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The Trump administration says it ignored a Saturday court order to turn around two planeloads of alleged Venezuelan gang members because the flights were over international waters and therefore the ruling didn't apply, two senior officials tell Axios. Why it matters: The administration's decision to defy a federal judge's order is exceedingly rare and highly controversial. "Court order defied. First of many as I've been warning and start of true constitutional crisis," national security attorney Mark S. Zaid, a Trump critic, wrote on X, adding that Trump could ultimately get impeached. The White House welcomes that fight. "This is headed...

President Trump said Monday he will "lead the charge" to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for his refusal to support Republicans' government funding bill.

Florida's next attorney general could be the ex-congressman who almost became President Trump's U.S. attorney general: Matt Gaetz. Why it matters: Despite the intense controversy he generated before withdrawing his nomination to be in Trump's Cabinet, Gaetz still has strong name ID and is well-liked enough among Florida's GOP base to be a formidable candidate. In a hypothetical primary matchup against Attorney General James Uthmeier, Gaetz was favored 39%-21%, according to a recent survey of likely Republican voters by Tony Fabrizio, one of the nation's top pollsters who works for Donald Trump and several GOP clients. Zoom in: There's already...

Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, entering lunar orbit on Monday. Photo: Intuitive Machines via NASA History is set to be made on the Moon again this week, with Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander Athena scheduled to land there at 12:32pm ET on Thursday. The big picture: Intuitive Machines has partnered with Lunar Outpost to roll out the first commercial rover on the Moon and with Finnish multinational tech firm Nokia to deliver the first cellular network on Earth's only natural satellite. This mission comes after the Cedar Park, Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar...

President Trump will hold a meeting Monday afternoon on the next steps regarding the crisis with Ukraine, including a possible suspension of U.S. military aid, a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the meeting told Axios. -snip- Trump responded on Truth Social to an AP report that Zelensky had said the end of the war was "still very, very far away," writing: "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!" -snip- Zelensky wrote on X that "it is very important that we try...

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky angered Donald Trump so much during the peace talks with Russia that Trump was on the verge of withdrawing American military support from Ukraine, three U.S. officials familiar with the discussions tell Axios. -snip- The deal Trump appears to be negotiating could be highly controversial. Based on their public and private statements, Trump's team is expected to pressure Zelensky into giving up Crimea (which Putin seized in 2014) portions of eastern Ukraine and the Azov Coast (occupied in Russia's 2022 invasion).

Every Arizona swing voter in our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups said they approve of President Trump's actions since taking office — and most also support Elon Musk's efforts to slash government. Why it matters: Public opinion can constrain presidents when Congress does not. But these 11 voters — all of whom backed Joe Biden in 2020 but switched to Trump last November — said they're good with Trump aggressively testing disruptive, expansionist expressions of presidential power that are piling up in court challenges. It's needed to "get America back on track," one participant said. What we're watching: One notable area...

President Trump stunned, strangled and humiliated Europe — leaving America's closest continental ally dazed and dumbfounded. The big picture: No amount of "Trump-proofing" could have prepared Europe for the MAGA-shaped hurricane that swept across the continent this week, wreaking torrential havoc on America's closest allies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth perplexed and perturbed allies on his first visit to NATO by seemingly taking some of Ukraine's bargaining chips off the table before those talks began. He also demanded that Europe take ownership of its own defense so the U.S. could focus on the more urgent threat from China. But it...

Americans are as dissatisfied as ever with conditions in the U.S., according to an annal Gallup survey conducted shortly before President Trump's return to the White House. Why it matters: Trump took office last month at a time of persistent pessimism among Americans, with an average satisfaction score across key elements of U.S. life hovering at just 38%. That record low average has not budged since 2022. The results, released Wednesday, also reflect Gallup's findings that Americans are generally unhappy about the direction the country is going. By the numbers: Across 31 issue areas, Americans were most dissatisfied with the...

The U.S. military transferred around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland this week in order to deliver them to Ukraine, three sources with knowledge of the operation tell Axios. Why it matters: Getting more Patriot missiles to Ukraine has been a top priority for the Pentagon to help Kyiv defend against Russia's attacks on its critical infrastructure. This is also the most significant delivery of weapons from Israel to Ukraine since the Russian invasion almost three years ago.

Two former Politico reporters spoke candidly about efforts made by their bosses to either slow-walk or completely quash their reporting on the Biden family during their time at the news outlet. Marc Caputo and Tara Palmeri, now journalists for Axios and Puck respectively, reflected on their time at Politico on Palmeri's "Somebody's Gotta Win" podcast. Caputo called out Politico's "ill-fated headline" downplaying the Hunter Biden laptop scandal during the 2020 election. "I mean, Politico, my former employer, and I knew at the time, didn’t do itself any favors," Caputo said in the exchange, which was shared Thursday on YouTube. "I...

Washington -- President-elect Donald Trump wants to travel to China after he takes office as part of his effort to deepen relations with Beijing, and also has talked to advisors about visit to India, a media report said Saturday. Trump, who arrived at the Dulles International Airport aboard a special plane along with First Lady Melania and son Barron, had during his election campaign threatened to impose additional tariffs on China. “President-elect Donald Trump has told advisors he wants to travel to China after he takes office, according to people familiar with the discussions, seeking to deepen a relationship with...

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan presented President Biden with options for a potential U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities if the Iranians move towards a nuclear weapon before Jan. 20, in a meeting several weeks ago that remained secret until now, three sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios. Why it matters: A U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear program during the lame duck period would be an enormous gamble from a president who promised he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but who would also risk handing a fresh conflict over to his successor....

The United States has raised concerns with Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, the new foreign minister in Syria’s transitional administration, over recent reports of violent attacks carried out by militant groups across the country, US officials told Axios on Monday. According to the report, US officials fear that reprisals by militants aligned with the rebels who ousted the Assad regime earlier this month, especially those targeting minority communities or individuals associated with the ousted regime, could jeopardize stabilization efforts in the war-torn nation. Al-Shibani serves as the chief aide to Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria and head of Hayat...

Elon Musk pledged Friday night to go to "war" to defend the H-1B visa program for foreign tech workers, branding some Republican opponents as "hateful, unrepentant racists."

Monday's Morning Joe devoted a segment to an Axios article, 'Shards of glass: Inside media's 12 splintering realities.' The notion was that, depending on demographics, people get their information from very different media sources and are often unaware of the information that others were receiving. One of Axios' 12 categories is "Right-wing grandpas," a reference to people who get their news largely from Fox News. What was not revealed was that the average age of Fox News viewers is 68, whereas the average age of MSNBC viewers is 71! Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei inspired and energized a National Press Club gala with a passionate, ad-libbed defense of free and fearless reporting, warning that "everything we do is under fire." "I hate this damn debate about: Oh, we don't need the media," he said Thursday night as he and co-founder Mike Allen accepted the Fourth Estate Award for lifetime achievement. "It's not true." What they're saying: "I love this country," Jim added. "I'm a beneficiary of this country. Some dipsh*t from Wisconsin can come and start two companies, be up here, win an award." SNIP

Axios CEO has a meltdown over Elon Musk saying X is the media “Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day or X today saying like, ‘we are the media. You are the media.’” “My message to Elon Musk is bullsh*t! You're not the media!”

They’re donning MAGA hats in cafes, celebrating on social media and flying Trump flags: Supporters of President-elect Trump in deep blue cities and states are no longer keeping it to themselves. Why it matters: Trump improved on his 2016 and 2020 margins in almost every state, including in most big, blue cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Many Trump voters in those cities saw his victory as validation, and are acting accordingly. Some residents of liberal enclaves tell Axios they've seen more Trump yard signs go up after the election than before it. And many supporters of Vice...

For a while, Donald Trump's transition kept up a record-setting pace with top Cabinet picks being named against a backdrop of calm consensus. But the knives are now out, with advisers leaking against each other to the press amid the scramble to parachute allies into plum jobs. 'Winning helped make everything better for a bit but this is still politics and there are always scores to settle and axes to grind,' said a source familiar with the workings of Trump's inner circle. In the most widely publicized example, Axios was tipped that Tesla founder Elon Musk and Trump legal adviser...