Some Democrats are starting to publicly second-guess the party's stances on transgender rights and DEI programs — positions they've long embraced on principle, but now see as potential political liabilities.

Why it matters: The issues are creating a divide among some of the most powerful people in the party, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a few others widely seen as potential 2028 candidates for president.

• Newsom sent ripples through the party last week during a podcast interview with MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk. Echoing a GOP talking point, Newsom said he believed transgender women and girls playing in women's sports was "deeply unfair."

The big picture: The remark by Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor and longtime supporter of LGBTQ causes, stung many progressives as a betrayal.

• Whether it represented a true shift in belief or a move of political convenience, it reflected a growing argument between Democrats — whether they should be more pragmatic on some social issues, or stand on principle at a critical moment.
• The backdrop for the debate is how Democrats — namely presidential nominee Kamala Harris — struggled last year to respond as Republicans spent tens of millions on ads bashing transgender women and girls in sports, and declaring that "Kamala is for they/them, Donald Trump is for you."

Some Democrats quietly agree with Newsom. Others say emphatically that the party should support transgender people and others now targeted by Trump administration policies.

• The Human Rights Campaign, a prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a statement: "Our message to Gov. Newsom and leaders across the country is simple: The path to 2028 isn't paved with the betrayal of vulnerable communities. It's built on the courage to stand up for what's right, and do the hard work to actually help the American people."

Asked if Newsom supports any changes in the law to address fairness in women's sports, the governor's office declined to specify any.

• On his podcast, Newsom also criticized how some Democrats introduce themselves with their pronouns. "I had one meeting where people started going around the table with the pronouns," he said. "I'm like: 'What the hell? Why is this the biggest issue?'"

Rahm Emanuel — former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan, who has played coy about a 2028 White House run — told Axios: "Some kids in the classroom are debating which pronouns apply, and the rest of the class doesn't know what a pronoun is. That's a crisis."

• Emanuel has said Democrats in power should focus on the historic decline in children's reading abilities in the aftermath of the pandemic.
• Democrats "can't be a party that believes in equity and allows two-thirds of your kids who can't read," he said last week in a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a 2028 presidential contender who's openly gay, removed his pronouns from his profile on X in recent months, according to the Internet Archive.

• A Buttigieg spokesperson didn't respond to Axios' request for comment.

Zoom in: Democratic lawmakers also are fracturing about their positions on DEI programs and how to talk about race.

• Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Service Committee, told The New Yorker that some DEI programs go "off the beam, to my mind, when they imply that racism, bigotry and settler colonialism is the unique purview of white people. ... You don't need to imply that all white people are racists, and that all white people are oppressors."
• Newsom told Kirk that "not one person ever in my office has ever used the word LatinX."

Between the lines: The term "woke" went mainstream during Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 and through Trump's first term, signifying a person who was alert to prejudice and discrimination that much of society didn't acknowledge.

• For millions of Americans, Trump and Republicans have turned "woke" into an insult — and a political dog whistle.
• "Our country will be woke no longer," Trump said in his address to Congress.

Zoom out: Trump has tried to put Democrats on the defensive on these issues in his first weeks in office.

• He signed several executive orders aimed at transgender and DEI policies implemented by President Biden, schools and businesses.
• One order banned transgender women and girls from competing in girls' and women's sports, prompting the NCAA to change its policy on transgender athletes.

During last week's address, Trump highlighted the story of a high school volleyball player who suffered brain damage when a transgender girl hit the ball hard onto her head.

• "From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls' team or they will lose all federal funding," Trump said. "We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government."

Republicans in Congress have been forcing Democrats to take votes on legislation focused on transgender people.

• Republicans last week brought up legislation to prohibit schools receiving government funding from allowing transgender women and girls to participate in women's sports.

Democrats unanimously opposed the measure in the Senate. But privately, they're workshopping their future responses to GOP attacks on transgender rights, Axios' Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols report.

• Some Democratic lawmakers have disagreed with the GOP-led legislation, but not the issue.

"I support fair play and safety and do not support transgender athletes competing in girls' and women's sports when it compromises those principles," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said in a statement after the vote.

• But Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has voted against his party on various issues, voted no and wrote on X: "The small handful of trans athletes in PA in a political maelstrom deserve an ally, and I am one."

Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is setting policy from inside the White House, but a legal group he co-founded is shaping policy from the outside, through legal complaints and lawsuits against corporations and even the Trump administration itself.

Why it matters: The group — America First Legal — is the latest example of how Miller has amassed power in the new administration.

• The law group is a key part of Miller's larger mission to make diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs illegal across the country — based on the argument that they violate the civil rights of white people.

Driving the news: In recent weeks America First Legal has been aggressively filing complaints and lawsuits to try to make the federal bureaucracy comply with the new president's executive orders.

• The group has become a private enforcement arm of the White House's assault on DEI — or as it has billed itself, a right-wing version of the ACLU.

In early February, the group petitioned the Department of Education to investigate five school districts in Virginia for allegedly not complying with Title IX, which does not allow sex-based discrimination.

• Citing Trump's executive order on Jan. 29 that focused on K-12 schools, America First Legal argued that allowing transgender students who identify as girls to use girls' bathrooms would violate others' civil rights.
• Less than two weeks later, the Civil Rights office of the Education Department announced it was opening an investigation into the school districts.

Late last month, America First Legal petitioned the Labor Department to investigate whether outside federal contractors were in compliance with Trump's executive order banning federal contractors and subcontractors from "allowing or encouraging ... workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin."

• The group singled out contractors such as Lyft, Meta, Paramount, Twilio and others.

Zoom in: America First Legal also has been filing and threatening lawsuits against corporations — including Apple — over their DEI policies.

• Several large tech companies, including Meta and Amazon, quickly backtracked after Trump's victory.

Apple and its CEO Tim Cook have been an exception — so far the company has stood firm.

• In February, the company fought a shareholder proposal aimed at its DEI policies.
• Cook has acknowledged the legal landscape could result in some changes but that "we'll continue to work together to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work."

In response, America First Legal sent Apple a letter threatening that the company's role as a federal contractor could be in jeopardy.

• "If Apple continues to proceed with its DEI policies without disclosing the potential risks of lawsuits and market backlash to its shareholders, Apple could face significant liability in the future," the group wrote in a letter to Cook.
• "It is in the interest of Apple, its Board, and its shareholders to vote to abolish its DEI policies."

Zoom out: Miller isn't the only presence America First Legal has inside the Trump White House.

• His co-founder, Gene Hamilton, joined the White House as senior counsel. And Reed Rubinstein, America First Legal's senior vice president, has been nominated to be the State Department's legal adviser.
• Hamilton worked in the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration.

Asked whether Miller and Hamilton were still coordinating with the legal group, a White House spokesperson did not respond.

• America First Legal has received $27 million in donations in recent years from the Bradley Impact Fund, a group that sends money to conservative organizations.

The other side: The group has been adept at filing complaints and lawsuits that make for good headlines, but it also has been rebuked in court for making frivolous arguments.

• In late February, an Arizona judge dismissed one of America First Legal's many voting rights suits, saying its claims were "unsupported by facts or rely on convoluted readings of the election statutes."

Top Democrats eyeing runs for the White House in 2028 are divided on how to confront Donald Trump and his mandate: Fight, or moderate.

Why it matters: Since the election, Democrats are facing an identity crisis: They no longer have a clear one.

• After Trump's surprise victory in 2016, many Democrats moved left and united under a "resistance" banner.
• This time, there's no consensus on strategy — and prominent Democrats already are taking different paths.

Driving the news: Potential 2028 contenders such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis have been foremost in touting their bipartisan bonafides, positioning themselves as pragmatic, center-left leaders.

• Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois have opted for a more aggressive approach — regularly picking fights with the new administration and proposing progressive legislation.

Zoom in: In recent weeks, Whitmer has touted that she sent National Guard troops to the border to combat illegal immigration, and said she's open to some new tariffs to protect industry.

• She also declined to join a multistate federal lawsuit challenging Trump's push to ban birthright citizenship, even though Michigan's Democratic attorney general is involved in the suit.
• In a much-touted "Road Ahead" speech at the Detroit Auto Show in January, Whitmer said that "in the Whitmer house, compromise was a good thing … "I won't go looking for fights … but I won't back down from them, either."

Whitmer has proposed a new payroll tax cut for Michiganders and split from some Democrats who've proposed electric vehicle mandates.

• "We don't care what you drive — ICE [internal combustion engines], hybrid, or EV — we just care that it's made right here in Michigan, by Michigan workers," she said.

In his State of the State address, Colorado's Polis said he hopes Congress can give a pathway to citizenship for some groups of undocumented immigrants.

• But Polis also said he hopes Trump and Congress "work together quickly to secure the border, stop human trafficking and stop the illegal flow of guns and drugs ... We welcome more federal help to detain and deport dangerous criminals."
• Polis also backed Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Health and Human Services secretary.
• Whitmer and Polis have criticized Trump on issues such as how he's approached tariffs — but they're not reflexively against everything he does.

The other side: Democrats such as Newsom, Pritzker and Murphy have argued that Democrats need to keep up the fight against Trump to protect people from his policies.

• In his State of the State speech Wednesday, Pritzker argued the current moment has disturbing parallels to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany. He criticized those Democrats who think Trump will make an exception for those who don't speak up.
• "The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn't arrive overnight," he said. "It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame."
• "We don't have kings in America — and I don't intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions, but in deference to my obligations."

The day after Trump won the 2024 election, Newsom called for a special legislative session in California to raise money to prepare to challenge Trump in the courts.

• On Feb. 7, Newsom signed a law allocating $50 million to bolster state and local legal groups preparing to challenge Trump's moves on immigration, the climate and more.
• Newsom added in a signing statement that said, "None of the funding in this bill is intended to be used for immigration-related legal services for noncitizens convicted of serious or violent felonies."

Zoom out: Other possible 2028 contenders have taken more of a wait-and-see approach — picking a few fights without mounting an all-out resistance.

• This group includes Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.
• Shapiro and Beshear have joined lawsuits against the Trump administration, but also have said they're looking to find places of common ground.
• Moore has been critical of Trump's attempt to slash broad parts of the federal government, but he also told CNN recently: "I'm not the leader of the resistance. I'm the governor of Maryland."

President Biden has privately expressed guilt for years about the investigations and convictions of his son Hunter. Late Sunday night, he tried to lighten that guilt by giving him a broad pardon.

Why it matters: Biden's pardon marks the end of a central drama of his presidency that has both weighed him down and propelled him forward.

• Biden knew that being president brought further scrutiny on his son. But Hunter also found purpose and sobriety in his dad's political mission.

Driving the news: Biden signed a pardon Sunday after spending the weekend with his family, including Hunter, in Nantucket — an annual family retreat.

• Biden gave broad protection to his son for crimes "he has committed or may have committed or taken part in" since Jan. 1, 2014.
• Biden explained in a statement: "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong."
• Hunter was set to face sentencing for separate gun and tax crimes in December. He faced over 20 years in prison but would've likely received a lighter sentence.

Zoom in: Biden and his spokespeople repeatedly said for a year that the president would not pardon his son.

• Some close to Biden always believed that his own feelings of guilt and internal family lobbying would change his mind in the end.
• "Once it became clear that the Justice Department was dead set on jail time, this was always how it was ending," said one person in the Biden orbit.

When Biden launched his campaign for president in 2019, his family was in crisis with both of his adult children struggling with addiction to drugs.

• Hunter and Biden's daughter Ashley supported his run. But both paid a significant price. Hunter's laptop hard drive emerged, and Ashley's diary became public.

One of Biden's close friends told Bob Woodward in his book "War," out in October, that the Biden family battles were "the real war" for him — more than Israel or Ukraine.

• The friend told Woodward that Hunter's problems had taken Biden off "an even keel, preoccupied him and taken a lot out of him."

Between the lines: Biden is trying to protect Hunter from his current convictions and any potential future investigations from a Trump Justice Department.

• Biden and his family believe the attacks on Hunter were meant to push him into relapse, then imperil his presidency.

In his statement announcing the pardon, Biden said: "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution.

• In a nod to potential future actions by Trump, Biden added: "In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me — and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Go deeper: Read Biden's statement.

The union representing workers at the Democratic National Committee blasted the party's leadership Monday morning following large layoffs the past several days.

• "The principles we champion on the national stage have been disregarded in our own workplace," the union said in a statement obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: It's the latest fallout for the Democrats after President-elect Trump beat Vice President Harris in the 2024 election.

Driving the news: The DNC dismissed hundreds of employees this past week.

• Most people let go were only hired to work through the election but some were considered "permanent" employees that stay on between election cycles.
• Many DNC employees felt blindsided by the extent of the layoffs and felt that their managers had not been upfront with them about the possibility, eight current and recently fired DNC aides told Axios.

In a statement, the union said: "DNC leadership refuses to disclose to the DNC Staff Union the full extent of these layoffs and whether additional cuts are planned."

• The union called for the DNC to offer "severance to every permanent employee who was laid off" and more for transparency from the party's leadership.

Between the lines: The layoffs have raised more anxiety about the extent of the debt from Kamala Harris' campaign.

What they're saying: A permanent DNC employee fired this week told Axios: "If they want to be the party of the working people they should have more respect for their workers. There's an inauthenticity to how they talk about workers and clearly voters feel the same thing."

• A person familiar with the DNC's thinking countered: "The reality is: this is what happens when you lose. We have a generation of people who haven't had to go through a really brutal loss. We aren't trying to hatchet people."
• A current DNC staffer told Axios: "This scale of the layoffs is shocking people who have been here for a decade. People are blindsided by this...I've completely lost faith in the Democratic Party and I'm still working for them."

A DNC spokesperson told Axios: "Every cycle, political organizations scale up to meet the demands, and as the cycle comes to a close, it's a tough reality of our industry that we must part with talented, hardworking staff."

• They added: "While the DNC has met the terms of the union agreement negotiated by the CBA, we share the entire DNC family's frustration and continue to provide resources to all members of the team to support them in this transition."

Zoom out: DNC staff voted to unionize in 2022 and reached a collective bargaining agreement in the summer of 2023.

• The future of the party and the union will be changed by the expected election of a new DNC chairman early next year.
• A DNC official said that leadership is in regular communication with the DNC union representative on all updates about staff.