issued devices," it continued.
• Staffers are prohibited from installing DeepSeek on any official phones, computers and tablets, the notice said.

Zoom out: This is far from the first time the CAO has restricted staffers' use of an AI product, though other targeted companies have been based in the U.S.

• In 2023 the office set limits on the use of ChatGPT, telling offices they can only use the paid version of the OpenAI chatbot for certain tasks.
• The CAO also told staffers last April that they could not use Microsoft Copilot, though the company told Axios it was working on a suite of government-oriented tools it hoped would be allowed.

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

A nonprofit group tied to House Democratic leadership is already planning an ad slamming the Trump administration's funding freeze, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), viewing the days-long battle over the freeze as a win for Democrats, has been urging his members to press their advantage and keep hammering the topic.

• The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday rescinded an earlier memo freezing federal grants, loans and other financial assistance, though the White House said parts of the freeze remain in force.
• The initial memo led to widespread confusion and locked some states out of a federal Medicaid portal.

Driving the news: House Majority Forward, an issue advocacy group closely aligned with Jeffries, is running an ad called "Real Steal" on national cable Monday — including "Fox & Friends" — backed up by a five-figure ad buy.

• The ad accuses Trump and congressional Republicans of causing "chaos, confusion across the country" and cutting funds for healthcare, police and fire departments, and pre-K centers.
• "Trump's grabbing that money to pay back his billionaires with more tax cuts," the ad says. "It's … The Real Steal."

Between the lines: The ad — part of HMF's $10 million "economic accountability" campaign — is a clear signal the short-lived OMB memo will play a prominent role in Democrats' political messaging.

• Jeffries and his messaging arm have encouraged lawmakers to hold events on the freeze and highlight the impact it had on their constituents.

The other side: "President Trump and Republicans hit the ground running, delivering for the American people," said Torunn Sinclair, a spokesperson for the House Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund.

• "Democrats are spewing lies — it's sad and pathetic. They've learned nothing from the 2024 election," Sinclair said.
• A senior White House official said in a statement to Axios: "The American people sent President Trump back to the White House to end the massive waste, fraud and abuse of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars."
• "No amount of fearmongering and falsehoods in this baseless ad will change the excitement the American people feel now that we have true leadership here in the White House," the official said.

President Trump and his allies are blaming diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for contributing to the tragic plane crash outside of D.C. Wednesday night, without providing any evidence of a link between the two.

Why it matters: Trump repeatedly cited DEI policies, a favorite boogeyman, at the Federal Aviation Administration as having some role in the plane collision during White House remarks. He also blamed Democrats who advanced inclusive workplace policies.

• While the cause of the crash isn't yet known, Trump implicitly equated racial, gender and other forms of diversity with a lower-quality federal workforce.
• Officials said Thursday that there hadn't been anything unusual about the flight paths for either aircraft leading up to the collision, nor had there been a breakdown in communications.
• Asked Thursday if he was getting ahead of the official investigation by blaming DEI initiatives, Trump disagreed, even while acknowledging it was still unclear what caused the collision.

Reality check: Aviation experts have focused on a shortage of air traffic controllers, rather than any DEI initiatives, as a safety concern.

• There are simply not enough people at present, of any identity, making it through the long, arduous qualification process.

State of play: Other Trump administration officials echoed the president's sentiments about the connection between DEI and the quality of the federal workforce.

• "We can only accept the best and the brightest in positions of safety that impact the lives of our loved ones, our family members," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the press conference after Trump spoke.
• Duffy also promised reforms after Trump's comments. "We are going to take responsibility at the Department of Transportation and the FAA to make sure we have the reforms that have been dictated by President Trump in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again and again."
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struck a similar note at the briefing. "The era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department and we need the best and brightest — whether it's in our air traffic control or whether it's in our generals, or whether it's throughout government," he said.
• Vice President JD Vance claimed that over the past decade, hundreds of people had sued the government because they wanted to be air traffic controllers but had been "turned away because of the color of their skin."
• "That policy ends under Donald Trump's leadership, because safety is the first priority of our aviation industry," Vance added.

Elon Musk, one of Trump's most powerful supporters, has long had a combative relationship with the FAA and has previously blamed DEI efforts for making air travel less safe.

• Trump also announced Thursday that he was appointing a new acting administrator of the FAA. Former FAA administrator Michael Whitaker stepped down earlier this month after Musk pressured him to resign.

Zoom in: Trump claimed the FAA's DEI policies had included "hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities."

• People with such severe disabilities — including missing extremities, hearing and vision loss, and dwarfism — all qualified for air traffic controller positions under the DEI policies, Trump added.
• Trump did not offer specific examples of when such hires had occurred. The FAA did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
• After slamming groups that had previously determined the FAA as being "too white," Trump added: "We want the people who are competent."

Driving the news: Trump wasted little time blaming former Presidents Obama and Biden for allegedly lowering safety standards at the Federal Aviation Administration at a press conference Thursday.

• He also railed against former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying the former Biden administration official had run the FAA "right into the ground with his diversity" initiatives.
• Buttigieg hit back at Trump's accusations in an X post, calling them "despicable" and noting that one of Trump's first acts in office was to "fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe."

The big picture: American Eagle Flight 5342 was en route from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C. when it collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday.

• The passenger jet was carrying 64 people on board while the helicopter was carrying three soldiers.

Go deeper:

• D.C. plane crash: What we know about the collision as all passengers feared dead
• Trump touts national unity over air disaster before bashing Biden and Obama

New Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been privately indicating she's prepared to intervene in contested primaries.

Why it matters: Senate Democrats want to avoid the GOP's Obama-era pain of watching preferred candidates lose primaries to unelectable newcomers.

• Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) know their ability to claw their way back to the majority starts with candidates who are built for the general election.
• The top target: Getting the right candidates in three of the most competitive races of the 2026 cycle — Maine, North Carolina and now Michigan.

Zoom in: At a private DSCC fundraiser on Wednesday night, Gillibrand told donors that Roy Cooper, the former North Carolina governor, would be a "formidable candidate," according to people familiar with the matter.

• Cooper has yet to decide whether to run, but he's clearly indicated he's considering it and used his farewell address to say, "I am not done."
• A big announcement from Cooper would help offset fears of losing other seats — especially if Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) decides to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).

Democrats were stunned by Sen. Gary Peters' (D-Mich.) surprise announcement he won't seek a third term, opening a primary they thought would be closed.

• Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) are both mulling primary bids. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the current Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist are also taking a look.

The bottom line: In these MAGA times, the NRSC is typically left with whatever candidate President Trump endorses.

• Schumer and Gillibrand don't have that kind of power, but they clearly want to avoid intra-party fights and save their resources for the general election.
• "As always, the DSCC evaluates every primary on a case-by-case basis and doesn't take any options off the table," a DSCC aide said.

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary in a bipartisan vote.

Why it matters: Burgum will lead President Trump's efforts to expand oil and gas drilling on public lands and deal with any energy-related fallout from the administration's funding freeze.

Driving the news: The former North Dakota governor and onetime 2024 presidential aspirant cleared the Senate in a 79-18 vote.

• He previously advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with an 18-2 vote.

What they're saying: Majority Leader John Thune praised Burgum's record as governor and said he would "bring the same data-driven, consensus-based, think-big work ethic to his work as Secretary of the Interior."

• During his confirmation hearing, Burgum made the case for speedier permitting and putting more baseload power — namely, coal, nuclear and oil and gas — onto the grid.
• "We have a shortage of electricity, and especially we have a shortage of baseload," he told the committee. "We know that we have the technology to deliver clean coal."

Between the lines: Burgum is also slated to lead Trump's National Energy Council — which has yet to be formally created — and will have a seat on the National Security Council.

• He'll likely have coordinating permitting and production efforts across agencies and will be at the center of Trump's energy emergency executive order.

If you need smart, quick intel on federal energy policy for your job, get Axios Pro Policy.

If it's hard to be a CEO right now, then that difficulty is sure to extend to those who advise them.

Why it matters: Only 17% of CEOs feel their communications and public affairs functions are "very equipped" to keep pace with rapid economic, geopolitical and cultural changes, a new report from The Weber Shandwick Collective found.

What they're saying: "The increased volatility, at least in the U.S., is something that [CEOs] are concerned about. And unfortunately, for whatever reason, they don't think that their communications teams are equipped to fully address or navigate that," CEO of The Weber Shandwick Collective, North America and Global President Jim O'Leary said at a sponsored Axios conversation in Davos, Switzerland.

• "What maybe is potentially most disappointing is that a lot of the people in our profession feel like over the past several years we've gained a significant amount of influence at the C-suite level because the role of comms is much more materially important to the success or failure of a company than it's ever been."

By the numbers: Weber Shandwick surveyed 200 global executives from Nov. 14-Dec. 4, 2024, and found that roughly 7 in 10 are anticipating heightened volatility in the year ahead, and few feel prepared.

• C-suite leaders feel the least prepared to address violent and nonviolent attacks or protests, getting caught in the political crosshairs and division within the workplace.

And executives aren't likely to increasingly turn to their comms or public affairs teams for guidance.

• Overall, only 27% reported an increased sense of confidence in their communications and public affairs function over the past three years, with a majority of CEOs (59%) saying their confidence in the team remains unchanged.
• Of note, leaders of larger companies and those operating in more than 20 countries are more likely to report a loss in comms and public affairs confidence.

Zoom in: Executives are navigating the competing demands and expectations of their stakeholder groups.

• According to the report, CEOs are prioritizing customers first — with 86% naming this group as "very important" — followed by investors and shareholders (73%), employees (45%), policymakers (32%), partners and suppliers (24%) and local communities (22%).

Zoom out: While policymakers might not be the top audience, several CEOs are tripping over themselves to appeal to the new Trump administration.

• The big picture: Corporate America found itself in the political crosshairs with the new Washington taking shape. This prompted several companies to revise their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and sustainability commitments.

Yes, but: Even given their wavering confidence levels, CEOs are investing more in some communication and public affairs functions.

• According to the report, most plan to expand resources for marketing and brand building, communications, crisis and government relations.
• Meanwhile, about 1 in 4 plan to pull back on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and DEI efforts.

What to watch: New governments are forming across the globe and proposing policies that may affect business operations, supply chains, investments and reputation, the report points out.

• This creates more opportunity for communication and public affairs teams, said O'Leary.
• "No scenario plan is ever going to survive contact with the amount of volatility that's out there in the world. So, in addition to being able to plan for and be resilient through all of the change, you also have to have an enormous amount of agility in the year to come."

More on Axios: CEOs embrace Trump with minimal employee resistance

• Which companies are rolling back DEI and which are standing firm