The volatility we've seen in the markets this week is not unprecedented, but it's extremely rare, and has happened only four previous times since 1978.

Why it matters: This kind of noise is a sign that we've now entered a world of radical uncertainty, and that the markets are finding it impossible to do their main job, which is price discovery.

Flashback: Last Thursday, as the markets reacted to the tariffs unveiled the previous evening, the S&P 500's intraday trading range — the gap between the high and low points of the trading day — was a relatively modest 2%.

• Stocks opened down 3.1% and ground lower to close down 4.8%, in what looked like a large but orderly decline.

Where it stands: This week's trading has been very different, marked by wild intraday swings. The S&P 500% rose 8.3% in a mere 34 minutes on Monday. On Tuesday it opened up 4% and closed down 3%.

Between the lines: Stock market trading is increasingly dominated by multi-strategy "pod shops," and at the heart of most of them is "some sort of quant strategy," as hedge fund manager Krishna Kumar recently told the Odd Lots podcast.

• What that means in practice is a lot of short-term trades and a lot of leverage, both of which work to magnify both returns and volatility.
• Meanwhile, fundamentals-based long-term investors have essentially zero visibility into how the current tariff drama is going to play out.
• Without any strong conviction one way or the other, they're now hesitant to take losses or buy the dip, and they have therefore effectively ceded the role of price discovery to the algorithms.

What's next: What we haven't yet seen, says David Rolley, co-head of fixed income at Loomis Sayles, is "capitulation" by those real-money investors.

• While Rolley does see international investors in particular rotating out of U.S. assets, he says that process is likely to take years rather than days.

The bottom line: Previous bouts of massive volatility were associated with huge financial dislocations, or, in the case of the pandemic, the entire planet pretty much coming to a stop.

• This time around, though, the chaos is intentional.

President Trump has done more unprecedented, lasting things in 80 days than many presidents do in a four-year term.

Why it matters: There are 1,382 days to go in this term.

So let's step back and appraise the indisputable acts of power that have changed America in Trump's first two months and three weeks, as synthesized by Axios' Zachary Basu:

1. A new global economy.

• Trump has declared an all-out war on globalism, detonating every one of America's trading relationships — allies and adversaries alike — by imposing the largest tariffs in nearly a century.
• Trump's push for a manufacturing renaissance has helped secure at least $1.6 trillion in U.S. investment pledges. But his tariff rollout melted markets globally and dramatically raised the threat of a recession.
• The renewed trade war with China carries the biggest potential blast radius, with the world's two largest economies engaged in a tit-for-tat escalation that could snarl global supply chains.

2. A new world order.

• The rules-based system forged after World War II is dead: Trump has withdrawn from multilateral institutions, threatened to expand U.S. territory to Greenland, Gaza and Panama, and alienated America's closest allies.
• Canada, stewing in nationalist fervor from Trump's tariffs and his "51st state" mockery, has declared our close relationship "over" and is looking to other allies for security and economic cooperation.
• Europe is in the midst of its own radical transformation, singed and stunned by Trump's tariffs, constant insults, undermining NATO and siding with Russia over Ukraine.
• Years of U.S. strategy designed to isolate China is up in flames, with Asian allies turning to Beijing for trade refuge and Taiwan fearing it could meet the same fate as Ukraine.

3. A vast expansion of executive power.

• Trump is testing — and in some cases, obliterating — legal boundaries around presidential authority, including by punishing his political enemies and major law firms caught in the crossfire.
• Courts are grappling with hundreds of lawsuits challenging Trump's ability to override Congress on spending, immigration and federal employment — and facing intense pressure from his base over "traitorous" rulings. Attorney General Pam Bondi said this weekend on "Fox News Sunday" that since the inauguration, "we've had over 170 lawsuits filed against us. That should be the constitutional crisis right there. Fifty injunctions — they're popping up every single day."
• Trump has installed loyalists atop the Justice Department and FBI — declaring himself the country's "chief law enforcement officer" — and purged career officials and lawyers viewed as insufficiently MAGA.

4. A shrinking federal government.

• Elon Musk's DOGE cost-slashing has resulted in mass layoffs and the dismantling of whole agencies, including USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
• An estimated 60,000 federal workers have been fired in a broad effort to reduce the size of government, with deeper cuts still coming. Thousands have been reinstated, either through court orders or because officials moved impulsively.
• Cuts to Social Security's phone services are threatening disruptions for millions of seniors.

5. A sealed border.

• Illegal border crossings have plummeted to the lowest levels in decades, a testament to Trump's aggressive approach to curbing immigration through any means possible.
• That includes the unprecedented invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which Trump used to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a notorious mass prison in El Salvador.
• Trump also has taken aim at legal immigrants, revoking visas for college students involved in pro-Palestinian activism on the grounds that their presence could have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences."
• In both cases, lack of due process has deeply alarmed immigration activists and civil libertarians — while Trump's broader crackdown has had a chilling effect on foreign travel to the U.S.

🔮 Coming for subscribers: Axios AM Executive Briefing — with expertise from Axios tech policy reporters Maria Curi and Ashley Gold — is about to publish a subscriber-only special report on the collision of AI and Washington. Subscribe here.

President Trump's global tariffs mean clothes at U.S. retailers stand to get a lot more expensive.

The big picture: With the U.S. importing nearly all of its clothing and shoes — more than half from China, Vietnam and Bangladesh alone — soaring apparel prices could send shoppers thrifting.

• While resale does well all the time, "it does even better during an economic turn down," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale Professionals.

By the numbers: The popularity of secondhand shopping was already on the rise before the tariffs.

• A 2024 Recommerce Report from Offerup found that 35% of shoppers embarked on their first resale journey in the past year; an 8% year-over-year increase.
• A majority of shoppers said they turned to resale due to increased cost of living (58%) or cost savings compared to buying new (53%).
• 55% growth is projected for the re-commerce market by 2029, reaching $291.6 billion, with resale expected to account for 8% of total retail, even without the tariff impact.

Zoom in: "During any past recessions, this industry has absolutely flourished," Meyer told Axios, adding that when people look to save money it can attract those who have never shopped resale before.

• During the Great Depression, which also saw an increase in tariffs, consumers turned to thrift stores but there weren't enough goods until the 1970s when the stores saw significant growth, Jennifer Le Zotte, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said.
• During the Great Recession, a 2009 National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops survey found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. resale store respondents reported a 31% average increase in sales.
• That increase was likely also driven by the upswell in online marketplaces for secondhand goods, like eBay, Le Zotte said.

Zoom out: OfferUp, a peer-to-peer marketplace mostly for local goods, expects to see an uptick in secondhand buying in categories where tariffs may significantly impact retail supply, Ken Murphy, the company's chief innovation officer, told Axios.

• "We've seen that when supply chain disruptions occur and popular items become more scarce, people often turn toward secondhand options to get what they need at prices they can afford," Murphy said.
• "Consumers want to stretch their budgets without sacrificing quality."

Go deeper: Clothing prices could surge if these tariffs stick

Donald Trump Jr. will travel to Romania later this month shortly before the country's presidential election is held after a months-long delay.

Why it matters: MAGA heavyweights, including Trump Jr., Vice President Vance and Elon Musk erupted after Romania's top court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election over worries of Russian meddling — lambasting it as evidence that European countries are silencing the right.

• Vance in particular has argued European elites pretend to care about democracy while ignoring the will of their voters, if those voters happen to choose "extreme" candidates.

Catch up quick: Romanian government intelligence indicated that Moscow ran digital influence operations to benefit ultranationalist candidate Călin Georgescu, who had praised Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and won the election's first round.

• Trump Jr. slammed the decision at the time as "another Soros/Marxist attempt at rigging the outcome & denying the will of the people," referencing Democratic megadonor George Soros.

The latest: The new first round of voting will be held on May 4, with a runoff penciled in for May 18. Trump Jr. is visiting on April 28.

• The Romanian Constitutional Court last month barred Georgescu from running.

Zoom in: Trump is traveling to Romania to attend Trump Business Vision 2025, a business event, as part of a speaking tour organized by Salem Media, according to a source familiar with the matter.

• The person said Trump Jr. will not meet with government officials publicly or privately.
• Trump Jr.'s tour will also take him to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia.

The news of Trump's visit was first reported by Romanian media outlet G4media.ro.

A pair of House Democrats is introducing a bill that would force DOGE to open up its books to Congress and provide insight into its firings and other changes to federal agencies, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The bill is likely a long-shot in the Republican-controlled Congress, but it is the latest demonstration of how Democrats are trying to put their efforts to counter DOGE on display for voters.

• Democrats have faced upheaval from their base in recent weeks, with many grassroots activists accusing lawmakers of not doing enough to take on President Trump and Elon Musk.
• The party has responded with a flurry of letters, press conferences, protests outside of federal agencies, delay tactics, blocked nominations and even disruptions at Trump's speech to Congress last month.

Driving the news: The "DOGE Accountability and Transparency Act," introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), would require DOGE to submit an impact report to Congress every week.

• The report would need to detail the legal bases for all of DOGE's actions as well as an accounting of all firings, budget cuts, policy changes, physical alterations to federal buildings or relocations, and data accessed by the department's staff.
• That would begin with a report no later than one week after the bill passed covering all of DOGE's actions since Trump's inauguration, according to a copy of the 5-page bill first shared with Axios.

What they're saying: "We should not allow Elon Musk to recklessly take a chainsaw to our federal government; he must answer to Congress and provide real, regular updates on DOGE's actions," Schneider said in a statement.

• Said Lynch: "We cannot let President Trump's version of 'Wreck-it-Ralph' distract us while Elon Musk continues to gut agencies that are responsible for providing American families with essential needs and services."

Backstabbing was rampant in President Trump's first White House. In Trump 2.0, it's front-stabbing:

• Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, slights Elon Musk's car company on TV. Musk, a senior adviser to Trump, then calls Navarro a "moron" on social media.
• At the White House, staffers shrug and chuckle. "Boys will be boys," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says.

Why it matters: The Navarro-Musk spat over Trump's tariffs — Navarro is their biggest cheerleader, Musk thinks they're too much — would have embarrassed any other administration, and likely resulted in some sort of mea culpa or reconciliation.

• But in Trump's White House, public feuding by his team of rivals reflects the smash-mouth, unapologetic style that's part of its policymaking process.

As Trump's controversial tariffs, layoffs, budget cuts and power grabs rip through American society, he and his top aides don't seem to mind the images of a couple of advisers airing their policy differences in very personal terms.

• "The fact is, we like it," a senior White House adviser said with a chuckle.
• "We will let their public sparring continue," Leavitt said, calling it a sign of a transparent administration.

Reality check: The Navarro-Musk feud aside, Trump's advisers may squabble with one another but generally are aligned with him.

• However, the tariff policy has caused dramatic volatility in the stock market, led to widespread fears of a recession, and increased doubts about whether Trump knows what he's doing.
• The mixed messaging by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hasn't helped.

The backstory: The Navarro-Musk feud began Saturday, when Musk, who's been critical of the scope of Trump's tariffs, took to his X platform to mock Navarro for his Harvard University Ph.D., calling it a "bad thing, not a good thing." (Musk's post was deleted later.)

• Navarro hit back the next day, telling Fox News: "Elon sells cars. He's simply protecting his own interests."
• On Monday, Navarro called Musk a "car assembler" who imports parts for his Tesla vehicles.
• "The difference is, in our thinking and Elon's ..., is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here," Navarro said in a CNBC interview.
• Musk hit back on Tuesday, saying Tesla "has the most American-made cars" and calling Navarro "dumber than a sack of bricks." He also suggested Navarro had a developmental disability.

Between the lines: As the stock market has plummeted in response to Trump's tariff plan, worries inside the White House have risen and some subtle finger-pointing is underway.

• Some White House officials blame Navarro for the misleading data that Trump used in presenting his tariff plan last week. (Navarro pushed back, telling Axios: "Show me an anonymous source and I will show you fake news.")
• Lutnick has been the subject of a whisper campaign —and the unflattering articles that followed— from critics who don't like his brash style. (There is still some backstabbing on Trump's team, after all.)
• Some White House officials, meanwhile, looked askance at a Politico story crediting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for helping Trump sharpen his tariff message over the weekend.

Behind the scenes: As a globalist free-trader who does significant business in China, Musk is the odd man out when it comes to tariff policy in this White House. As a result, it's one of the few areas in which he has little input.

• Navarro is seen in the White House as the extreme end of pro-tariff policy; Musk represents the opposite. In between are Lutnick, Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council.
• The White House says as many as 70 countries want to negotiate tariffs now. The talks begin "trade rep to trade rep," according to the senior White House official, who said Bessent gets involved as details are fleshed out. Lutnick, meanwhile, acts as a liaison between the business community and the White House.
• "Everyone — everyone — believes in the power of tariffs," the senior adviser said. "The debate is how broad the tariffs should be, and could be, to be effective."

After a day spent criss-crossing Los Angeles in a series of Waymo robotaxis, I can confidently say: I'm a convert.

Why it matters: Self-driving cars, which once seemed like science fiction, are now real, and hailing a driverless taxi is an increasing option in more cities via popular apps like Uber and Lyft or directly with Waymo.

The big picture: Alphabet-owned Waymo is the clear leader in autonomous vehicle technology.

• While other AV companies are still in the development phase — or have disappeared altogether — Waymo One is a legit commercial robotaxi service that's expanding.
• It provides more than 200,000 rides per week in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In 2024, it racked up more than 4 million paid passenger trips.
• The company is targeting Miami and Washington, D.C. next, and making Waymo vehicles available on the Uber app, too, starting with Austin, Tex., and soon, Atlanta.
• Unlike Tesla and Zoox, whose cars require human supervision, Waymo vehicles are able to navigate giant swaths of select cities with no one in the driver's seat.

Instead of renting a car during a recent trip to LA, I decided to take Waymos everywhere I could.

• I was out of luck getting to and from the airport. Waymo doesn't yet serve LAX and doesn't go on the highway.
• But it does provide 24/7 ride-hailing service across 79 square miles of the city, including Santa Monica, Hollywood and downtown.
• Only once did I have to adjust my destination by a block because it was just beyond the edge of the service area.

Here's what I learned: The Waymo One app is a lot like hailing an Uber or Lyft. You can track your ride, update the pickup or drop-off spot, and share your route with a friend.

Yes, but: Sometimes the vehicle can't stop exactly where you'd like, so you might have to walk around the corner.

• That's partly because of limited curb access in congested areas — one reason Waymo had $65,000 in parking tickets last year in San Francisco.
• Wait times tend to be longer than Uber or Lyft because the fleet size is still relatively small. My longest wait time was 21 minutes, but typically it was under 10 minutes.
• The cars were clean, but one smelled faintly of dirty diapers and another smelled like weed, raising questions about maintenance when there's no human driver to monitor such things.
• A Waymo spokesperson explained later that the system is designed to freshen the cabin for the next passenger with a blast of air from the HVAC system.

The robotic Waymo Driver accelerates and brakes gently, so it's possible to work in the backseat without getting carsick.

• It's cautious, but not to a fault. It'll drive through a yellow light, for example, but it'll also slow for pedestrians and bikers.

Zoom in: One fascinating incident occurred when the car hit a pothole unexpectedly, causing a large "thunk." The impact was severe enough that the car pulled over to assess the damage.

• A message on the rear seat display, and on my phone, advised me that remote specialists were monitoring the issue.
• "Our team is aware of the interruption to your ride. Please keep your seat belt fastened and remain in the car unless there's an urgent need to exit."
• In less than 30 seconds, we were on our way again.
• At least now I know what to expect if something ever goes wrong in a driverless taxi.

💭 Thought bubble: I feel safer in a robotaxi that doesn't speed or weave through traffic.

• And I enjoy the solace of my own thoughts, rather than having to listen to some unknown driver's personal rants or taste in music.
• But for someone with a disability or a lot of luggage, it's nice to have help sometimes.

The bottom line: Overall, Waymo offered an excellent customer experience, but I wondered how it would be if the previous rider left behind a tuna fish sandwich.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Panama Canal faces "ongoing threats" as he singled out China during a visit to the key trade route on Tuesday.

The big picture: Hegseth's comments following a meeting with Panama President José Raúl Mulino that the U.S. and Panamanian officials would "take back" the key trade route "from China's influence" built on previous warnings from Trump administration officials, and they drew a strong rebuke from Beijing.

China did not build this canal.

China does not operate this canal.

and China will not weaponize this canal.

Together, we will take back the canal from China’s influence. pic.twitter.com/CiFCOJJFw6

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) April 8, 2025

• The first visit by a U.S. defense secretary to Panama in 21 years comes after President Trump has said Panamanian authorities should lower fees for U.S. ships to transit the canal or return its control to the U.S.
• Mulino has rejected accusations of Chinese interference but pledged his government would conduct an audit of Beijing-operated ports at the canal and share findings with the U.S. He said Panama wouldn't renew its deal with China over its Belt and Road building initiative.

What they're saying: "The United States of America will not allow Communist China or any other country to threaten the canal's operation or integrity," Hegseth said during a ceremony for a U.S.-funded dock at the Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Naval Base in Panama City.

• "To this end, the United States and Panama have done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defense and security cooperation than we have in decades," he added.
• Hegseth pointed to "China-based companies" that "control critical infrastructure in the canal area," referring to two Panama ports that a consortium including the U.S. firm BlackRock is in discussions to buy from Hong Kong's CK Hutchison.
• This "gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama," he added. "This makes Panama and the United States less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign."

The intrigue: After their meeting, Hegseth and Mulino released a joint statement in English and Spanish that included an agreement to work on compensation "for the payment of tolls and charges" for ships passing through the canal.

• AP notes that only the Spanish version states: "Secretary Hegseth recognized the leadership and inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas."
• Representatives for the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Axios' early morning request for comment.

The other side: "Who is truly safeguarding the canal's neutrality and prosperity? Who keeps clamouring to 'take back' the canal? Who is the real threat to it?" the Chinese Embassy in Panama said in a statement posted to social media, per a Reuters translation.

A federal judge on Tuesday sided with the Associated Press in its lawsuit against the White House, declaring that under the First Amendment the government can't bar journalists from certain government events because of their viewpoints.

Why it matters: It's a huge victory for both the AP and the free press.

• The AP's case served as a litmus test for how far the Trump administration could push the bounds of the First Amendment in its efforts to control its press coverage.

Zoom in: The judge granted the AP's request for an injunction to force the White House to reinstate the AP at Oval Office and Air Force One press events.

• "[T]he Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less," U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden wrote in his opinion.

What they're saying: "We are gratified by the court's decision. Today's ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution," AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said in a statement.

• "We look forward to continuing to provide factual, nonpartisan and independent coverage of the White House for billions of people around the world."

Catch up quick: The AP sued three Trump administration officials in late February for blocking its reporters from events like Oval Office meetings and Air Force One press pools, citing a violation of its First Amendment rights.

• A judge rejected the Associated Press' emergency motion to rescind the White House ban a few days later as he sought more details on the circumstances surrounding the case.

The big picture: The Trump administration has sought to take more control over press coverage. In February, the Defense Department informed several outlets, including NPR, NBC News, Politico and CNN, that their workspaces would be replaced by mostly conservative outlets such as Washington Examiner, Daily Caller and Newsmax.

• Axios recently reported that the White House is eyeing ways to possibly take over the White House briefing room seating chart, which has historically been governed by the White House Correspondents' Association.

Reality check: Some precedent was already set around these types of issues. During Trump's first administration, efforts to block reporters were found to be unconstitutional.

Go deeper: Trump's historic war on traditional media

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

President Trump's sweeping attempt to reorder the global economy went into effect early Wednesday, with historic tariffs on dozens of countries.

Why it matters: Trump says it'll revitalize the U.S. economy and bringing about a fairer global order. Economists and executives say it'll fracture global alliances and lead to a painful recession.

Driving the news: At 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, the U.S. began charging reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries, on top of the baseline 10% tariffs it started collecting last Saturday.

• Long-time allies like the European Union get a 20% tariff, while crucial manufacturing locales like Vietnam and Cambodia end up in the high-40% range.
• And then there's China, which already had a 20% tariff due to the fentanyl trade, and then got a 34% reciprocal tariff, and then an extra 50% more for retaliating against the U.S. levies — a 104% tariff in total.

Zoom out: The levies are almost universal, but some products are expected to be hit harder than others.

• The worst affected by the highest new tariffs in almost a century are video games, computer parts, smartphones, clothing and aerospace parts.
• The Yale Budget Lab estimates the tariffs will reduce the disposable income of the average American household by about $3,800 a year — though that's an average, and in reality the tariffs will effectively be a regressive tax on the poorest families.
• People have been rushing to stock up on cars, iPhones and even basic groceries before the tariffs kicked in.

Between the lines: Global financial markets have had four historically brutal trading days since Trump's April 2 announcement.

• Investors lost trillions of dollars in a wipeout that parallels only the 1987 market crash, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2020 onset of COVID.
• The market is caught up in massive uncertainty, compounded by a growing chorus suggesting the entire tariff formula was calculated incorrectly and may have set the rates far too high.
• Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, a staunch Trump supporter, warned of "economic nuclear winter" if the tariffs took effect.

What to watch: How long they actually last.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that 70 countries have reached out to the White House seeking to make trade deals.
• It wasn't immediately clear how soon those talks would happen, what outcome the White House would seek in them, or whether other countries will be amenable to what's on offer.

Go deeper... Scoop: A dozen House Republicans mull defying Trump on tariff bill

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday challenged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to a "one-on-one debate" on the House floor about Republicans' budget resolution.

Why it matters: It could happen, with Johnson telling reporters he is "happy to debate" his Democratic counterpart "anytime."

• Jeffries wrote in a letter to Johnson that they should "fully and transparently explain and defend our differing budget values to the American people."
• "The American people deserve the truth," he added.

State of play: Whether a vote to advance the GOP budget resolution even comes to the floor tomorrow is an open question as Johnson's path remains unclear.

• House Republicans' budget hawks are up in arms over the fact that the Senate version of the bill requires a far lower threshold of cuts than the House version.
• Johnson is grappling with at least a dozen House Republicans who are opposed to the bill and more who are undecided. He can only afford to lose a handful of votes.

What to watch: This dynamic would put Johnson in the difficult position of publicly defending a bill that most Democrats and many in his party oppose.

• Jeffries wrote in his letter that even the Senate version of the bill would "cut Medicaid, food assistance and veterans benefits in order to provide a $7 trillion tax break that would primarily benefit wealthy billionaires like Elon Musk."

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

The women's national championship game between UConn and South Carolina averaged 8.6 million viewers and peaked at 9.9 million on Sunday according to data from ESPN on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Viewership was down from last year's matchup (18.9 million) featuring Caitlin Clark, but it still set records.

By the numbers: The game was ABC's third most-watched women's championship, behind 2023's matchup between LSU and Iowa (which averaged 9.9 million) and 2024's game between Iowa and South Carolina, according to ESPN.

• Viewership was up 75% from the same matchup in 2022 on ESPN.

Catch up quick: ESPN platforms acquired exclusive rights in 1996. Games aired on ESPN networks 2020-2022 and on ABC in 2023-25.

The Final Four games drew historic numbers, too. The UCLA-UConn game averaged 4.1 million viewers and South Carolina-Texas averaged 3.6 million, landing in the top 10 best audience viewership on ESPN platforms.

Yes, but: Ahead of Sunday's title game, both South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma advocated for a new TV deal, one separate from the NCAA championships.

• "We need our own television deal so we can understand what our worth is," Staley said in a press conference Saturday.

Context: ESPN and the NCAA reached a new, eight-year deal in 2024.

The big picture: Even without star power like Clark and former LSU player Angel Reese, viewers are still tuning in to watch women's sports.

More from Axios

• Women's NCAA tournament ticket prices are down but still strong post-Caitlin Clark
• March Madness is doing fine without a Cinderella

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the 2024 women's championship was between Iowa and South Carolina (not UConn). The story and chart were also updated with the latest viewership numbers from ESPN.

Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism on Wednesday.

The big picture: The former global public policy director at Facebook, now Meta, will allege that Facebook cooperated with China's ruling Communist Party, per her opening testimony, as seen by Axios.

• Wynn-Williams' bestselling memoir on her negative experience of working for the tech giant from 2011-2017 was published last month. Meta obtained an emergency ruling blocking her from promoting the book.

What she's saying: "Throughout those seven years, I saw Meta executives repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values," the prepared opening testimony of Wynn-Williams reads.

• "They did these things in secret to win favor with Beijing and build an $18 billion dollar business in China," the former New Zealand diplomat will say.
• "During my time at Meta, company executives lied about what they were doing with the Chinese Communist Party to employees, shareholders, Congress, and the American public," per the opening testimony.
• Wynn-Williams will say she's appearing before the committee "to set the record straight about these illegal and dangerous activities," per the prepared testimony.

The other side: Meta spokesperson Andy Stone in a Tuesday evening emailed statement called the testimony "divorced from reality and riddled with false claims."

• He added: "While [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg himself was public about our interest in offering our services in China and details were widely reported beginning over a decade ago, the fact is this: we do not operate our services in China today."

Thought bubble via Axios' Maria Curi: TikTok has faced scrutiny over its ties to Beijing, but this whistleblower's testimony shows U.S. tech companies are also coming under fire for potential national security threats.

• While Zuckerberg has tried to get in President Trump's good graces, Republicans on Capitol Hill are not backing down and he continues to face scrutiny at the Federal Trade Commission.

Read Sarah Wynn-Williams introductory statement in full via, DocumentCloud:

Go deeper: Zuckerberg gets closer to D.C. (subscription)

President Trump signed executive orders Tuesday that use Energy Department emergency authorities and a war-time law to boost the sagging coal industry.

Why it matters: The White House is seeking to lean on coal-fired power —which has been in a steady decline in the U.S. over the last 15 years — to feed rising energy demand driven by artificial intelligence.

What he's saying: "We're ending Joe Biden's war on beautiful, clean coal," Trump said flanked by coal miners in hard hats in the East Room of the White House.

• The orders slash "unnecessary regulations," "rapidly expedite leases and coal mining on federal lands," and "end the government bias against coal," Trump said.

What's inside: Trump said he is invoking the Defense Production Act to back the industry.

• Trump said he signed a separate order granting emergency authorities under the DOE to keep coal plants running.
• The agency can temporarily keep plants running, a rarely-used move that has historically occurred during extreme weather events.
• Trump directed the American Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a "critical" mineral, a label that puts coal on par with minerals needed for defense and national security industries.

The big picture: The orders is a dramatic reversal from the Biden administration, which used the Cold War-era law in 2022 to boost production of electric heat pumps, transformers, solar panels and other products.

• Trump invoked the law last month to boost critical mineral production.
• Another piece aims to help agencies adopt "coal-related" exclusions from environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.
• He also directed the Justice Department to identify all state and local regulations that harm coal.

Reality check: Reversing the long-term decline in U.S. coal demand will be a tall task.

• While much in the orders focus on trying to ramp up U.S. coal mining, virtually no coal plants are being proposed.
• About 96% of the generator interconnection queue is wind, solar, and battery projects.

Zoom out: Energy Secretary Chris Wright touted coal as a way to meet AI electricity demand.

• "If we want to grow America's electricity production meaningfully over the next five or ten years, we [have] got to stop closing coal plants," Wright told CNBC's "Money Movers."
• And Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso said on Senate floor: "The climate alarmists say coal is the energy of the past. They are misinformed. Clean coal can fuel the future. It is affordable. It is reliable. It is ready to go."

The other side: Environmental groups panned the move as an outdated, polluting strategy that failed during his first administration.

• "What's next, a mandate that Americans must commute by horse and buggy?" said Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
• "Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable. The Trump administration is stuck in the past, trying to make utility customers pay more for yesterday's energy."

Between the lines: Congressional Republicans have sought to prioritize connecting new fossil fuel plants to the grid.

• "I don't think this order changes the facts that coal-fired power plants are old, expensive to run, and unlikely to operate very often or for many more years," said Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies LLC.
• "The plants will likely be kept on line longer than believed a few years ago due to an uptick in power demand," he added. "But that is unrelated to this order, and doesn't mean the plants will operate outside of peak periods to maintain reliability."

Friction point: Mining companies believe they are in an "entirely new environment—really uncharted territory—when it comes to energy demand," Ashley Burke, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, told Axios.

• "In sum, where some reporting suggests the administration is throwing a lifeline to coal, it's actually coal that's throwing a lifeline to the grid," Burke said.

At least a dozen House Republicans are considering signing onto Rep. Don Bacon's (R-Neb.) bill to restrict the White House's ability to impose tariffs unilaterally, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's a significant break with President Trump, who has threatened to veto the bill should it pass Congress.

• Bacon told Axios that two Republicans — Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) — and two Democrats have signed on to the bill as co-sponsors.
• He added: "I have 10 others who want to do it but they want to talk to the trade representative first."

The details: The bill would cause any tariffs a president institutes to expire after 40 days unless Congress votes to pass a resolution of approval.

• It would also give Congress the ability to pass a resolution of disapproval to eliminate the tariffs at any time.
• More than half a dozen Senate Republicans have co-sponsored an identical bill from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

Zoom in: A House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid immediate backlash from the White House identified themselves to Axios as one of the GOP lawmakers who plans to co-sponsor the bill.

• The lawmaker told Axios that while Trump's tariffs have had positive effects, they are also hitting farmers in their district hard.
• "It's right there in the Constitution — we can have a bill to make it more specific — but Congress has a responsibility too to watch this," the House Republican said of the legal merits of Bacon's bill.
• Some House Republicans who have said they are otherwise inclined to support the bill, however, have cited Trump's veto threat as a reason not to.

What to watch: Bacon said he is in no rush to mount a concerted push to bring it up for a vote but isn't ruling out an eventual effort to force it to the House floor.

• "I don't think it's likely for this next month, maybe two months. I want that bill sitting there, and as we study the stock market, inflation, unemployment, this may be a viable way," he said.
• Bacon said "there is a prospect" that he ends up introducing a discharge petition — a procedural maneuver that, if signed by 218 members, can bypass leadership and force a vote on any bill.

President Trump on Tuesday ripped into Republican members of Congress who are trying to give Congress the ability to block him from unilaterally instituting tariffs.

Why it matters: The president's remarks during a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee laid bare divisions within the GOP over the administration's hardline protectionist trade policies.

• At least a dozen House Republicans are considering supporting Rep. Don Bacon's (R-Neb.) bill to sunset a president's tariffs after 60 days unless Congress passes a resolution of approval, Axios reported Tuesday.
• In the Senate, more than half a dozen Republicans have signed onto Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell's (D-Wash.) version.

What he's saying: "I see some rebel Republican, some guy who wants to grandstand, say, 'I think that Congress should take over negotiations.' Let me tell you, you don't negotiate like I negotiate," Trump said.

• "I just saw it today, a couple of your congressmen sir," Trump continued, pointing into the crowd, "'I think we should get involved in the negotiation of the tariffs.' Oh that's what I need, I need some guy telling me how to negotiate."
• Trump said the chatter on Capitol Hill about restraining his tariff powers "hurts your negotiation," adding: "And then the fake news wants to build it up, and it has no chance anyway."

Between the lines: Some of the more free trade-minded Republicans on Capitol Hill have watched uneasily this weak as the stock market lurched in response to Trump's across-the-board tariffs.

• House Democrats are hoping to further drive a wedge between Trump and his party in Congress by forcing a vote on ending his sweeping new levies.
• Trump has threatened to veto Bacon's bill if Congress were to pass it — something several Republicans have cited in explaining their refusal to co-sponsor it.

The Trump administration, which already closed a trade loophole that allowed cheap goods from China to avoid tariffs, is now tripling the planned levy.

Why it matters: Packages valued at less than $800 have enjoyed the "de minimis" exemption from added duties, which has enabled foreign online retailers like Temu and Shein to sell super-cheap items to American consumers.

Follow the money: Trump las week signed an executive order ending the loophole on shipments from China beginning May 2.

• The president had briefly suspended the duty loophole in the early days of his second term, before restoring the exemption while the Commerce Department put together a plan to "fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue."
• The Commerce Department has since declared that "adequate systems are in place to collect tariff revenue" on low-value international shipments.

Zoom in: Applicable duties will be attached to shipments under $800 that are sent from China to the U.S. outside of the international postal system, according to the White House.

• Shipments under $800 that are sent through the international postal network were originally to be "subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1, 2025)."
• But the White House tripled those levies on Tuesday — 90% of their value, or $75 (rising to $150 after June 1), citing the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China's government.

Threat level: Critics of the de minimis exemption say it has bludgeoned U.S. businesses, such as fashion retailer Forever 21, which recently began liquidating its U.S. stores after partly blaming the rise of Shein and Temu for its downfall.

• "The ability for non-U.S. retailers to sell their products at drastically lower prices to U.S. consumers has significantly impacted the Company's ability to retain its traditional core customer base," Forever 21 co-chief restructuring officer Stephen Coulombe said in a court filing.

The other side: Free market think tank Cato Institute argued that eliminating the de minimis exemption means "effectively raising taxes on American consumers and dramatically increasing shipping times."

• Representatives from Temu and Shein have not previously responded to Axios requests for comment on the de minimis issue.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has hired the prominent Republican consulting firm Axiom Strategies to run his primary campaign against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Paxton's challenge of the four-term senator — which he announced Tuesday on Fox News — is expected to be the GOP's most expensive primary in 2026.

• Paxton has tapped Nick Maddux, who served as the chief political adviser in his 2022 campaign, to run his primary challenge.
• Sam Cooper, another Axiom consultant, is expected to lead an outside effort to elect Paxton.
• Jeff Roe, the firm's founder, will not be personally involved, according to sources familiar with the planning. Axiom has long worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as well as Paxton.

The intrigue: Roe is among the party's most controversial political operatives and is in a feud with Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita.

• Trumpworld's disdain for Roe dates back to the 2024 Republican primary, when Roe ran an outside group backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
• Four days ago, Tony Fabrizio, Trump's pollster, used the news that Axiom was laying off 10% of its workforce to mock Roe.

Zoom out: The Republican party is bracing for a slugfest in Texas, with two state-wide elected officials, both with deep fundraising networks, preparing to go toe-to-toe in a state Trump won by 14 percentage points in November.

• Tim Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has pledged that his organization will support GOP incumbents.
• But he has vowed to stay in close consultation with Trump on the best way to avoid nasty intra-party fights.
• "We want to make sure that the president and I are on the same page on these issues," Scott told Axios last month.

The Supreme Court is clearing away many of the speed bumps lower courts have put in President Trump's path.

The big picture: The court said Tuesday the administration does not have to comply with a lower-court order directing it to rehire thousands of fired federal workers.

• The justices on Monday night lifted a judge's order prohibiting the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected criminals en masse.
• They also allowed the administration to proceed with a plan to freeze funding for teachers.
• And Chief Justice John Roberts granted the Justice Department's request for more time to litigate whether the U.S. must return a man who was deported due to an administrative error.

Between the lines: The Supreme Court's interventions have been narrow, procedural and temporary.

• None of them are rulings on the underlying merits of any big legal questions, and the legal battles over just about every element of Trump's second-term agenda are still raging.
• But even temporary wins are still wins. Letting the White House carry out its policies is no small victory, especially when you consider just how many of those policies lower courts have blocked.

The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to share the personal information of undocumented taxpayers with immigration authorities, a new court filing shows.

• "DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it," according to the document.

Why it matters: Immigrants without legal status contribute billions in tax revenue every year and the IRS has previously kept their tax returns, which include home and work addresses, private.

• Sharing this information could help immigration enforcement agents find undocumented immigrants faster, and potentially help the Trump Administration achieve its deportation goals.
• But it could also discourage undocumented immigrants from paying taxes and lead more to work in the informal economy.

Zoom in: Tax returns can only be requested in the context of a criminal investigation, and immigration authorities have to provide information about the specific individual in question and the reason tax details are relevant to the investigation, per the filing.

What they're saying: Border Czar Tom Homan argues that this deal is about protecting social security in a recent interview with Axios.

• "This is about protecting social security for American people," Homan said. "Illegal aliens use the social security numbers of American people everyday."
• He argues that it's a crime to collect those benefits when you're not supposed to and this cooperation will help investigators.

Reality check: Undocumented immigrants likely pay far more in Social Security taxes than is paid out to undocumented people through fraud.