Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panama officials that Chinese influence over the Panama Canal must be curbed or the U.S. will take retaliatory actions, the State Department said Sunday.
Why it matters: Rubio's warning to Panama President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha is another pressure point on the country since President Trump said he intended to regain control of the Panama Canal.
The trip to Panama is Rubio's first abroad since being sworn in as secretary of state.
Driving the news: Since winning a second presidential term last November, Trump has tripled down on his demands regarding the Panama Canal, and hasn't ruled out using military force to obtain control of it.
His demands include U.S. ships paying lower rates to use the canal — after claiming that Panama charges American ships more than other nations.
Trump's complaints are partially based on the fact that a Hong Kong-based company has a contract for running the canal, which has been under Panama's control since 1999.
Mulino has so far rejected Trump's demands to hand over control of the canal back to the United States.
What they are saying: Rubio told Mulino and Martínez-Acha that Trump has made "a preliminary determination" that the current Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Rubio said that it is also a violation of the treaty between the U.S. and Panama which defines the neutrality and operation of the canal.
"Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty," Bruce said.
As trade war fears circulate, lawmakers are manning their posts: Democrats are warning prices will skyrocket — while Republicans say the potential discomfort will be worth it in the end.
The big picture: Economists fear the across-the-board tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — and the immediate retaliation that followed — could further stress already strained U.S. households and walk back recent economic gains.
Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and additional 10% tariffs on China could effectively tax the average U.S. household an extra $830 this year, an analysis from the nonpartisan nonprofit Tax Foundation found.
The president conceded in a Sunday Truth Social post that there may be "SOME PAIN" as a result of his tariffs on the U.S.' top three trading partners, but he contended "IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID."
Zoom out: Some of his close allies on Sunday echoed that sentiment.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that if "prices go up, it's because of other people's reactions to America's laws."
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) characterized Trump's tariffs as a border tool, telling NBC's Kristen Welker they "are meant to bring Canada and Mexico the table for the fentanyl that is streaming into our communities."
Almost all of the 21,900 pounds of fentanyl seized last year was at the southwestern border, but 43 pounds was recovered at the northern border, according to Customs and Border Patrol statistics.
Vice President JD Vance said before Trump signed off on his anticipated tariffs that "we'll see what happens" regarding retaliation.
He argued in an interview aired Sunday on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" that the real retaliation was "Donald Trump saying, 'no more.'"
Yes, but: Trump's campaign-trail vision for tariffs as a cure-all does not align with the consumer consequences and supply chain disruptions economists and business interest groups foresee.
Tariffs can raise revenue for the governments imposing them — but the impact of tariffs can be passed on to consumers through a wide array of everyday products.
Most of the country's avocados and beer, for example, come from Mexico. Auto parts, oil and gas are also key resources the U.S. imports from Canada.
Former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) said on CNN's "State of the Union" said she's concerned that the president doesn't know his "end game" on his tariffs, adding, "If you're going to pick a fight in a bar, maybe you should scope the exits."
Between the lines: For months, senators stressed they saw Trump's tariff threats as a negotiating tactic, Axios' Stef W. Kight, Justin Green and Hans Nichols report.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told "Fox News Sunday" that "these tariffs are designed to get these countries to change their behavior" and that if those changes are made, "I think the tariffs probably go away."
Lawmakers who spoke to Axios ahead of Trump's tariff kickoff often pointed to concerns about the taxes on imported goods triggering a rise in inflation, which was a sore spot for Democrats in November.
But the tariffs happened — and now Democrats are on offense.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) characterized the move as the "Donald Trump Super Bowl tax," on CBS News' "Face the Nation," noting key imports from Mexico — like beer, avocados and tomatoes — could carry a larger price tag.
His fellow Virginian, Sen. Tim Kaine (D), said Trump's first-term tariffs were "a tax on Virginia consumers," predicting Americans will see "higher prices for energy, higher prices for groceries."
Kaine said he was struck by what he saw as the "irony" of Trump's executive order declaring an "energy emergency" followed by 10% tariffs on Canadian energy.
Cars that are made in America aren't only made in America — they're made across North America.
As a result, Trump's across-the-board tariffs on all trade with Mexico or Canada risks making U.S. autos much more expensive than foreign imports.
Why it matters: The U.S. auto industry could shut down within a week, by someestimates, thanks to these tariffs. Even if it doesn't, there is no automaker that's set up to operate in a world of high-friction North American border duties.
The big picture: With modern supply chains, a single component in a vehicle can cross the U.S. border between six and eight times before final assembly.
Trump's order makes it clear that duty is payable every time any component crosses into the U.S. — there's no "drawback" allowed that limits the tariff to just the value added abroad.
Zoom out: What that means is that the 25% tariffs won't just be payable on full vehicles that have their final assembly in Mexico, like the Chevrolet Equinox or the Ford Maverick.
They're also going to affect nearly all of the components in nearly all cars made in North America, often multiple times over.
Aside from the actual tariffs themselves, there's also no infrastructure in place to even place a precise dollar value on all the components that travel back and forth, let alone fill out customs paperwork on them.
The bottom line: If you add up all the tariffs that are going to apply to U.S.-made vehicles, they could easily end up dwarfing total tariffs on finished cars imported from Europe, Japan, or Korea.
Far from boosting the U.S. auto industry, these tariffs, if they stay in place for any length of time, could end up decimating it.
Gen Z men think they need to earn about 15% more to be "financially successful" than young women do, per a new study digging into the thorny question of what "making it" really means.
Why it matters: Even at a young age, the gender wage gap is driving very different perceptions of need and success.
Driving the news: YPulse, a youth research organization, surveyed 1,000 people ages 13-39 and asked them "How much would you need to make as an annual salary (e.g. the money you earn at a job per year) for you to be financially successful?"
It was prompted by a widely reported study last year, published by financial services company Empower, that showed a huge gap between Gen Z and other generations in the definition of a success-making salary.
By the numbers: The male respondents to YPulse's survey, on average, estimated they'd need a salary of $69,500 a year to feel successful.
That's almost 16% more than the roughly $58,600 average response from women.
Between the lines: According to YPulse, the gender pay gap plays a significant role in the disparity.
Women have suppressed expectations because they know they're likely to earn less in the workforce.
That gender wage gap is actually widening, per Census data, and matches almost exactly the YPulse findings.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) on Sunday mirrored ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, when he dodged classifying Edward Snowden as a traitor.
Why it matters: Gabbard's refusal to call Snowden a traitor during her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday reportedly prompted some GOP discomfort.
What they're saying: Schmitt danced around the same question during a Sunday interview on "Meet the Press."
"I think people are tired of these games, of sort of this 'gotcha' stuff. Look, he's [Snowden] been indicted," Schmitt said when pressed by NBC News' Kristen Welker. "If he ever comes back to the United States he's going to have a trial. But this idea of you trying to disqualify people by using these terms is ridiculous."
When asked again about Snowden, Schmitt said: "I think it's totally ridiculous to try to smear people who are trying to serve this country because, again, it's sort of 'gotcha.'"
Catch up quick: Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said that when he posed the question to Gabbard, for whom he has expressed his support, he expected it to be "an easy softball question."
But when Lankford asked Gabbard if Snowden was a traitor for leaking highly classified information, the ex-Democrat did not give a yes-or-no answer.
She instead said she would be "committed if confirmed as director of national intelligence to join you in making sure that there is no future Snowden-type leak."
The other side: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on "Meet the Press" Sunday that he was "puzzled" by Gabbard's inability to call Snowden a traitor and found Schmitt's subsequent dodge "interesting."
"I mean, the definition of a traitor's pretty simple," Kelly said. "I mean, whether or not somebody betrayed our country, and in the case of Edward Snowden we know he did."
He added that he thinks many of his GOP colleagues "will still have questions about her nomination."
Between the lines: Schmitt said he is still "100%" a yes on Gabbard and predicted she will "do just fine" when senators gather to cast their votes. The Senate Intelligence Committee vote on Gabbard has not been scheduled.
Elon Musk and the MAGA masses have also mobilized behind Gabbard, turning the heat on those who could tank her confirmation chances, including Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Media reports have indicated that Young is reluctant to vote for Gabbard, prompting Musk to accuse the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an NGO where Young is a board member, of being "RIFE with CORRUPTION."
An X account, which Musk retweeted, claimed Young's involvement with NED creates a conflict of interest when it comes to opposing Gabbard.
But Musk posted later Sunday afternoon that he had an "excellent conversation" with Young, adding, "I stand corrected."
Vice President JD Vance defended President Trump's contention that the tragic plane collision in Washington, D.C., was connected to diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices within the Federal Aviation Administration.
Driving the news: "The president made very clear that he wasn't blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short staffed," Vance said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "That is a scandal."
There are widespread shortages of air traffic controllers — but there's no evidence that DEI hiring policies have impacted aviation safety.
U.S. Census Bureau and IPUMS statistics show air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are predominately male and white.
Driving the news: But Vance said during the interview that the "DEI regime" of the Biden administration led to air traffic control not hiring "the best and the brightest."
He claimed the "elimination of DEI hires and DEI policies" will allow the FAA to hire "the air traffic controllers that we need."
Vance argued air traffic controllers were not being hired because of "the color of their skin," claiming there is a "very direct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air traffic controllers."
Reality check: The standards to be certified as an air traffic controller are "not based on race or gender," said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, in a Friday statement.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave no evidence that DEI initiatives led to staffing shortages or safety concerns on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, but he said the COVID-19 pandemic had a "huge impact" on hiring and training.
Zoom in: A 2023 inspector general report found that the pandemic prompted training pauses for nearly two years, significantly increasing air traffic controller certification times.
Training can take more than three years, according to the report, which said the FAA has taken "limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing."
Staffing did increase from pandemic levels under the Biden administration, per NATCA and FAA data.
But Daniels told CBS just 10,800 certified controllers are doing the job when there should be 14,335.
An internal FAA report said one controller was working two jobs at the time of the crash, AP reported. The second air traffic controller had left early that evening.
Catch up quick: Trump ordered a review of federal aviation hiring on Thursday, calling for a "systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration."
The hiring language Trump railed against was included in FAA regulations during his first term and was promoted on the agency's website since 2013, according to the AP. The Trump administration removed it shortly after he returned to the White House.
There's an unspoken, ugly rule of American politics: Do unto the other what they have done unto you.
Simply put: Copy the payback, punishments and precedent-shattering techniques practiced by the other party — if they prove effective.
Why it matters: In 30 years of covering this city, it's hard to recall any controversial new power grabs or moves not growing commonplace in American politics.
That's why impeachment threats ... governing by executive order ... and ever-expanding presidential power are as predictable as winter follows fall.
They did it to us. So we'll do it, too — on steroids.
The big picture: President Trump didn't start this trend, by any stretch of the imagination. But he stretches the trend beyond imagination.
We're in uncharted territory, a new frontier. Republicans should fully expect future Democratic presidents to use and build on all these norm-busting moves.
Trump's new techniques and tactics, likely to be adopted by future presidents, include:
Fire critics and perceived enemies. Trump is ousting people across the bureaucracy and not hiding his motivation — payback. In the past, presidents griped about hostile forces inside government, but rarely acted beyond one-offs. They assumed they lacked the power. But courts are validating a broader presidential authority than had been presumed. Incoming presidents usually fixate on the cabinet. Trump is paving the way for them to instantly resurface huge chunks of government with loyalists.
Punish media companies for critical coverage. Trump has sued several news organizations for stories or even interview edits he disliked. Some of these organizations are settling the cases, enticing Trump and others to make this a permanent weapon. The Pentagon said it'll "rotate" four major news organizations — The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico — from their workspace on Correspondents' Corridor beginning Feb. 14, and cycle in several friendly outlets. That's a new level of carrot-and-stick.
Reward political allies with pardons. This has always been done, for sure — but in smaller doses. Trump's sweeping clemency for Jan. 6 rioters, including people convicted of attacking police, set a new precedent for protecting people who defend your politics. Combine this with former President Biden's preemptive pardon of family members and political allies, and it's hard to see any real limits on setting friends or allies free.
Impunity with immunity. Trump helped shape a Supreme Court that granted all presidents presumed immunity for official acts in office. That codified a level of freedom and presidential power some assumed — but was never solidified. Now, it is. Fully expect more cases codifying presidential power to land on the Supreme Court docket. Trump wields power with few perceived restraints. Others will follow, especially when they control Congress.
Presidential profits. Presidents and their families can start businesses — or even currencies — and profit without restriction or outcry going forward. They always could — but most steered clear of the appearance of a conflict or profiting off their power while in office. It was seen as beneath the presidency. But Trump started promoting a memecoin three days before taking office — with paper value that reached tens of billions — with little outcry. Most Americans didn't realize there are basically no limitations on presidents profiting off their reins of power through new businesses or business deals. Now, they do.
What to watch: Republicans currently rule Washington and the courts — so they're full, content beneficiaries of all of this. But what happens when Republicans are inevitably out of power?
Power in Washington has swung wildly for 20+ years — Biden had two years of all-Democratic rule ... after first-term Trump had two years of all-GOP rule ... after President Obama had two years of all-Dem rule ... after former President George W. Bush had full GOP control ... after former President Clinton had two years of full Dem control.
Reality check: There's an asymmetry between MAGA and the Democratic Party as it currently exists.
Democrats have a religious devotion to norms and institutions that Republicans simply don't share, and it's a unique feature of Trumpism to despise the "Deep State," mainstream media, and checks on executive power.
Biden campaigned in 2020 on restoring normalcy. The 2028 Democratic nominee might well take a similar tack — though four years of Trump could push the party in a more brass-knuckle populist direction.
The bottom line: History shows the next Democratic president, with a Democratic Congress, will likely use — and expand — many of these powers. Biden did it! Trump did it! So I shall do it, too!
Axios' Zachary Basu contributed reporting.
Go deeper: "Behind the Curtain: Purges, punishments, payback."
Flights throughout the U.S. could experience "residual delays" Sunday morning due to a temporary warning system outage, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The big picture: It is unclear if the outage was tied to the broad changes and deletions across federal sites, which led to several pages and datasets going dark.
Duffy said in a Saturday night statement shared to social media that the Federal Aviation Administration was working to restore the temporary outage of the primary Notice to Air Missions system, which alerts pilots about hazards or "abnormal" information that would impact flight operations.
The latest: Duffy said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that the "lead system" is now "online and working."
There was "minimal disruption" as a result of the outage, he said, adding he wants to "expedite" fixes to the NOTAM system, which he described as "an old system that needs to be upgraded."
Catch up quick: Duffy on Saturday said there was no impact on the National Airspace System because "a backup system is in place."
"We are investigating the root cause and we will provide updates," he wrote.
By the numbers: There have been 657 delays within, into, or out of the country as of Sunday around 9:20am ET, per air traffic tracker Flight Aware.
There have been 64 cancellations within, into, or out of the U.S.
Zoom in: The outage comes days after the fatal midair collision of a regional jet and Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., the deadliest air carrier crash in the U.S. since November 2001.
Flashback: This is not the first time the Notice to Air Missions system, which communicates hazards like closed runways or airspace restrictions in real time, has gone down.
In 2023, the FAA ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures after an outage.
Don't want to wait for that trendy bagel or fashion pop-up? You can hire someone.
Why it matters: More people are paying for line-standing services.
Bookings for such jobs rose 18% at the end of 2024 compared to 2023, according to Taskrabbit data shared with Axios.
How it works: Users hire a line stander online — Taskrabbit rates average $27 per hour — and discuss details, like when to swap places in the queue.
Demand is especially hot in New York City, where Taskrabbit requests for someone to wait for reservations at Lucali, a star-studded Brooklyn pizzeria, surged 30% from September to October of last year.
The big picture: Gig workers aren't the only people in the waiting game, much to the frustration of some customers.
The other side: You can pay to skip the line nearly everywhere. But there might be mental health benefits to waiting it out, according to psychologist Maggie Mulqueen.
"When we denigrate the act of waiting, we risk losing an important part of our shared humanity," she wrote for CNN in 2023.
The penny is seemingly immortal: Thousands of people have tried to kill it, but every time it has survived.
Why it matters: It now meets what might be its most formidable adversary yet, in the form of Elon Musk.
Driving the news: A post from the official DOGE account on X makes clear what everybody who has studied the subject already knows — that pennies are, quite literally, weighing down the American economy.
"Few things symbolize our national dysfunction more than the inability to stop minting this worthless currency," wrote Caity Weaver in a 7,500-word jeremiad for the NYT Magazine last September.
By the numbers: The 240 billion pennies lying around the U.S. collectively weigh about 600,000 tons — the weight of three Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
The overwhelming majority of them made their way after being minted to some retailer, where they were given out in change. After that, they just stopped being used, because almost no one actually spends pennies.
In fact, cash broadly is increasingly rare as a form of payment. Only about 16% of payments are made in cash, per the Federal Reserve banks, and cash is no longer the most popular form of payment even for purchases under $25.
Then there's the cost — in fiscal 2024 the U.S. Mint reported each 1-cent penny cost 2.72 cents to produce, the 17th consecutive fiscal year the coin cost more to make than it was worth.
The big picture: The penny is such an anachronism that many of the original arguments for its abolition can now be applied to nickels and dimes, too.
The last time the U.S. discontinued a coin was in 1857, when the half-cent sensibly disappeared. That coin was worth almost twice as much as a contemporary dime.
For the record: A DOGE spokesperson, asked whether they intend to abolish the penny, responded with "Shouldn't you ask Treasury?"
Treasury didn't respond to a request for comment.
The bottom line: Dimes and smaller denominations serve no useful purpose. In a rational country, the nation's pockets would be weighed down with them no longer.
The future of the Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal is hanging on the outcome of a meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that is set to take place on Tuesday at the White House, three Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to move forward with the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas. Families of the hostages — and Israeli negotiators — are concerned he won't follow through to the second phase as he fights for political survival.
Israeli officials told Axios that Netanyahu is waiting to see where Trump stands on the second phase of the deal — which is supposed to lead to a permanent ceasefire, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forcesfrom Gaza — before he makes any decisions.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the second phase are supposed to begin Monday. But there's already a major gap: Hamas wants to end the war and stay in power in Gaza. Israel opposes ending the war as long as Hamas is still in power in Gaza.
Netanyahu hopes he'll be able to influence Trump's thinking and convince him to endorse his plans for the war in Gaza, the officials said.
One Israeli official said that if Netanyahu decides not to move toward the second phase of the deal, the implication could be at least another year of war in Gaza in an attempt to topple Hamas.
Driving the news: Israeli officials say the negotiations won't start on Monday, as outlined in the deal, because Netanyahu decided not to send the negotiations team to Doha before he meets with Trump on Tuesday.
Netanyahu is expected to arrive in Washington on Sunday evening.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office said Netanyahu spoke on the phone with White House envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday.
"They agreed that the negotiations on the second stage of the hostages deal will begin at their meeting in Washington this Monday, the 16th day of the agreement, within the framework of which they will discuss the Israeli positions," the statement said.
The office said that later in the week, Witkoff will speak with the Prime Minister of Qatar and the director of Egyptian intelligence, who are mediators in the negotiations.
"He will then discuss with the Prime Minister steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for the departure of delegations to the talks," the prime minister's office said.
Behind the scenes: Netanyahu was supposed to hold a meeting on Saturday night with the heads of the negotiations team — Mossad director David Barnea, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and Israeli Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon.
A senior Israeli official told Axios the negotiations team intended to present Netanyahu with a plan for beginning negotiations on the second phase of the deal, in an effort to push talks with Hamas in a positive direction.
But shortly before the meeting was scheduled to begin, Netanyahucanceled it. He sent his military adviser, Maj. Gen. Roman Goffman, to notify the heads of the negotiation team that the prime minister decided not to send a delegation to Qatar at the moment, the Israeli official said.
"Netanyahu made this decision without even holding a discussion with the negotiations team and hearing them out. He prefers not to do anything until the meeting with Trump," the official said.
Netanyahu's decision not to send the delegation to Qatar comes two days after he informed the heads of the negotiation team that his confidant, Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, will take over as chief negotiator, two Israeli officials said.
The officials said Netanyahu's reasoning was that the negotiations on the second phase of the deal are more political and strategic in nature, and are directly connected to the "day after" plan for Gaza that Dermer has been working on.
Netanyahu said the negotiations will be conducted mainly with Witkoff, who is Dermer's counterpart.
But some Israeli officials think Netanyahu is trying to have full control over the negotiations, and marginalize the role of the heads of the security and intelligence services in the talks.
A senior Israeli official said Barnea and Bar warned the prime minister that this change could harm the negotiations on the second phase of the deal, and emphasized that the talks are not with the U.S. but with Hamas through Qatar and Egypt.
What to watch: "The real serious negotiations over phase two will only begin after Bibi meets Trump," a senior Israeli official said. "Nothing meaningful will happen before that."
For many Black women, Trump's presidency isn't just a political reckoning — it'sa wake-up call to turn inward, prioritize self-care, and build movements rooted in their own needs and empowerment.
The big picture: After overwhelmingly backing Democrats, many Black women are now stepping away from politics to focus on themselves and their communities.
State of play: "Our well-being, the well-being of our children and our communities, cannot be based on the whimsical nature of white folks or a particular political party," LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told Axios on Friday.
She said just as Black people realized during the Reconstruction era that they would have to take hold of their futures, building their own cities, churches, homesteads and banks, Black people have to do the same today.
"I can't afford just to respond. I've got to reimagine," Brown said. "I can't afford just to fight. I've got to build."
Win With Black Women, a group that raised over $3 million for the Harris-Walz ticket in 2024, now aims to protect former Vice President Harris' legacy by "advancing Black women into leadership roles."
"No matter who is in the White House, Black women will continue to champion the progress that Vice President Harris has led whether in our own neighborhoods, communities, or in Washington, D.C.," said Holli Holliday, a WWBW partner andpresident of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote.
Image: Created with the generative AI tool ChatGPT by Nikki Frenney
As Nikki Frenney, a political influencer, put it, "Rest is resistance."
She campaigned for Harris and created the viral AI graphic "92%" inspired by artist Navi'Robins — an image featuring an American flag and a woman in a 92% t-shirt, symbolizing the percentage of Black women who voted for Harris.
Now, she's launching a 92% movement focused on wellness, economic empowerment, and cultural connections for Black people.
"I believe we have to prepare ourselves for chaos that could be coming down the pipe, simply based on the previous four years that we had in the Trump administration," Frenney said before Trump's inauguration.
Then-Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt (now the White House press secretary) told Axios Trump "will unify the country through success."
Catch up quick: Since then, Trump rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion and affirmative action programs.
In response, corporations such as Target, Amazon and Boeing began rolling back DEI work that helped propel Black women and business owners into spaces predominantly occupied by white entrepreneurs.
What they're saying: Republicans control all three branches of the federal government, and "Now the guard rails are off," Frenney said.
Graphic entitled "Sometimes I Told You So Just Ain't Enough" Photo: Navi' Robins
Robins said "maybe they know what they're doing, whatever it may be, but in my mind, it's like at this point, we need to stop being martyred."
He said it's time for America to see itself for what it is, with Black people having long been scapegoats for the country.
"We're not the reason why any of this is happening," he said.
Zoom in: Brooke Floyd, director of programs for the Jackson, Mississippi-based nonprofit People's Advocacy Institute, told Axios the idea of turning inward to build your own community is one that has always been at the heart of her organization.
People want to see Medicaid expansions, more comprehensive healthcare coverage, criminal justice reform and clean water, especially in Jackson following a water crisis, Floyd said.
They have real concerns about public education funding reaching Black children.
"We fight the issues and not the people," Floyd said.
Zoom out: Cicley Gay,a Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation board member and philanthropic strategist with more than 20 years of experience, told Axios before the inauguration a lot of people are "reactive to what they believe a Trump administration will look like."
"And as an organization, we're not going to obsess over him," she said.
Gay canvassed for Harris and has been tasked with helping rebrand the Black Lives Matter nonprofit mired in financial controversy and division.
"We are going to look far beyond this presidency," she said.
She detailed her vision for "a future fully divested from policing and prisons and punishment paradigms, a future for BLM in particular that invests in justice, joy and culture."
President Trump on Saturday imposed across-the-boardtariffs on North American allies and China, which sparked immediate retaliation against domestic manufacturers.
Why it matters: After weeks of "will he or won't he," Trump opted for sweeping levies that could de-link economic ties with top trading partners. The impact on American consumers and businesses may be profound.
Zoom in: Mexican and Canadian imports are now subject to 25% tariffs — with the exception of energy from Canada, which will face 10% tariffs.
The White House also announced additional 10% tariffs on for Chinese goods — many of which already face import taxes held over from Trump's first term.
What they're saying: The White House said the tariffs, which take effect on Tuesday, were a response to an emergency threat posed by undocumented immigrants and drugs.
The Trump administration said the tariffs would remain in place "until the crisis is alleviated."
The executive orders include clauses that say the U.S. may "increase or expand in scope" the tariffs if the nations retaliate.
Hours after the White House orders, retaliation started: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory measures that would put 25% tariffs on more than $100 billion worth of U.S. exports, including beer, food products and appliances. Some tariffs will begin to take effect on Tuesday.
Trudeau also encouraged Canadians to buy locally-made products — skip Florida-made orange juice or Kentucky bourbon — and forego U.S. vacations.
What to watch: Business interest and lobbying groups, which have cheered Trump's expected deregulatory and tax policies, released a flurry of statements condemning the orders.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a statement, warned the tariffs "will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains."
"The Chamber will consult with our members, including main street businesses across the country impacted by this move, to determine next steps to prevent economic harm to Americans."
Between the lines: The impact of the tariffs could be passed on to a wide range of everyday consumer products.
Trump insists tariffs are not inflationary, though he conceded Friday they could cause "temporary, short-term disruption."
The Tax Foundation estimated Friday that the proposed tariffs would effectively be a tax of $830 a year on the average U.S. household.
Case in point: Most of the U.S. supply of tomatoes, avocados and beer comes from Mexico.
Auto parts, oil and gas are among the key Canadian exports to the U.S.
The intrigue: Trump is leaning on unprecedented authority to impose tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners.
The White House invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a Carter-era law that gives the president wide-ranging powers in an emergency.
The law has never been tapped to impose tariffs and is likely to draw legal scrutiny.
The big picture: The announcement ends days of drama that left domestic industries guessing and sent financial markets reeling.
Trump has demanded that Canada, Mexico and China curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. In the case of Canada and Mexico, he has demanded tighter border controls for immigration as well.
It's unclear whether compliance with such asks would be enough to remove tariffs.
Flashback: The White House drew up a tariff plan for Colombian imports in recent days, threatening levies unless the nation agreed to accept flights carrying deported immigrants. When Colombia complied, the threats receded.
What we're watching: In effect, Trump has blown up the free-trade deal with Mexico and Canada, the USMCA, that he negotiated in his first term.
These new tariffs set the scene for the beginnings of a new global trade war.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with reactions to the executive order.
Trump world 2.0 is moving at a pace that can be hard to follow — and that's intentional. If you missed some key White House or Capitol Hill events of the week, we've got you covered.
The big picture: Donald Trump's second week in office included a surprise federal funding freeze Tuesday that prompted nationwide confusion and a shifting timeline on tariffs across U.S. imports from Canada, Mexico and China set for a Feb. 1 rollout, creating whiplash in financial markets Friday.
As Axios' Erin Davis reported, much of Trump's activity in the last two weeks has involved a slew of executive orders — more than any modern president has issued in their first two weeks.
💰 On Tuesday, the Trump administrationannounced a surprise, temporary pause of federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs, effective 5pm ET that same day.
The move — which required agencies to document whether more than 2,000 programs received funding related to abortion, diversity, undocumented immigrants or climate policy — sent states, nonprofits, schools and other programs scrambling in confusion.
💼 TheTrump administration also offered Tuesday to pay federal workers who voluntarily resigned a buyout package that includes pay through Sept. 30, Axios' Marc Caputo and Emily Peck also scooped.
Millions of workers received an email with the subject line "A Fork in the Road" — the same language Elon Musk used when purging X's workforce after he became owner.
Federal funding freeze
🎯 The White House on Wednesday backtracked on the funding freeze, rescinding the memo that had ordered the temporary pause, though asserting it was "NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze."
White House officials had said the freeze would not affect Medicare, Social Security or other direct assistance that Americans "rely on."
But outages on various websites and the lack of detail or warning itself still caused chaos.
What's next: A federal judge temporarily blocked the funding freeze on Friday, citing a social media post from press secretary Karoline Leavitt as evidence the case should continue.
Trump blames DEI for plane crash
🕯️After the deadliest aviation crash the U.S. has seen in decades, Trump held a press conference Thursday at the White House as the cause remained unknown and a recovery mission was underway.
Without evidence, the president blamed diversity, equity and inclusion policies and his Democratic predecessors for what he framed as a lower-quality aviation workforce. He later ordered a DEI review of all federal aviation hiring and safety decisions.
Axios fact-checked the claims. Data shows air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are predominately male and white.
The collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over D.C.'s Reagan Airport left 67 people dead across both aircrafts.
🧮 Tariffs were coming on Saturday: 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, alongside 10% tariffs on China.
Then, they weren't, according to Reuters.
But no, they still are, according to the White House.
No matter what, the tariffs will likely spark retaliation of an unknown magnitude, risking economic pain for businesses and consumer, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports.
DEI scrubbing on federal websites
👀 Some federal web pages tracking issues such as HIV prevention, climate change and transgender care went down as of Friday afternoon.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sites or datasets were scrubbed of information on ending gender-based violence, contraception for health care providers and AtlasPlus, which housed HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and STD.
Ken Martin was elected on Saturday to serve as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, putting him at the helm of a party trying to rebuild its image after a disappointing 2024 cycle.
Why it matters: Martin, the longtime chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, wants to help the party get "back to basics" with a revamped messaging strategy aimed at winning back working-class voters who have drifted to the right.
Martin, considered a favorite heading into the Saturday vote, beat out fellow midwesterner Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler and half a dozen other candidates.
Martin won 246.5 votes from the DNC's 448 voting members, multipleoutlets reported.
Driving the news: In the crowded race for DNC chair, Martin's pitch zeroed on his winning record as chair of the Minnesota DFL. In the 14 years in charge, his party did not lose a single statewide race, giving him a 25-0 record.
Martin wants to take his winning state record to the national level, a message that clearly resonated with Democrats still reeling from losses up and down the ballot on Nov. 5.
"My record is unrivaled and unmatched in terms of winning elections and building power around the issues we care about," Martin told the Minnesota Reformer.
Martin demonstrated his strong fundraising prowess as DFL chair, a skill that he'll now need to leverage at the national level. Fundraising is one of the biggest jobs for the DNC chair.
Between the lines: As a longtime party leader and DNC vice chair, Martin locked up support among party officials across the country but bigger names were split over who to support.
Wikler drew the public backing of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other big names like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The big picture: The race for DNC chair comes after an election cycle that put President Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress.
As DNC chair, Martin will help lead the party's strategy and messaging, including by appearing on media himself to represent the party.
He will also have influence over setting the order for the 2028 Democratic primary, which could see Minnesota moving up its spot in the calendar.
Why it matters: This is the first military action Trump has ordered since assuming office as commander-in-chief 10 days ago.
Driving the news: "I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said the ISIS operatives were hiding in caves and "threatened the United States and our Allies."
Trump claimed the airstrike destroyed the caves and "killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a statement the strike in the Golis mountains was conducted by the U.S. military Africa command in coordination with the government of Somalia.
He said the Pentagon's initial assessment is that "multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed."
What they're saying: "The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that "WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!", Trump wrote.
America has never witnessed so many people purged or punished by an incoming president so quickly. White House sources tell us this is just the beginning.
On Friday night, a Defense Department memo said four major news organizations — The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico — will have to move out of their longtime workspace on Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon, an unprecedented move, under a new Annual Media Rotation Program for Pentagon Press Corps.
"Hope those hit pieces on Pete were worth it," a source close to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but not involved in the decision-making, told us.
Why it matters: President Trump long promised to oust and punish people his administration deemed political enemies or unfair critics. His administration is doing this faster, deeper and wider than many in Washington expected.
Democrats on the Hill are warning that Trump is sometimes acting outside the law — and without regard for government services Americans rely on, and for the American tradition that a president must be subject to checks, balances, scrutiny and criticism.
The big picture: The danger in moving so fast, so wide is losing vital, seasoned talent in hard-to-fill, essential governmental roles. It sets a precedent for future presidents to quickly remake the government in their image or ideological mold — and extend the power of the presidency.
Trump advisers see this much differently, of course. They argue the government is filled with anti-Trump activists and bureaucratic lifers who can be eliminated with little cost. The depth and breadth of actions in the first two weeks show the results.
In a move with city-by-city repercussions across America, Trump temporarily froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. A second federal judge, in Rhode Island, on Friday ordered a temporary pause.
Zoom in: This is unprecedented territory for Washington governance. Take the early strikes against the FBI and its role in investigating and prosecuting those involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Not only did Trump take the unprecedented step of pardoning virtually all involved, including violent criminals. His team is hunting down those involved in the probe, ousting many. Some of these prosecutors and officials didn't choose the case but were assigned to do it, did their job, and moved on.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove identified more than a half-dozen FBI senior executives who were ordered to retire or be fired by Monday, AP reports.
Bove asked for the names and titles of FBI employees who worked on investigations into the Capitol riot — a list the bureau's acting director said could number in the thousands.
"Forcing out both agents and prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases would amount to a wide-scale assault on the Justice Department," the N.Y. Times notes (gift link).
Then consider the Friday night announcement about Pentagon workspace for top news organizations. Every administration has the option of who gets seats and who doesn't.
But the message to mainstream media was unmistakable and not masked. The Pentagon said invitations will go out to the New York Post, One America News Network and Breitbart (Trump-friendly outlets), plus Huffington Post (which doesn't have a Pentagon correspondent and didn't request a space).
NBC News said in a statement: "We're disappointed by the decision to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we've used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has."
NPR said in a statement to Axios: "This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR's public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states. NPR will continue to report with vigor and integrity on the transformation this Administration has promised to deliver. NPR urges the Pentagon to expand the offices available to press within the building so that all outlets covering the Pentagon receive equal access."
N.Y. Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement to Axios: "This move to expel The Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon's press spaces is a concerning development. The Department of Defense has the largest discretionary budget in the government, millions of Americans in uniform under its direction, and control of a vast arsenal funded by taxpayers. The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest."
The bottom line: Moves like this are designed to send signals and make plain the consequences of tough coverage.
President Trump spoke on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah el-Sisi to discuss his idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan in order to rebuild the enclave.
Why it matters: Trump's comments about moving Palestinians from Gaza alarmed the Egyptians, who see the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza to their territory as a threat to national security. Trump's idea would also involve displacing two million people.
At the beginning of the war, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised this idea, Sisi made it clear that such a move would jeopardize the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
What they're saying: Cairo confirmed the call and said Sisi invited Trump to visit Egypt as soon as possible in order to "strengthen strategic relations between the two countries and discuss the complex issues and crises facing the Middle East," as well as to participate in the opening of the new Egyptian Museum.
Trump extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit Washington, the Egyptian presidency said.
Sisi's spokesperson said the call was positive and the leaders discussed "the importance of continuing to implement the first and second phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal in order to stabilize the ceasefire."
Driving the news: Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One last Saturday that he wants Jordan and Egypt to take Palestinians from Gaza into their territory "temporarily or long term" while Gaza is being "cleaned up."
U.S. officials said Trump's comments were connected to the immense destruction in Gaza and the need for a huge rebuilding effort.
Over the last week, Trump has spoken three times in public about his idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
Trump said he believes Egypt and Jordan will eventually agree to take Palestinians from Gaza to reciprocate for the assistance they have received from his administration over the years.
Egypt was the only country other than Israel that received a waiver from Trump's decision to freeze all U.S. foreign aid.
The other side: Sisi and Jordan's foreign minister both said publicly in recent days that they oppose Trump's idea.
On Saturday, after a meeting of their foreign ministers in Cairo, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League issued a joint statement rejecting Trump's idea.
"The participants stressed the importance of the international community's concerted efforts to plan and implement a comprehensive reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip, as soon as possible, in a way that ensures the Palestinians remain on their land," they wrote.
The Arab foreign ministers stressed they oppose any attempt to infringe on the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza to their land "through evacuating that land of its owners through displacement or encouraging the transfer or uprooting of Palestinians from their land in any way or under any circumstances or justifications."
They added that such a move will threaten stability, continue the conflict in the region and "undermine the chances of peace."
Keith Siegel, an American citizen who was held hostage by Hamas for 484 days, was released on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Why it matters: Siegel is the first American hostage who was released by Hamas since November 2023.
Six American hostages are still held by Hamas, two of them are still alive.
Driving the news: Siegel, 65, was kidnapped by Hamas from his home in the Kibbutz of Kfar Aza during the October 7 attack with his wife Aviva Siegel.
Aviva Siegel was released in the first hostage deal in November.
Two other Israel hostages — Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas — were also released on Saturday.
Bibas' wife and two babies were also kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Hamas claimed they have been killed while in captivity by an IDF air strike. The IDF didn't confirm that. They are still held in Gaza.
What we're watching: American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen is expected to be released later this month as part of the first phase of the deal.
American hostage Edan Alexander will be released only if Israel and Hamas reach an agreement on the second phase of the deal.
Negotiations on the second phase are expected to begin on Monday.
Four Americans who were killed on October 7 and their bodies taken to Gaza — Etay Chen, Omer Neutra and Judi Weinstein and Haggai — will only be returned on the third phase of the deal.
State of play: About 180 Palestinian prisoners, among them those who were convicted of murdering Israelis, were released on Saturday.
As part of the ceasefire deal, the Rafah crossing was opened for the first time on Saturday after almost a year of being shut down.
50 wounded Palestinians, including children, left Gaza through the crossing on Saturday for medical treatment in Egypt.
The crossing was opened without any Hamas involvement and with Palestinian staffers who are affiliated with the Palestinian Authority together with European Union monitors.
This is the first time the Palestinian Authority has resumed its activity in Gaza since the Hamas military coup in 2007.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated the hostages' return in a statement on Saturday.
"President Trump and his Administration have worked diligently to secure their release and are committed to freeing all remaining hostages," she said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the White House's statement.
Why it matters: Conservatives argue Black history lessons induce guilt, while critics of Trump's agenda view the president's work as an effort to erase hard truths.
Driving the news: As every president since 1976 has done, President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Black History Month on Friday.
Yes, but: The proclamation comes after weeks of targeting DEI initiatives through decision making and rhetoric. In his first days back in office, President Trump dismantled federal DEI programs, halting efforts to bolster diversity and inclusion.
The executive order ended programs to bolster diversity and inclusion on the federal level in schools.
The orders also signal possible legal challenges to private sector diversity efforts, a move civil rights groups say could dismantle decades of progress.
Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League, called this an "assault on the Civil Rights Movement" and led discussions on a legal response.
When asked about reports that the Defense Intelligence Agency discouraged Black History Month programming to align with Trump's views on DEI, press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the proclamation as the president's planned recognition of Black History Month.
It touts the achievements ofFrederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas and Tiger Woods.
The big picture: What some see as an effort to erase "wokeness" and diversity efforts (DEI), is a battle over how America accepts, acknowledges or edits its past.
The push to erase Black history isn't theoretical—it's already happening.
The Tuskegee Airmen, once American heroes, nearly became collateral damage in a political battle. The Air Force initially tried to remove their references from its curriculum but reversed course days later.
Zoom in: Edmond W. Davis, a scholar of the Tuskegee Airmen, says their legacy should not be swept into DEI politics.
"For the men and women of the Tuskegee Airmen, this isn't DEI—it's plain old history. Military history. American history," Davis said.
He argues their contributions stretch beyond race: "We focus heavily on African Americans, but there were also women, Latinos—the first wave of civil rights pioneers before MLK and Rosa Parks even got up. They were fighting."
Zoom out: Some historians argue Black history is being framed as controversial, much like the fight over critical race theory. Attempts to minimize it distort historical truths, skew public understanding, and turn facts into political weapons, they argue.
Martha S. Jones, a history professor at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, argues that although DEI restrictions, anti-wokeness, book bans, and curriculum limitations restrict access, history cannot be erased.
"As heinous as book bans are, they're not making history disappear," she says. "The fight over history has always existed, but so has the resistance."
Jones highlightsCarter G. Woodson, who created Negro History Week in 1926, decades before Ford's proclamation and its expansion to Black History Month—not due to wide acceptance, but because history was suppressed.
Black History Month was not a government gift; it was a hard-won effort by Woodson during Jim Crow.
"Woodson didn't wait for permission," Jones said. "He established institutions, authored books, and ensured Black history was told despite barriers."
The bottom line: Jones said it is important to remember that "no one gave us permission" to have Black history.
"I don't want to be cheeky, but I have news for folks who imagine they can declare Black History Month done," she said. "Black folks have been told that before, and we have persisted. We will persist. We will continue to know our history, research our history, teach our history, capture our history, and celebrate our history."
"It doesn't live in the White House. It lives in us."
Editor's note: This article and headline have been updated to provide additional details and clarity about President Trump's Black History Month proclamation.
