Luigi Mangione, charged in the brazen murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, left behind a tantalizing digital footprint with few parallels in the history of famed assassins.

Why it matters: Mangione's alleged crime and possible motivations have sparked nationwide debates over America's health care system and its culture of violence, which have already rippled through business and politics.

• Journalists, investigators and true-crime obsessives are now poring through the 26-year-old's extensive and eclectic online history, and coming to very different conclusions.

The emerging portrait is intriguing: High school valedictorian, Ivy League-educated data engineer, avid gamer, fitness buff, backpacker, amateur philosopher, victim of debilitating back pain.

• But it's also incomplete: Social media — which Mangione seemingly abandoned months ago — can only reveal so much about the true identity of any man, let alone an alleged killer.

Driving the news: In the immediate aftermath of Mangione's arrest, partisans of all stripes rushed to condemn — or claim, in the case of some edgy influencers — his perceived ideology.

• His posts had something for everyone: Conservatives saw an anti-capitalist San Francisco liberal; progressives saw an "anti-woke" rich kid who aligned with right-wing futurists.
• But a comprehensive review of Mangione's digital footprint suggests his politics don't fall neatly into one box — and that he had fairly anodyne interests for a 20-something tech bro.
• He engaged with a range of heterodox influencers, many of them focused on holistic health, self-improvement, psychedelic mushrooms, tech's role in society, and general anti-establishment sentiment.

What they're saying: "The world is getting worse and phones are killing us; politics won't save us but technology might; in the meantime, lift weights, take supplements, listen to podcasts," journalist Max Read summed up the subculture reflected by Mangione's media diet.

Zoom in: The most revealing online clue to what potentially drove Mangione is his experience with chronic back pain, which friends confirm caused major disruptions to his active lifestyle.

• On Reddit, Mangione shared that he had spinal fusion surgery in July 2023 — though his posts never mentioned any frustrations or anger toward the health insurance industry, according to the New York Times.
• His final post appears to have been on the subreddit r/tedkaczynski — a forum dedicated to the Unabomber, whose anti-tech manifesto received a four-star review from Mangione on GoodReads.

Between the lines: Anyone with an online presence knows digital breadcrumbs can only lead you so far, especially when they get hoovered up in a criminal investigation.

• More than at any point in human history, evidence lies in plain sight: Rather than seek a subpoena for Mangione's library list, investigators can openly peruse his preferred books, podcasts and communities online.
• But social media is also inherently performative: Mangione's persona is one that he curated — and reality is likely far more complicated than what he conveyed online.

Perhaps most critically, social media posts tend to capture a singular moment in time.

• Mangione, the scion of a wealthy Maryland family with a network of close friends and excellent career prospects, shared little online that would suggest he could be capable of a heinous murder.
• But his apparent disengagement and isolation beginning six months ago — from his family, friends and online spaces — likely hold clues that won't turn up in a Google search.

Axios' Meg Morrone and Scott Rosenberg contributed reporting.

Go deeper: How the internet cheered the UnitedHealth shooting suspect as a folk hero

The Syrian revolution has quietly played a seismic role in the trajectory of the 21st century, transforming global politics with shock waves still echoing 14 years after the Arab Spring.

Why it matters: The fall of Bashar al-Assad has ushered in an unpredictable new era not only for Syria and the Middle East, but for the great powers that have long treated the region as a battleground.

The big picture: Syria's 2011 uprising marked an inflection point in the history of global conflict, wedged between the Iraq War in 2003 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

• What began as an anti-government protest movement devolved into one of the bloodiest civil wars of the modern era, with an estimated death toll of more than 500,000 people.
• More than 14 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes amid Assad's brutal crackdown, with many finding refuge in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
• Millions also sought asylum in Europe — exacerbating the 2015 migrant crisis and giving rise to far-right forces that have since gained a foothold in governments across the continent.

Zoom in: Into Syria's power vacuum stepped the Islamic State, whose barbaric brand of jihad terrorized the world as it conquered vast amounts of territory in both Syria and Iraq.

• Donald Trump came to power pledging to ban Muslim immigration after a 2015 ISIS-inspired attack in San Bernardino, California — riding the same anti-migration fervor that helped fuel that year's Brexit vote.
• By 2019, the U.S. military and its international allies had largely vanquished the ISIS caliphate, assisted by Kurdish-led forces in Syria that Turkey views as terrorists.
• The U.S. still maintains a small military presence in northeast Syria, and carried out dozens of airstrikes on ISIS targets on Sunday to ensure the terrorist group cannot reconstitute.

Between the lines: For over a decade, Assad clung to power with the help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah — three U.S. adversaries who exploited the Syrian crisis to advance their own regional goals.

• Russia, which maintained access to a critical Mediterranean naval base in Syria, honed the same private mercenaries and indiscriminate bombing tactics later deployed in its invasion of Ukraine.
• Iran used Syria as a pipeline to funnel weapons and militants to Lebanon, where Hezbollah comprised the core of the "axis of resistance" against Israel.
• The U.S., Turkey and other NATO countries funded various rebel factions as they called for Assad to step down — turning Syria into a proxy battlefield for the world's most powerful countries.

Zoom out: Eventually, as Assad reclaimed territory from the rebels and the conflict stabilized between 2020 and 2023, Syria and its suffering receded from the front pages.

• President Obama's retreat from his "red line," which had threatened Assad with military action if he used chemical weapons, dealt a blow to the credibility of the "rules-based international order."
• Trump's "America First" isolationism grew in popularity, and Assad seemed entrenched as the U.S. sought to pivot away from its misadventures in the Middle East.

The world's attention largely turned inward — or to the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere that involve many of the same actors who helped shatter Syria.

• But millions of Syrians never gave up hope, determined to one day secure the freedom to chart their own future.
• That day has come, but what comes next is unclear: Whether it's a failed state, another authoritarian regime or a move toward democracy, the world will be watching with bated breath.

President Biden told reporters Sunday that the U.S. believes American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for 12 years, is alive and that "we think we can get him back."

State of play: The collapse of the Assad regime and the emptying of political prisons in Syria has raised new hope for the release of Tice, a freelance journalist who was abducted while reporting on the civil war in 2012.

• "We remain committed to returning him to his family," Biden said, though he cautioned that the U.S. does not have "direct evidence" of his condition.
• "We are reaching out to all contacts in government and the region. We encourage everyone to help us in our search for Austin. As a family, we are all in D.C. working for his fast and safe return," the Tice family told Axios in a statement.

Driving the news: Thousands of prisoners have poured out onto the streets of Damascus and other cities as Syrian rebels declared the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, who oversaw one of the most brutal police states in the world.

• Among the facilities being emptied is the notorious Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus — known as the "human slaughterhouse" for its use of torture and mass hangings.
• Countless political prisoners and Syrians disappeared into the country's vast and shadowy detention system over the Assad family's five-decade rule. Many are now being reunited with their families.

Tice's mother, Debra, had said at a press conference in D.C. Friday that she believes her son is alive, citing a "significant source" that has been "vetted all over our government."

• Debra Tice did not identify the source, but said she has "no doubt" that Austin is alive and being "treated well." The family met with Biden administration officials earlier in the day.
• Tice's father, Marc, said the family has "fielded a lot of false propositions and statements" about Tice's whereabouts and condition over the years — but that this is "very different."

Flashback: Tice, a Marine Corps veteran and one of the few American journalists inside Syria, was abducted while reporting on the country's civil war on Aug. 12, 2012.

• A month later, a video was released showing a blindfolded Tice being held by armed and masked men. He was 31 at the time of his disappearance.
• On the 10th anniversary of Tice's captivity, President Biden said in a statement that "we know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria."
• The Assad regime — which collapsed Sunday as Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus — has never acknowledged Tice's detention.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from President Biden.

President-elect Trump has assembled an administration of unprecedented, mind-boggling wealth — smashing his own first-term record by billions of dollars.

• That's even without counting the ballooning fortunes of his prized outside adviser and the world's richest man: Elon Musk.

Why it matters: It's not hyperbole to call this a government of billionaires. Whether it acts as a government for billionaires — as Democrats argue is inevitable — could test and potentially tarnish Trump's populist legacy.

The big picture: Besides Trump, Musk and his fellow Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Vivek Ramaswamy, at least 11 billionaires will be serving key roles in the administration.

• They've been picked to lead the departments of Treasury (Scott Bessent), Commerce (Howard Lutnick), Education (Linda McMahon), Interior (Doug Burgum), the Small Business Administration (Kelly Loeffler) and NASA (Jared Isaacman).
• On Thursday night, Trump announced that tech investor David Sacks, an early executive at PayPal and top Musk ally, would serve as White House AI and crypto czar.
• Financier Stephen Feinberg has been nominated for the No. 2 position at the Pentagon; Trump family in-laws Charles Kushner (ambassador to France) and Massad Boulos (Middle East adviser) were tapped for diplomatic roles alongside billionaire donor Warren Stephens (ambassador to the U.K.).
• An additional four top appointees are hundred-millionaires: Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz (Medicare and Medicaid administrator), Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano (Social Security commissioner), real estate executive Steven Witkoff (Middle East envoy) and fracking CEO Chris Wright (Energy Department).

By the numbers: Trump's projected Cabinet alone is worth at least $10 billion, according to research by Axios and the nonprofit Americans for Tax Fairness — an estimate that likely undervalues the true total.

• With Musk, Ramaswamy and other wealthy appointees included, the top of the Trump administration's net worth is likely higher than the GDP of hundreds of countries, including Finland, Chile and New Zealand.
• President Biden's Cabinet, by comparison, was worth an estimated $118 million when he took office, according to Forbes.

Between the lines: Trump's gilded Cabinet is the product of an election in which billionaires spent like never before in U.S. history — mostly on behalf of Republicans.

• And yet it was Democrats who shed major support among working-class voters, suggesting Trump's populist message — and the aspirational riches he represents — once again were underestimated.

What to watch: Still, by rewarding so many of his biggest donors and billionaire allies with plum postings, Trump could risk flying too close to the sun.

• With every billionaire appointee comes a minefield of conflicts of interest and ethical concerns — exactly the kind of swampy conditions that Trump has vowed to drain.
• The optics alone could turbo-charge the strain of populist left politics — championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — that characterizes America today as an "oligarchy."

The bottom line: Musk already has previewed the kind of clumsy messaging that could allow Democrats to paint Trump's billionaires as woefully out of touch.

• "We have to reduce spending to live within our means," Musk — whose PAC spent nearly $200 million to help Trump get elected — declared at town hall days before the election.
• "And, you know, that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity," the world's richest man added.

President-elect Trump's bombastic policy threats, Mar-a-Lago missives and mere presence have become a driving force in markets and capitals around the world, six weeks before Trump's inauguration.

Why it matters: Only one man occupies the White House. But the norm-busting assertiveness of Trump and his transition team — and the rapidly fading relevance of President Biden — have given the U.S. something of a two-headed presidency.

Driving the news: "Promises Kept," the Trump transition team boldly declared Monday, claiming achievements on border security, diplomacy, economic growth and anti-diversity initiatives — all before Trump has even taken office.

Reality check: The Trump effect is real. But posturing and preparation by companies, allies and adversaries don't tell the whole story of what his record will actually look like once his policies are implemented.

1. Borders: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rushed to Mar-a-Lago this weekend after Trump threatened 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico in response to migrants and fentanyl crossing into the U.S.

• The two leaders dined together, and Trudeau promised to deploy additional helicopters and drones to help tighten up the northern border — earning praise from Trump.
• Trump also spoke with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and declared that she had agreed to effectively close the southern border — a message Sheinbaum contradicted in her own account of the call.

2. Foreign policy: Even as Biden officials have worked feverishly to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz credited Trump with bringing them to the table.

• Trump's team also claimed credit for Iran's apparent decision not to retaliate against Israel for its October attack, touting the doctrine of "peace through strength."
• Trump, meanwhile, has fully re-engaged in diplomacy-by-tweet — promising "ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East" if the Gaza hostages aren't released before his inauguration on Jan. 20.
• Still, plenty of global hotspots — Syria, Ukraine, even South Korea — appear to be heating up, not cooling down, as Trump prepares to take office.

3. Economy: Trump loves nothing more than to take credit for a booming stock market, and there are plenty of indications his business-friendly agenda is preemptively powering record highs — especially in crypto.

• But Wall Street has been defying gravity for years now, and Trump is fortunate to be inheriting a remarkably strong economy from Biden — just as he inherited a strong economy from Barack Obama in 2017.
• One dynamic more directly connected to Trump's return is Walmart's staggering rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives last week — a victory for MAGA activists years in the making.
• Trump on Monday also reiterated his campaign pledge to block the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japanese-owned Nippon Steel, sending shares of U.S. Steel tumbling.

Between the lines: Biden's relatively low profile since the election — aside from his controversial pardon of his son Hunter — has only compounded the feeling that Trump is already in power.

• On Monday, Biden arrived in Angola for a long-promised and delayed visit to sub-Saharan Africa — making him the first president to travel to the region since Obama in 2015.
• "Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I'm in the final weeks of my presidency," Biden said in a speech touting his administration's commitment to Africa.
• "You don't have to clap for that. You can if you want," he joked.

President Biden's extraordinary decision to pardon his son Hunter has exposed deep Democratic fissures that are spilling into public view, complicating the party's efforts to rebuild after a disastrous election.

Why it matters: For years, Democrats have responded to Donald Trump's brazen lying, shattering of norms and alleged corruption by emphasizing their own respect for the truth, institutions and the rule of law.

• By pardoning Hunter on gun and tax convictions — or any other crimes he "may have committed" between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024 — some Democrats believe Biden has sacrificed a moral high ground that's been foundational to the party's identity in the Trump era.
• Other Democrats see that framing as hopelessly naive, and have posed the blunt question: What's the point of holding the moral high ground when America just elected a convicted felon?

Zoom in: Biden's sweeping pardon of Hunter — arguably the broadest since President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon — drew condemnation from even Biden's staunchest allies in Congress on Monday.

• Many sympathized with Biden's fatherly instincts, especially given the tragedies his family has endured — but warned that the pardon would further erode Americans' trust in government.
• For some liberal pundits, the about-face was an astonishing betrayal: Biden had explicitly ruled out pardoning his son on multiple occasions, including after it was clear that Trump — who's vowed revenge on his political enemies — had won the election.

The other side: For other Democrats, the outrage has revealed a laughable double standard.

• Trump made sweeping use of his pardon power to help out personal friends and family members, including his daughter Ivanka's father-in-law Charles Kushner — whom Trump just named ambassador to France.
• Trump also openly campaigned on pardoning supporters who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — discrediting the notion that the Hunter Biden case will somehow give Trump political cover to issue controversial pardons.
• "If you defended the 34x felon, who committed sexual assault, stole national security documents, and tried running a coup on his country…you can sit out the Hunter Biden pardon discussion," tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

The big picture: Some Democrats have grown sick of their party's pearl-clutching in the wake of the election, seeing it as symptomatic of a broader failure to fight Trump's fire with fire.

• "It's time to stop playing nice. We need to stretch the limits of what's possible and be as ruthless as Republicans when it comes to using every tool at our disposal," Democratic strategist Mike Nellis wrote last week.
• The focus on upholding norms has been especially frustrating to members of the populist left, who say Democrats' cultural elitism cost them enormously with working-class voters.
• Still, as swing-district Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) pointed out, the Hunter Biden saga threatens to reinforce the belief that there are two sets of rules: One for the well-connected, and one for everyone else.

The bottom line: As a new Trump era dawns in Washington, Democrats remain deeply divided over how to meet this moment. One thing's for certain: They'll no longer have Joe Biden to look to for answers.

President-elect Trump is expected to appoint ultra loyalist Kash Patel to a high-profile position at either the FBI or the Justice Department, top transition sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Patel would be a deeply controversial pick for any leadership role, especially FBI director. Given the hurdles Patel might face winning Senate confirmation, Trump is considering naming him deputy director or to an appointed investigative role within DOJ, the sources said.

State of play: A final decision hasn't been made. Trump still could change his mind, including by elevating Patel all the way to FBI director — a move that would send Gaetz-like shockwaves throughout Washington.

• "Kash has a lot of allies who think placing him in a top role would be well-received by the Trump base, and send a clear message that Trump is serious about major reform to the justice and law-enforcement agencies," a transition source told Axios.
• Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also is being considered for FBI director after Trump chose Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department. But a consensus pick hasn't emerged.

What they're saying: "President-elect Trump has made brilliant decisions on who will serve in his second administration at lightning pace. Remaining decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made," Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Axios.

The big picture: Trump has signaled he will fire current FBI director Christopher Wray, whom he nominated in 2017 to serve a 10-year term after ousting James Comey.

• Trump has viewed the FBI with deep distrust dating back to the bureau's 2016 probe into his campaign's alleged ties to Russia, which later turned into the Mueller investigation.
• Trump sees the FBI and the Justice Department as the heart of the so-called "Deep State" — a cabal of bureaucrats that Trump believes sabotaged his first presidency — and is intent on rooting out non-loyalists in his second term.

Zoom in: Patel, who rose to prominence waging war against the Russia investigation as an aide to former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), shares those aims.

• Patel served on Trump's National Security Council and later as chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, before publishing a book in 2023 that Trump praised as a "blueprint" for purging the government of "corrupt" actors.
• Patel has openly discussed retaliation against Trump's political enemies in government and media, and wrote in his book: "[T]he FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken."
• "No part of the FBI's mission is safe with Kash Patel in any position of leadership in the FBI, and certainly not in the deputy director's job," former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told CNN last week.

Flashback: Former CIA director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in December 2020 after Trump concocted a plan to install Patel as her deputy, as Axios first reported.

Zoom out: Bailey is also a Trump loyalist, but his experience and traditional conservative credentials would likely pave a smoother path to confirmation by the Senate.

• As Missouri attorney general, Bailey has led high-profile lawsuits against the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program and alleged censorship on social media.
• Bailey also sued the state of New York for alleged election interference and wrongful prosecution after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in his Manhattan hush-money case.

Between the lines: In a Cabinet stocked with a dizzying array of ideological rivals, the FBI has emerged as the final battleground in a fierce tug-of-war between MAGA and traditional Republicans.

• Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) was believed to be among the finalists for FBI director, before MAGA influencers intervened to kill his possible nomination.
• "Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI. It's not happening — in his own words, "I have never even given it a thought," Trump aide Dan Scavino tweeted as the rebellion brewed last week.

For two weeks, President-elect Trump has enjoyed — and exploited — an aura of invincibility that few Republicans have been willing to challenge publicly.

• On Thursday, the bubble finally popped.

Why it matters: For an otherwise pliant group of Senate Republicans, former Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general was a bridge too far.

Zoom in: There are scores of MAGA loyalists who could have sailed through Senate confirmation, plenty of whom were on the shortlist compiled by Trump's transition team.

• Instead, Trump chose a congressman not only despised by his GOP colleagues, but embroiled in a widely publicized House Ethics investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
• The explanation is head-spinning but simple: Trump has achieved historic political success by following his instincts — and his instincts tend to favor maximum chaos.

The big picture: Trump won't be inaugurated for another two months, but MAGA mayhem is already dominating the news cycle in the same ways it did throughout his first term.

Take Thursday alone:

• Gaetz abruptly withdrew from attorney general consideration after just eight days, making his nomination the third-shortest in U.S. history, according to the Senate historian.
• A 2017 police report was released detailing graphic sexual assault allegations against Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for defense secretary. Hegseth, who met with senators Thursday, has denied wrongdoing.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee for health secretary, apologized after CNN unearthed comments from a 2016 radio show in which Kennedy compared Trump to Hitler and insulted his supporters.

Flashback: If past is prologue, the pace of chaos is unlikely to relent even after Trump gets his Cabinet in place.

• Trump's first term saw record levels of staff turnover: His national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned 23 days in, and Trump routinely fired top officials via tweet over the next four years.
• He frequently engaged in Twitter diplomacy — threatening North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un with nuclear war at one point — and made news virtually every time he stepped in front of a microphone.
• That didn't stop even during a once-in-a-generation pandemic, which Trump used as an opportunity to broadcast daily to the American people — sometimes to the horror of his own public health advisers.

The bottom line: The Trump who won 312 electoral votes a few weeks ago is the same Trump who exhausted many Americans with non-stop political drama from 2017 to 2021.

• He may be more prepared, focused and surrounded by loyalists this time around, but chaos will always be part and parcel of the Trump experience.
• As Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) advised reporters after feigning shock at Gaetz's withdrawal Thursday: "You better pace yourself because it's not even Thanksgiving,"

The war in Ukraine has veered into volatile new territory, ignited by a final push — in Washington, Moscow and Kyiv — to change the game before President-elect Trump takes office.

Why it matters: There are 60 days until inauguration — the starting gun for Trump's improbable vow to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours.

• President Biden, whose foreign policy legacy is inextricably linked to Ukraine's fate, has suddenly ditched his own guardrails limiting Kyiv's use of U.S. weapons.
• Russia has responded by rattling its nuclear saber — sparking MAGA fears of "World War III" and testing Trump's warning to Vladimir Putin not to escalate the conflict.

Driving the news: Tensions between Moscow and the West have reached new heights over the last several days.

• Following a policy reversal by Biden, Ukraine used American-made long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, to strike inside of Russia on Tuesday for the first time.
• A day later, Ukraine hit Russia with Storm Shadow long-range missiles supplied by the U.K., whose Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been taking his cues from Biden.

Putin responded by formally lowering the threshold for Russia to consider the use of nuclear weapons — namely against enemies supported by nuclear powers.

• Russia on Sunday also launched one of its largest air attacks since the start of the war, bombarding Ukraine's power grid with hundreds of missiles and drones.
• The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv closed Wednesday for the first time since 2022, issuing a shelter-in-place advisory for American citizens in anticipation of a "potential significant air attack."

The latest: The Biden administration is surging another $275 million weapons package to Ukraine that will include — for the first time — anti-personnel mines to repel Russian ground advances in the east.

Between the lines: Trump allies have reacted with disgust at Biden's latest moves to help Ukraine, suggesting the outgoing president is engaging in sabotage and needless escalation.

• "No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period," tweeted Richard Grenell, a former Trump official shortlisted for secretary of State. "This is as if he is launching a whole new war."
• "It's another step up the escalation ladder, and nobody knows where this is going," Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump's incoming national security adviser, told Fox News in response to Biden's shift on ATACMS.

State of play: Both Russia and Ukraine are fighting for every inch of territory, desperate to improve their negotiating position ahead of peace talks promised by Trump.

• Russia is making incremental territorial gains and Ukraine is clinging to a sliver of territory inside Russia's Kursk region — where 10,000 North Korean troops have now been deployed as mercenaries for Moscow.

What to watch: Reuters reports that Putin is open to discussing a ceasefire deal with Trump that would broadly freeze the current lines of control, in addition to Ukraine abandoning its goal of joining NATO.

• Ukrainian officials are also preparing to take part in negotiations, though they doubt Trump's promise of a swift deal.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged in an interview with Fox News this week that his country would likely "lose" the war if the U.S. cut off aid, as Trump has threatened.
• But Zelensky also held out hope that Trump can influence Putin to end the bloodshed: "It will not be simple ... but yes he can because he is much more stronger than Putin."

President-elect Trump's Cabinet increasingly resembles a European-style coalition government, staffed with a dizzying array of ideological rivals united — for now — by a grand MAGA vision.

Why it matters: The incoming administration has a little something for everyone: isolationists and hawks, populists and bankers — even a couple of lifelong Democrats who ran for president against Trump.

• Some supporters have praised Trump for the eclectic mix of nominees, saying it reflects the broad range of Americans who voted decisively for a new Washington.
• But if Trump's first term is any indication, his Cabinet of contradictions also could invite volatility and infighting that eventually spills into public view.

The big picture: Trump's picks suggest there are at least three factions in the new Republican coalition with enough support to warrant representation in his administration.

1. "America First" nationalists: These are the true believers tasked with Trump's highest-priority portfolios.

• Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz would take a torch to the Justice Department, acting as the ultimate Trump loyalty cop in addition to being the nation's top law enforcement official.
• Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is eyeing a cultural overhaul at the Pentagon, where he has vowed to eliminate diversity programs and fire generals he deems to be "woke."
• Border czar Tom Homan and immigration adviser Stephen Miller will be the zealous architects of what Trump says will be the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.

2. Establishment conservatives: The dominant forces in Trump's first Cabinet — think former Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Security Adviser John Bolton — have been weakened, but not fully exiled.

• A trio of early appointments helped settle stomachs in the national security establishment: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) for national security adviser and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for UN ambassador.
• But it's these types of hawkish nominees that most risk upsetting Trump's base: MAGA influencers were infuriated by the Rubio pick, blasting him as a "neocon" who supports U.S. intervention abroad.

3. Dissident Democrats: The newest members of MAGA are among the most powerful, having endeared themselves to Trump's base as anti-establishment crusaders. They're also most likely to cause cracks in the coalition.

• Elon Musk, the billionaire charged with slashing the federal bureaucracy from outside government, has glued himself to Trump's side and clashed with at least one top adviser over Cabinet picks.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic nominated to lead the nearly $2 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, has drawn opposition from some conservatives over his support for abortion rights. His vision for regulating the pharmaceutical industry also collides with the views of Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk's partner in shrinking government.
• Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, nominated to head the U.S. intelligence community, is a staunch anti-interventionist who has disparaged Republican hawks as "warmongers" — including Rubio, with whom she'll share a table at Cabinet meetings.

Zoom in: The ongoing fight over who will lead the Treasury Department is a microcosm of the competing economic ideologies in Trump's coalition.

• Trump is a dyed-in-the-wool protectionist who wants someone to faithfully execute his plans to impose sweeping tariffs, which could ignite a global trade war and supercharge inflation.
• But the president-elect is also fearful of rattling the stock market and wants a steady hand who can reassure Wall Street — a mission fundamentally at odds with his tariff agenda.
• Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, Apollo CEO Marc Rowan and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh are believed to be the finalists, after Trump tapped pro-tariff billionaire Howard Lutnick to be Commerce secretary.

The bottom line: Unlike 2017, every one of Trump's nominees would enter government with eyes wide open about what the president values more than ideology or intellect: loyalty.

• That alone could ensure a far smoother first year.

President-elect Trump's initial Cabinet picks show he's moving swiftly to implement the anti-trans, anti-DEI and anti-social justice agenda that underpinned his reelection campaign.

Why it matters: In the eyes of many Republicans, Trump's decisive election victory vindicated their hostility toward nebulous "woke" ideologies. In practice, their plans could mean purging the federal government of policies Democrats supported to reverse what they saw as unfairness and inequalities.

Trump's latest wave of Cabinet nominees include Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Matt Gaetz for attorney general — all of whom have blasted DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies as racially divisive.

• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — two of the most prominent critics of what they call "the woke mind virus" — have been tasked with "slashing and burning" federal spending from outside the government.

The big picture: "Woke" was a term popularized after the 2020 murder of George Floyd to describe plans to attack systemic racism with policies that encouraged cultural awareness and understanding.

• But conservatives have recast the term as a liberal threat to gender norms and what they consider traditional values.
• In recent years, Republicans in Congress and in red states have waged a legislative "war on woke" by targeting trans rights, racial diversity policies in academia, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in business.
• Now, with control of the White House and both branches of Congress in 2025, Trump and the GOP have their sights trained on auditing and overhauling three agencies in particular: the Pentagon, the Justice Department and the Department of Education.

Driving the news: Trump's shock nomination of Hegseth, a Fox News host, for defense secretary is the clearest sign yet that the president-elect wants his incoming Cabinet to be staffed by conservatives who oppose DEI initiatives.

• Hegseth, a decorated combat veteran, wrote a New York Times bestseller this year accusing the Pentagon's leadership of sabotaging military readiness and recruitment by prioritizing DEI.
• He has called for the firing of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star Air Force fighter pilot with 130 combat flying hours during his 40 years of service, for being too "woke." Hegseth suggested the top U.S. general might not have ascended to the role if he weren't Black.
• "Any general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI 'woke' sh*t has gotta go," Hegseth said on a recent podcast, in which he also voiced opposition to women serving in combat roles.

Reality check: The military has fallen short of its recruiting goals in recent years, but Pentagon personnel officials have largely dismissed the notion that diversity issues are the main culprit.

• Low unemployment, private-sector wage growth and poor messaging about the benefits of enlistment — especially for Gen Z — have created a challenging environment for recruiting, officials testified last year.

Zoom in: Trump and his conservative allies have long seen the Department of Education as being at the center of their mission to eliminate what they view as left-wing ideologies in the classroom.

• Trump has proposed dismantling the department entirely — and vowed to "cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children."
• Project 2025, Trump allies' sweeping vision for overhauling the government, calls the Education Department a "one-stop shop for the woke education cartel."

Critical race theory, which holds that racism is baked into the formation of the nation and ingrained in our legal, financial and education systems, is rarely taught in K-12 schools.

• And Trump won't be able to eliminate the Education Department without Congress — though he's likely to roll back protections for transgender students that were approved during the Biden administration.

Between the lines: The "anti-woke" crusade's best chance to enact society-wide changes could come through the Justice Department, which Trump has nominated Gaetz to lead.

• Gaetz, a flame-throwing loyalist who has labeled DEI "racist and dangerous," would oversee a purge of career officials and the renovation — or potential shuttering — of DOJ's Civil Rights Division.
• Trump transition official Mark Paoletta accused career DOJ officials this week of blocking efforts to sue Yale University for alleged anti-Asian and anti-white discrimination during Trump's first term, and warned staff against "sabotaging" the new administration's agenda.
• "The American people overwhelmingly want to end DEI, ban boys from playing in girls' sports and using girls' locker rooms, secure our border, and deport illegal aliens," Paoletta wrote on X.

What to watch: Democrats are still licking their wounds from an election in which many believe a backlash to DEI policies — especially on transgender people's rights, the focus of repeated GOP campaign ads — harmed them with swing voters.

• While the party debates how to move forward, activists are urging them to focus on a far more pressing demand: Resisting a Trump agenda that could roll back decades of gains since the Civil Rights Movement.

In vintage 2017 fashion, President-elect Trump has set Washington ablaze by announcing, in rapid succession, three of the most provocative nominations in modern political history.

Why it matters: Early signs that Trump 2.0 was assembling a curiously conventional cabinet — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) for national security adviser — has gone up in flames.

• Instead, Trump has veered sharply toward loyalists and disruptors — Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
• They're the types of unorthodox figures that Axios dubbed Trump's "island of misfit toys" during his first term — only this time, there are far fewer restraints.

The big picture: The picks announced over the past 48 hours all have one thing in common: A hunger to tear down and revamp the agencies Trump has tapped them to lead — and to do so in a way that's in line with his incendiary campaign rhetoric.

1. Gaetz, who resigned suddenly from the House last night, is a darling of the MAGA movement who's despised by many of his colleagues for his brash antics. His nomination set off outrage among both GOP and Democratic lawmakers.

• The Florida Republican was investigated by the Justice Department for alleged sex trafficking, but prosecutors declined to bring charges. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use and has been preparing a report on its findings.
• In a statement, Trump signaled Gaetz's top priority will be "ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System" — a reference to Trump's own criminal prosecutions — and rooting out "systemic corruption" at the Justice Department.
• Even while decrying the alleged politicization of President Biden's DOJ, Trump repeatedly has floated the idea of prosecuting his political enemies — and has suggested that his attorney general would lead the charge.

2. Hegseth, a decorated Army veteran and Fox News host, wrote a best-selling book this year accusing Pentagon leaders of sabotaging military readiness and recruitment by prioritizing social justice and diversity.

• Hegseth has called for the firing of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Brown — the first Black service chief in U.S history — and any officer "involved in any of the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) 'woke' shit."
• He also declared on a podcast that women shouldn't serve in military combat roles, arguing it "hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated."

3. Gabbard, a former Democrat and Iraq War veteran, has been nominated to take on what Trump sees as his greatest adversary within the U.S. government: the intelligence community.

• Gabbard, an avowed anti-interventionist, has drawn criticism for secretly meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017 and suggesting in 2022 that the U.S. and NATO are to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• She hasn't held any senior national security roles, but would be tasked with Trump's mission of purging the intelligence community — or what he and conspiracy theorists call the "Deep State" — of "corrupt actors."
• The news of Gabbard's nomination was gleefully broken by Trump ally Roger Stone on the far-right show "InfoWars," hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

What to watch: All three nominees, to varying degrees, could face a rocky road to Senate confirmations.

• Trump's fallback plan is to pressure the Senate to allow him to make recess appointments — essentially bypassing the nomination process — to have the nominees serve in an "acting" capacity for up to the two years of the congressional session that begins in January.
• Before his election Wednesday as Senate GOP leader, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said that "all options are on the table" for swiftly confirming Trump's nominees, including recess appointments.

Between the lines: Emboldened by his decisive victory in last week's election, Trump is testing just how far he can bend elected Republicans to his will.

• The uproar the nominations have caused in Washington and beyond — particularly the notion of Gaetz as the nation's chief law enforcement officer — will test the reach of Trump's post-election power.
• "He was elected to turn this place upside down. Americans don't trust the Justice Department right now, and Matt has the talent to go in there and make a difference," Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said on Fox News.
• "If Donald Trump says, 'Jump three feet high and scratch your head,' we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads," Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told reporters.