Axios Bias Rating

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday he has not yet decided whether to support Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-Fla.) reelection amid anger over her decision to run in a majority-minority district. Why it matters: Jeffries is known for uniformly backing even his most polarizing members. This rare deviation stunned some of his colleagues. "He's never done that," one senior House Democrat told Axios. "He supports incumbents." Jeffries himself declared Tuesday in response

President Trump signed a narrowed executive order on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity Tuesday. Why it matters: The new order lets the White House kick the can down the road while it considers new rules for cutting-edge AI models and what to do about AI's advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Driving the news: The surprise move comes more than a week after Trump canceled the release of another version of the order with stricter requirements, saying it could hurt American competitiveness

President Trump tapped Bill Pulte, his unusually prominent Federal Housing Finance Agency director, as the new acting director of national intelligence. The big picture: Pulte will split time between overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and holding a massively important position for the country's national security — an extraordinary dynamic even against the backdrop of other officials wearing multiple hats. An unlikely strongman of Trump's campaign of political combat, Pulte built a MAGA name

This is Axios CEO Jim VandeHei's plan to help CEOs and other leaders navigate this moment. This call to action, which got a sneak peek over the weekend in his C-Suite newsletter, is a follow-up to our Monday column, "The Rattled Generation." Watch Jim's video. Americans have lost faith in almost every binding institution and leader — except the CEO. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer is unambiguous. "My employer" is the most trusted institution on Earth at 78% — more trusted than government, me

The battle for the soul of the Democratic Party is on the ballot Tuesday, with at least a half-dozen primaries across the country testing which wing of the party has the most juice heading into the 2026 midterms. Why it matters: Progressive and moderate Democrats have been locked in a fierce debate over how to rebuild the party's brand since its candidates lost to Donald Trump for a second time in 2024. Progressives argue that Americans are hungry for a populist, tax-the-rich agenda, while mode

Anthropic filed paperwork to go public just as corporate America is entering its AI sticker shock phase. Why it matters: Companies are Anthropic's biggest customers. If they dial down their AI spend, that could weaken the AI lab's revenue just as the it prepares to IPO. Driving the news: Hours after Anthropic filed its pre-IPO paperwork, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told CNBC that corporate concern over AI costs is "the most fair criticism of AI so far." Bain published a survey of nearly 1,000 comp

Data: Institute for Supply Management via FactSet; Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios This is the chart that White House economic officials want you to see: A closely watched industry survey suggests a long U.S. manufacturing slump is giving way to a factory rebound. Why it matters: By this measure, the manufacturing recession is over. Activity across the sector expanded for a fifth straight month in May after spending much of the last two years in contraction territory. But it is happening alongside

Knowledge workers now make up roughly one-fifth of OpenAI's Codex users and are growing more than three times as fast as developers, according to a new OpenAI report shared first with Axios. Why it matters: AI has made it easier to crank out documents, emails, decks and dashboards, and OpenAI is now betting agents can help workers make sense of them. The big picture: Previous waves of workplace software encouraged workers to produce huge volumes of files and messages, but those "workplace artif

Nick Bilton, the newly installed executive producer of "60 Minutes," faces a crisis of confidence as senior CBS News staffers openly rebuke his appointment amid broader backlash to changes at the show and network. Why it matters: "60 Minutes" has spent more than 50 consecutive seasons as the top-rated news program in the country. Its insular culture within CBS News is what insiders credit for preserving its editorial sanctity. While new CBS News leaders argue changes are necessary to help the

Democrats have been caught in the bind Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sought to avoid when he backed Gov. Janet Mills over Graham Platner in the Maine Senate race. Why it matters: Democrats must now support an untested and largely unvetted outsider as he faces intense media scrutiny over his relationship with women in a must-win race. ⏰ Maine's Democratic primary to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R) in November is in eight days. 🔄 Zoom in: Practically, it might be feasible to swap

House Democrats are looking to Tuesday's primaries in California as a major test of the anti-incumbency sentiment among their voters. Why it matters: This will be the first time in the 2026 election when multiple House Democrats in their 70s and 80s face off against primary insurgents who have hammered them for their lengthy tenures. California Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui and Brad Sherman — all 70 or older — are among those facing tough primary fights with younger Democratic ch

President Trump lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's escalation in Lebanon in an expletive-laden call on Monday, two U.S. officials and a third source briefed on the call told Axios. Why it matters: Earlier on Monday, Iran threatened to abandon the negotiations with the U.S. over Israel's actions in Lebanon. On the call, Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" and accused him of ingratitude, according to two of the sources. He also put the brakes on Israel's plan to strik