Why it matters: President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.
The antitrust noose is continuing to tighten around Big Tech, with some bankers saying that the pressure is impacting deal-making.
Driving the news: Lina Khan, a law professor who famously argued for breaking up Amazon, tomorrow will get a Senate confirmation hearing to become an FTC commissioner.
Despite recommendations from career staff, a federal watchdog for the Secret Service last year declined to take up probes into the agency's handling of Black Lives Matter protests in D.C., and on the spread of COVID-19 among Secret Service members, according to the Project On Government Oversight.
Flashback: Law enforcement agencies used tear gas and physical force to remove protestors from Lafayette Square last year, allowing the Secret Service to take then-President Trump across the street to a photo-op in front of a church.
The jury is still deliberating in the trial of Derek Chauvin, but Facebook said Monday it has already designated Minneapolis as a temporary "high-risk" location and will take stronger action on inflammatory posts given the potential for real-world violence.
Why it matters: Passions are already running high as Chauvin faces murder charges for last year's death of George Floyd amid an increased law enforcement presence as well as additional incidents of police violence in Minnesota and elsewhere.
A new coalition has formed aimed at helping ensure federal efforts to expand solar power don't leave the poor and communities of color behind.
Driving the news: The dozen-plus members of the Solar Access for All Coalition include Earthjustice, Coalition for Community Solar Access, GreenLatinos, Solar United Neighbors and the NAACP.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg will testify before the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment on Thursday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), chairman of the panel, announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The Earth Day hearing — titled “The Role of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Preventing Action on the Climate Crisis" — will coincide with the White House's climate summit, which is expected to showcase a new 2030 U.S. emissions-cutting target.
Go deeper: What to expect from this week's White House climate summit
Republican Tyler Kistner is launching a rematch bid against Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.
Driving the news: “Last election we were one of the closest elections in the country. Next election, we’re one of the top races in the country," Kistner said in an announcement video released to Axios.
Philonise Floyd, the brother of the late George Floyd, revealed on NBC's "Today" that President Biden called him and his family on Monday "to let us know he was praying for us and hoping everything would come out to be ok."
Driving the news: The jury in former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial is deliberating on Tuesday, after several weeks of witness presentations and arguments.
Political journalist Mark Halperin, whose career crumbled in 2017 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, has joined No Labels, a D.C.-based bipartisan policy group, Punchbowl News reports.
Why it matters: Halperin was once one of the most powerful figures in Washington media. His downfall became one of the prominent examples of the #MeToo movement calling out abuse in the media industry in the fight to end sexual harassment.
Jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial resume deliberations Tuesday morning as the nation waits for a verdict.
The latest: The 12 jurors met behind closed doors for about three hours Monday before breaking for the night at 8pm.
The U.S. manufacturing sector is at a crossroads: Proponents of President Biden's Build Back Better initiative argue that if focus was to be retrained on it, the sector could provide improved and sustainable economic growth after decades of shedding jobs and scale to other countries.
Why it matters: Biden's ambitious plan makes it clear that infrastructure and manufacturing investments are top priorities, but history is not on his side and Congress is already asking for plenty of compromises.
While Fox News has largely ignored the Derek Chauvin trial compared to competitors, conservative media seized on comments from Rep. Maxine Waters over the weekend, making it the single biggest trial storyline on social media since it began on March 29, according to NewsWhip data provided to Axios.
Why it matters: The data shows that for conservative America, the story in Minneapolis is being used as a way to highlight the aggression of protesters rather than the police killing of a Black man.
Most Americans support the pause in distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and so far there's no evidence that it's leading to broader vaccine hesitancy, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Driving the news: In our weekly national survey, 91% of respondents were aware of the temporary pause recommended by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention. Of those, 88% said the pause was a responsible decision.
Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The House passed a resolution on Monday to condemn China's government and Hong Kong's regional legislature for "the continued violation of rights and freedoms" in a near-unanimous vote.
Driving the news: The resolution calling on the governments to free Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders, imprisoned under China's national security law, passed 418-1. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only Congress member to vote against the measure.
China's President Xi Jinping during a video summit in Beijing on Friday. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua via Getty Images
China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday warned against "bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs" and called for "more fair and equitable" global governance.
Why it matters: Xi's thinly veiled swipes at the U.S. during an online speech at an economic forum come at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, human rights and China's strategic and economic ambitions.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale and former President Jimmy Carter at in Washington, D.C., in 2015. Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage
Former President Jimmy Carter on Monday remembered his "dear friend" Walter Mondale, as the "best vice president in our country's history."
The big picture: Carter's tribute was one of many from past presidents and lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle to Mondale, who died on Monday at the age of 93.
John Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, during a briefing in Moscow in 2015. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS via Getty Images
The State Department said Monday that the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will now be returning to the United States this week before returning to Moscow "in the coming weeks."
Why this matters: The statement, from a State Department spokesperson, comes just hours after Axios reported that Sullivan had indicated he intended to stand his ground and stay in Russia after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home to talk with his team.
Sen. Mitt Romney
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told President Biden Monday they are opposed to increasing the corporate tax rate to pay for his proposed $2.25 trillion infrastructure package, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: The opposition from Romney and Hoeven, the only two Republican senators in Monday’s bipartisan Oval Office meeting, suggests Biden is going to have a difficult time finding any Republican support to pay for his road, bridge and health care spending proposals by increasing corporate rates.
Photo: Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The State Department announced Monday that it will be issuing "do not travel" guidelines for roughly 80% of countries worldwide and urged Americans to "reconsider all travel abroad."
Why it matters: The announcement emphasizes the ongoing severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a ramped up domestic vaccination campaign and many states moving to reopen. Globally, cases continue to surge.
Photo courtesy of Mondale.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale wrote a farewell letter to his staff, sent upon his death on Monday, thanking them for years working together.
Dear Team,
Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor. Before I Go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side!
Together we have accomplished so much and I know you will keep up the good fight.
Joe in the White House certainly helps.
I always knew it would be okay if I arrived some place and was greeted by one of you!
My best to all of you!
Fritz
A worker gathers hemp flowers for processing at a farm in Milton, New York. Photo: Paul Frangipane/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The House voted 321-101 Monday to approve a cannabis banking bill that would allow banks to "provide services to cannabis companies" in states where marijuana is legalized.
Why it matters: In the past, banks have been hesitant to do business with companies involved with cannabis for fear of violating federal laws. If passed, this bill would remove one of the barriers to developing a national cannabis industry.
Walter Mondale, left, with former President Jimmy Carter in Jan. 2018 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota's campus in Minneapolis. Photo: Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Walter Mondale, who transformed the role of U.S. vice president while serving under Jimmy Carter and was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984, died Monday at 93, according to a family spokesperson.
The big picture: President Biden, who was mentored by Mondale through the years, said in 2015 that the former vice president gave him a "roadmap" to successfully take on the job.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS via Getty Images
The United States ambassador to Russia is refusing to leave the country after the Kremlin "advised" him to return home following new Biden administration sanctions, two sources briefed on the situation tell Axios.
Why it matters: John Sullivan, a respected diplomat who President Biden has, so far, retained from the Trump era, is at the center of one of the most important early tests of Biden's resolve.
U.S. President Joe Biden. Photo: Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images
The Biden administration has removed Trump-appointed atmospheric scientist Betsy Weatherhead from her role overseeing a comprehensive report on how climate change is affecting the U.S., the Washington Post first reported Monday.
Why it matters: Weatherhead has not been fired — merely reassigned to the U.S. Geological Survey — the move represents an effort by the Biden administration to remove Trump-era appointees from scientific roles, per CNN.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are anxious as the nation awaits the verdict in former police officer Derek Chauvin's trial, fearing a not-guilty decision could exacerbate racial tensions and spark a new wave of riots.
Why it matters: Leaders on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are trying to figure out how to calibrate any personal or legislative response, while also acknowledging how the final outcome in Chauvin's murder trial in the death of George Floyd could affect their district and them politically.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The Democrats’ Senate campaign arm raised nearly $9.3 million in March and will report more than $13 million in the bank when it files its monthly financial report Tuesday, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The haul for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee topped its Republican counterpart for the second straight month. But its total for the first quarter trailed slightly, and the DSCC still has a sizable chunk of debt to pay off.
Visitors view immigration exhibit at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. Photo: Stand Together
The Koch Network and the George W. Bush Presidential Center are partnering on an interactive immigration exhibit aimed at countering stereotypes and promoting immigration reform.
The big picture: The partnership — to be announced Tuesday — between the right-wing network's philanthropic arm, Stand Together, and the Dallas center comes as Congress is expected to debate immigration reform proposals amid resistance from many Republicans.