Source
Axios
Axios (website)
Axios is an American news website based in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded in 2016 and launched the following year by former Politico journalists Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. The site's name is based on the Ancient Greek ἄξιος.
From Wikipedia ↗, text under CC BY-SA 4.0; logo from Wikimedia Commons
- Type
- News outlet
- Lean
- Left-leaning
- Left-Center−2.8 of ±10
- High0.9 of 10 (lower is better)
- High
- Website
- axios.com ↗
- Feed
- RSS ↗
- Articles stored
- 918
- Tracked since
- Aug 15, 2026
Down: MBFC factual reporting score, 0 most factual to 10 least.
Bias and credibility ratings by Media Bias/Fact Check.
Axios on MBFC ↗Publishing rhythm
How many articles Axios published over the last 14 days, by publication time, and at which hours of the day.
Top keywords
All keyword charts for Axios →The people, places, organizations and topics Axios covered most that day, by the share of its stories that mention them. Article counts are shown for context.
| 1 | 26.3% | 5 | |
| 2 | 21.1% | 4 | |
| 3 | 15.8% | 3 | |
| 4 | 15.8% | 3 | |
| 5 | 15.8% | 3 | |
| 6 | 15.8% | 3 | |
| 7 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 8 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 9 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 10 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 11 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 12 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 13 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 14 | 10.5% | 2 | |
| 15 | 10.5% | 2 |
Latest articles
Regional mediators led by Qatar are trying to reach a diplomatic deal to restart negotiations between the U.S. and Iran and prevent the resumption of war after the midterm elections, three U.S., Israeli and regional sources say. The Qataris are working to convince Iran to allow UN inspectors to visit its bombed nuclear sites in return for some sanctions relief from the U.S. Why it matters: A renewed bombing offensive appears likely shortly after the midterms without a last-minute deal. IDF chief of staff Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke on Monday with CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper to coordinate ahead of potential attacks. Such an operation is expected to include a week of massive strikes on Iranian leadership, energy, nuclear and infrastructure targets, U.S. and Israeli officials say. What he's saying: President Trump told Axios in a brief interview Wednesday that negotiations with Iran are taking place through mediators but stressed that he doesn't know whether they'll bear fruit. "We need to finish the job — either through a deal or another way — we will find out if negotiations can succeed," he said. "While our Brave Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X Wednesday. Behind the scenes: The mediation efforts are being led by Qatar, with the support of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, sources say. Qatari negotiator Ali al-Thawadi visited Tehran earlier this week for talks with Iranian officials about a potential deal with the Trump administration. A regional source briefed on the talks said the Qataris presented ideas for how to bridge the gap between the U.S. demand that Iran give up its enriched uranium stockpile and Iran's insistence that the U.S. first lift its naval blockade and release Iran's frozen funds. The regional source and a U.S. official said the mediators are telling Iran that accepting the proposals may be the only way to avoid major attacks after the midterms. Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani security officials reinforced that message during a visit to Tehran several days ago. The Iranians responded that they will seek Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's approval for the ideas in the next several days, the regional source said. After the visit to Tehran, Saudi officials told the White House that the Iranians are concerned about a possible U.S.-Israeli bombing operation after the midterms, per a U.S. official. The Saudis asked Trump not to rush into war and to allow more time for negotiations. Zoom in: One idea under discussion is returning to the agreement that Iran reached with the International Atomic Energy Agency last year in Cairo. The September 2025 agreement allowed UN inspectors to resume visits to Iran's nuclear sites. It was suspended after the UN Security Council reimposed "snapback" sanctions on Iran a month later. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council Tuesday that reviving the Cairo agreement could provide a framework for restoring inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities damaged in U.S. and Israeli strikes. If Iran agrees to allow UN inspectors to visit its nuclear sites, it could receive waivers to sell oil and see some of its frozen funds released to buy food and other humanitarian goods, the regional source said. "There is some movement. We are waiting for the Iranian response," that person said. "The idea is that the Iranians will be able to say that they didn't give up the enriched uranium up front, and the U.S. will be able to say that it got some nuclear concessions from Iran." The other side: The regional source said the White House told mediators it will weigh in on the proposed deal after learning whether Iran accepts it. Trump discussed Iran with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff during a trip to Texas on Air Force One Tuesday. On Wednesday, he discussed Iran with his national security team as part of his intelligence briefing, U.S. officials say. "As the President stated, they have been systematically destroyed, both militarily and financially, and unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job," a White House official said. "The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing," the official added. "Iran has been decimated, and one way or the other, the conflict in Iran will be over very soon."
Barak Ravid ·
Republicans fear that Vivek Ramaswamy 's explosive attack ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother could cost them the Ohio governor's race, based on new internal polling that shows him falling further behind, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The poll's findings underscore Republicans' anxiety over Ramaswamy's decision to air the deeply personal attack on Democrat Amy Acton despite warnings from some fellow Republicans that it crossed a line. Driving the news: The private poll, commissioned by a Republican group and obtained by Axios, found Acton leading Ramaswamy by eight points — up from a two-point lead in the same poll earlier this month, before the ad began circulating on Oct. 19. The ad "is having a significant effect on the gubernatorial race," a memo attached to the poll states. Catch up quick: The ad at the center of the controversy features Donna Arthur, Acton's estranged mother, who accuses her daughter of lying about her childhood and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton has said she was sexually abused by her stepfather when she was 12 and that her mother sided with her abuser. The stepfather was charged with sexual assault but fled to Pennsylvania, where he died in 2004 as a fugitive. Acton and her brother were removed from their mother's custody. Acton has said she hasn't seen her mother since 1978. Zoom out: As Axios first reported , Ramaswamy's campaign treated the ad as a game-changer in the campaign for governor, committing $4 million to airing the commercial statewide despite warnings from other Republicans that it could backfire. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who worked closely with Acton when she was the state's health director, said that airing the ad was wrong and urged Ramaswamy to take it down. But President Trump and Vice President Vance backed Ramaswamy. Vance told the bipartisan critics of the ad to "stop whining." The intrigue: The new poll done for Republicans indicates that the ad was indeed a game-changer — just not the type Ramaswamy's campaign hoped it would be. A memo attached to the poll said that 86% of the survey's 800 respondents said they had seen, read or heard something about the ad. By a 2-to-1 ratio, those who said they were familiar with it said it made them more likely to vote for Acton. Between the lines: National Republican operatives fear the backlash against Ramaswamy over the ad could also hurt U.S. Sen. Ohio Jon Husted's reelection bid in a state that could be key in determining control of the Senate. Husted has said he wouldn't have run the ad. "Vivek's ad put the whole Republican ticket on defense. He better hope Ohio doesn't decide the Senate majority," said a GOP operative who has been briefed on polling in the race. The ad was shot months ago , a source familiar with the situation said, but there was internal resistance to running it — with one huge exception. "The candidate is the one pushing for it," a source close to the campaign said. The ad initially was published online because the campaign was testing to see its effectiveness. The ad was sent it to poll respondents to watch on their computers and smartphones to rate, according to the source. "This was not planned. But Vivek got what he wanted," according to the source. "I probably wouldn't have run it." Yes, but: A separate Suffolk University poll showed a narrower deficit for Ramaswamy — four points, an improvement over Suffolk's previous findings in late September, which found Acton up by nine points. The other side: Ramaswamy has defended the ad, arguing that Acton has misrepresented her past and avoided addressing substantive issues facing Ohio voters. What they're saying: A Ramaswamy campaign representative declined to comment. What's next: Trump is scheduled to campaign in Chillicothe, Ohio, with Ramaswamy and Husted on Wednesday evening. Axios' Marc Caputo contributed reporting. The Republican group's internal survey of 800 likely Ohio voters was conducted Oct. 23–26 and found Ramaswamy's support had fallen from 45% earlier this month to 42%, while Acton's climbed from 47% to 50%. The survey had a margin of error for each candidate's result of +/- 3.46 percentage points.
Alex Isenstadt ·
Dolores Huerta , the pioneering labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers and coined the rallying cry "Sí, se puede," died Wednesday at 96, her family announced on her Instagram account. Why it matters: The civil rights legend helped lead strikes and boycotts, fought to expand rights for Hispanic Americans and became a powerful kingmaker in politics. What they're saying: "We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96," her family wrote in a statement posted on Instagram . "As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy as we grieve this incredible loss to our family. We know that many of you around the world share in our mourning, and we will be following up on plans to recognize and celebrate her incredible life and legacy." Her cause of death was cancer, per the New York Times. Zoom in: Huerta worked alongside farmworker leader César Chávez, organizing workers who were routinely subjected to poor labor conditions on farms. The pair founded UFW with fellow activist Gilbert Padilla. Huerta also stood next to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy moments before he was fatally shot after his 1968 California primary win, after having worked to get Mexican American voters to support him. She would befriend the widows of RFK and Martin Luther King Jr., Ethel Kennedy and Coretta Scott King, as they fought together for civil rights. Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers group, with a union flag that reads 'Viva La Causa', 1970s. Photo: Cathy Murphy/Getty Images Catch up quick: Chávez, who died in 1993, allegedly sexually abused multiple women and girls during his time as UFW leader, which only came to light this year following a New York Times investigation. Huerta said that she was raped by Chávez decades ago, becoming the most high-profile figure to accuse him of misconduct . "I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life's work," Huerta wrote in a blog post. "I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control." Huerta said she became pregnant after both encounters with Chávez and arranged for the children to be raised by other families, keeping their births secret. Huerta speaking to Axios in 2021. (Photo: Axios) Flashback: Born in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico, about 140 miles northeast of Santa Fe, Dolores was raised around labor activism, before moving to Stockton, California, as a child. She and Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers. A 2018 PBS documentary "Dolores" showed how Huerta moved from a married woman in a middle-class home to a union activist who gave up a comfortable life to join the fight for equality. Decades later, she discussed the sexism she faced in the farmworker labor movement despite becoming a Chicana feminist icon on T-shirts, murals and in songs. Zoom out: In her later years, Huerta was sought out by Democrats running for office at all levels, from president to Albuquerque mayor . She continued to speak and attend rallies well into her 90s. Fun fact: In 2012, President Obama finally acknowledged Huerta for her role in the creation of his "Yes, we can" slogan during his first presidential campaign. "Dolores was very gracious when I told her that I had stolen her slogan," said Obama, who then presented her with the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "Knowing her, I'm pleased she left me off easy because Dolores does not play."
Josephine Walker, Russell Contreras ·
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral coalition opened a sizable lead over Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc with 85 percent of the vote counted. But while Netanyahu outperformed exit polls, which had Eisenkot's opposition coalition ahead, neither bloc will clear a 61-seat majority. That sets the stage for weeks of wrangling over the country's next government. Why it matters: Netanyahu will emerge from the election down but not out. His bloc is on pace to secure 53 seats — 11 fewer than he currently commands. But Eisenkot's bloc trails with 48 seats, leaving both men without a clear mandate to lead a government. While Eisenkot could theoretically swear in a government with the support of Arab parties — which are on track to secure a record-breaking 19 seats — such a scenario is highly unlikely. The intrigue: The actual vote count significantly boosted Netanyahu's standing compared to initial exit polls, which showed Eisenkot's bloc ahead. President Trump told Axios in a brief interview Wednesday that at first he received "horror reports" about Netanyahu's prospects. But "he's in pretty good shape now," Trump said. "I heard my endorsement made a big difference for Bibi," he added. Asked whether he is going to get involved in an effort to form a Netanyahu-led unity government, Trump said he hadn't thought about it. "I will take a look," he said. State of play: There are 500,000 votes left to be counted, from soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and others who voted outside their designated area. These votes could slightly shift the blocs' seat totals or the allotment of seats within each bloc. But they are unlikely to change the overall balance of power. Driving the news: Israeli President Isaac Herzog will begin consulting next week with the different parties before issuing a mandate to either Netanyahu or Eisenkot to form a government. "We must do everything possible, especially after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections. So I expect everyone who comes here to arrive with an open mind," Herzog said on Wednesday. If neither side can assemble a majority, a new round of elections would be scheduled as early as April. Between the lines: Herzog could try to persuade Netanyahu and Eisenkot to form a unity government, but Netanyahu doesn't seem interested in that. On Tuesday night, he called for a "strong right-wing government." Netanyahu will likely try to convince one of the opposition leaders to cross over to him. All of them, however, committed publicly before the election not to do that. Under another scenario, Eisenkot could try to form a minority government with outside support from the Arab parties. But such a government could collapse quickly and lead to a Netanyahu victory in the next elections. On the other hand, allowing Netanyahu to remain on as a caretaker prime minister until the next elections could also lead to defeat for the opposition bloc in the next elections. It would give Netanyahu's bloc more time to organize and ease its divisions. For Netanyahu, staying as caretaker prime minister until new elections are held could be the best option. It would leave him with almost full powers to direct Israel's national security and foreign policy and move forward with renewed war against Iran. What to watch: The opposition will likely take over key positions in the Knesset after the new parliament is sworn in next week. That would allow Eisenkot and his partners to install a Knesset speaker, control the legislative agenda and pass laws they agree on — such as forming a national commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the October 7 attacks.
Barak Ravid ·
With less than a week until a potentially historic midterm election , the political discourse is being dominated by war or seismic shifts in technology, but by the Cheesecake Factory . The big picture: Culture wars regularly swarm American political discussions, especially when the jibes are personal. Former President Obama's passing joke over the weekend about Cheesecake Factory decor did just that — by criticizing President Trump 's personal taste and style. "He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory," Obama said, poking fun at the president's controversial White House renovations . Zoom in: John Murphy, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies political rhetoric, tells Axios that the first time he heard Obama's comment, he "really did think, 'this is going to go somewhere.'" That's both because of the messenger and the butt of the joke: Obama "can get under Trump's skin like no one else in the world can," he says. Obama knows all too well how seemingly trivial moments can blow up; in 2014, he wore a tan suit instead of a black one to discuss foreign policy, and years later his sartorial choices remain a political talking point. The tan suit has its own Wikipedia page , and still nets pop culture references . State of play: Days after Obama's quip, the news cycle and social media are still serving up the joke, and the White House posted "Lo-fi" beats accompanied by a cartoon image of Trump in front of a Cheesecake Factory. Conservative critics used the jab to paint Obama as elitist. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent , a multimillionaire, criticized Obama outside a Cheesecake Factory, saying he "had a great meal, and I would tell the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try." Murphy notes that framing comes from a classic red v. blue playbook to paint Democrats as "elitist." "It's a conscious strategy, I think, on the part of conservative media to gin up culture-war arguments," he says. The other side: Trump's pushback, however, has centered less on the class divide seized by some members of conservative media — and more on his White House renovations. "We have to explain to Obama that the White House is a symbol of America," Trump told reporters Monday. He continued, "Guys like Obama don't see it ... he doesn't see filth. He doesn't see broken ornaments on a building," later adding, "for you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president." The White House referred Axios to Trump's previous comments when asked for comment. The bottom line: The fight has also drawn in the restaurant chain itself: Rick McCormack, its former longtime vice president of design, lamented "the pettiness of politics" and told CNN he was disappointed to see the company caught in the dispute. Go deeper: How the Cheesecake Factory got dragged into a midterms food fight
Avery Lotz ·
If Democrats gain full control of Congress next week, as many polls and prediction markets suggest they will, private equity could once again find itself in the political crosshairs. The big picture: Private equity has become a rhetorical punching bag for a number of Democratic House and Senate candidates, including in debates and on the stump, as an affordability bête noire. Most of this has related to housing, both single-family and mobile homes, but also has extended to health care. What they're saying: "It's no doubt that housing is way out of control and a big part of that is because private equity has come into Maine," said Troy Jackson in an Oct. 6 debate with Sen. Susan Collins. "I do think we have to go after private equity, make it so that they can't buy these things and charge outrageous prices." Chris Pappas, running for an open Senate seat in New Hampshire, said during a campaign stop at a mobile home community: "We need to... address the housing crisis that we're seeing, including addressing the corporate private equity influence that we're seeing in housing that's making it less affordable and is causing a lot of consternation here at this park." Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) decried PE ownership of residential care facilities during a public event, saying: "Those people know nothing about health care." State of play: Congress passed a bipartisan bill this past summer to restrict PE ownership of single-family homes, with the Treasury Department last week issuing related regulations . The legislation became law despite not being signed by President Trump, who supported it but was in a snit over the Senate not passing his voter identification bill. Zoom in: A Democratic sweep would likely result in Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) taking the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee gavel, which means she'd go from writing strongly worded letters to holding hearings and guiding legislation. "Americans are sick and tired of private equity's playbook of rolling through industry after industry, jacking up prices and leaving local businesses and workers in the dust," she tells Axios. "After we passed a bipartisan law this year to ban private equity from buying up homes, candidates everywhere are campaigning on reining in private equity in the next Congress, whether in hospitals, mobile home communities, residential care facilities, or other industries." It's also worth noting that Warren has Republican allies when it comes to some of these issues, having worked with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on a stalled health bill that has been more endorsed by Senate candidate James Talarico. The bottom line: Private equity has a very successful track record in beating back federal legislation that could hurt its bottom line. What to watch is if past proves to be precedent.
Dan Primack ·
Some Democrats are making a play for segments of the "Make America Healthy Again" base, hoping pitches about food safety and environmental health will attract voters disillusioned with the Trump administration's lack of progress on those fronts. Why it matters: Policies around cleaning up the food supply and agricultural practices helped forge a coalition that's credited with helping President Trump win a second term. But disagreements over issues like pesticide use are fueling speculation that MAHA voters may not show up in force to help Republicans in the midterm elections — and may be persuaded to put their faith in Democrats instead. Driving the news: Some Democrats say they're the party better positioned to take on established interests through regulation and are honing messaging with an eye toward the 2028 presidential race. The Center for American Progress, an influential progressive think tank, recently released a proposal focused on healthier foods and reducing harmful chemicals alongside polling showing Democrats are poised to claim the agenda as their own. "I do think the MAHA grassroots movement has raised the salience of some issues where Democrats have an opportunity to align, particularly on chemicals and pesticides," said Topher Spiro, an author of the CAP report. "I think that these are issues that have been percolating for a long time, and that, frankly, Democrats haven't done a great job of prioritizing." "If you're looking at who are the swing voters in this electoral environment, they overlap very highly with voters who care about these issues," added Becca Siegel, chief insights officer at CAP. Though affordability concerns have dominated the midterm elections, some Democratic lawmakers and candidates have already backed legislation or policy agendas that overlap with MAHA themes. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed last month released a proposal titled "Building a Healthier America" that included calls for banning certain pesticides — a key unrealized MAHA goal — and healthier school meals. House Democrats' health care working group included a section in its policy agenda called "Reclaiming MAHA and Protecting American Families." Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — a potential 2028 presidential candidate — has publicly supported some food policies advanced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and pushed legislation increasing the liability of companies for potential harm from pesticides. By the numbers: CAP's polling found that 37% of Trump voters are open to voting for a Democratic candidate running on a platform that addresses core MAHA issues, and that Democrats are more trusted than Republicans on health, food and environmental issues. Nonpartisan polling from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that much higher percentages of the public support MAHA-aligned policies than identify as MAHA supporters. 80% of respondents said they support labeling ultra-processed foods, 79% support removing ultra-processed foods from school lunches and 76% support removing artificial dyes from food. That's even though only a quarter said they are MAHA supporters. Yes, but: One prominent MAHA faction is built around medical freedom and questioning the safety of certain vaccines — a nonstarter for many Democrats who've been sharply critical of Kennedy's health policies. But the Annenberg polling found that MAHA vaccine priorities are much less popular than its food agenda, and that even among the faithful, some vaccine agenda items barely have majority support. State of play: The latest blow to the MAHA coalition came last week, when Trump health adviser and MAHA advocate Calley Means resigned from his post, reportedly over the slow pace of food-related policy changes. Means insisted on X that there's been unprecedented policy and cultural change since the start of the second Trump administration and that the "movement is just getting started." But other MAHA leaders have publicly shared their frustration. "To be clear, [Kennedy] is a hero but his commitments to our movement are being stalled by corporate capture and special interests at the very top of the White House," Vani Hari, an influencer also known as Food Babe, posted on X . "The progress he is trying to make is getting killed by the corporations poisoning us," she added. What they're saying: "The Trump administration has already secured extensive victories for the MAHA Agenda, including overhauling the dietary guidelines for Americans, axing artificial ingredients in our food supply and investing in regenerative farming," said White House spokesperson Allison Schuster. "The MAHA coalition has never been stronger or more empowered, and President Trump and Secretary Kennedy will continue to take decisive action to deliver more wins for the American people," Schuster added. "Secretary Kennedy is driving a historic overhaul of federal food and health policy under President Trump's MAHA agenda: strengthening oversight of food ingredients, advancing the first federal definition of ultra-processed foods, and making chronic disease prevention a department-wide priority," said HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard, adding that Democratic lawmakers have "repeatedly opposed or challenged key elements of this agenda." What we're watching: Whatever the outcome of next week's elections, these issues likely aren't going away. Alignment on healthy food policy and pesticides could spark interesting bipartisan collaborations in a split Congress next year. But the run-up to the presidential election could also feature a fight over who would best champion these issues on the left.
Caitlin Owens ·
Some of the biggest vulnerabilities in election security are lying in plain sight. Why it matters: There's no credible evidence that voting-system vulnerabilities have been exploited to change election results. But researchers have found isolated flaws that threaten ballot secrecy, accurate vote recording and independent verification of results. The big picture: Voter-marked paper ballots and rigorous audits are the gold standard for trustworthy elections, election-security researchers and activists tell Axios. Researchers have challenged unfounded claims that elections were stolen through hacking while also warning against dismissing real vulnerabilities in voting systems. "A vulnerability is not an exploit," Philip Stark, a retired UC Berkeley statistics professor who developed an audit protocol for checking paper ballots, said at a recent conference. "You can leave a key under your doormat, and that doesn't mean someone takes the key and opens your door." Zoom in: Election security experts interviewed by Axios found these vulnerabilities in parts of the U.S.: 1. Paperless voting: Louisiana is the last remaining state to use paperless voting machines statewide on Election Day. Voters press buttons to select their candidates, and the machines record their votes electronically without producing a paper ballot. That leaves no independent record to check whether votes were counted correctly. Most other states retired the machines after researchers exposed their vulnerabilities to hacking and the inability to independently audit their results. Election security expert and computer scientist J. Alex Halderman, of the University of Michigan, called Louisiana "the dinosaur of American elections." Louisiana's secretary of state's office declined an interview request, but in a press release said the state is expected to award a new election equipment contract at the end of the year. 2. Ballot-marking devices (BMDs) let voters select candidates on a touchscreen before printing a paper ballot. Researchers warn the machines are vulnerable to hacking and errors, and studies show voters often fail to catch mistakes on the printout. A demonstration at the hacktivist conference Def Con in 2025 showed how a machine from Georgia — which an Auburn professor got through court-sanctioned access — could be manipulated by altering what the voter sees and the choices they mark or by changing the vote tally. "That's the kind of thing that our chief information officer and his team does track," said Blake Evans, executive director for Georgia's secretary of state office, when asked broadly about vulnerabilities exposed at Def Con. "[W]e do have the physical security with the fields and the counties that store their equipment securely in secure places." Roughly 23% of U.S. registered voters live in jurisdictions that exclusively use BMDs for in-person voting, according to the nonprofit Verified Voting . BMDs are an essential accessibility tool for voters who can't mark a paper ballot on their own, but security researchers favor offering them alongside hand-marked paper ballots. 3. A software flaw in Georgia's vote-counting system could be used to expose how individual voters cast their ballots, according to research from Princeton University. Researcher Max Springer used public voter records and roughly $20 in AI credits to reconstruct the order in which nearly all in-person ballots were cast in the Georgia counties he studied. With an additional public record, Springer was able to match individual voters to their ballots, as he demonstrated with two counties and 2,200 votes in his study. He wrote that the method could be applied to other counties. Researchers first exposed the bug in 2022 , and Dominion Voting Systems (now Liberty Vote) released a patch the following year. At the time, about 21 states were using the software. There's no centralized database that tracks when these software updates are implemented around the country. The Georgia secretary of state's office said "there haven't been any significant software updates since 2019." State of play: Georgia's secretary of state's office said it has shared guidance with counties to address the ballot secrecy issue, and it plans to limit the exposure by not making all of its election data public in November. Liberty Vote declined to comment. In a post on its website, the company says every "Liberty Vote system is tested, certified, and verified to meet the highest standards of election security and reliability in accordance with all applicable state and federal requirements." The bottom line: Stark says voters should be aware of two things that can be simultaneously true: "The systems are garbage from a software and cybersecurity point of view. There's lots of ways that they can fail." "And there is no direct evidence that anything has happened on a large scale that changed the outcome of say the presidential election or federal election."
Brittany Gibson ·
The cybersecurity world braced for catastrophe after AI uncovered critical flaws in the web's foundational code , but the anticipated wave of automated attacks has surprisingly struggled to get off the ground. Why it matters: Millions of hacking attempts have so far yielded few successful attacks, an apparent lucky break due to the degree of difficulty of building attacks on the bugs. The defense work at many companies to address the issue also appears to have helped. The last week has unfolded in ways that remind some researchers of the Y2K phenomenon, a software problem in 1999 where warnings of armageddon helped rally companies to engineer a solution in time. Driving the news: Security researchers say the PHP vulnerabilities that prompted widespread panic last week have proven unusually difficult to exploit, despite a flood of attempts to develop working attack code. Yet the difficulty of exploiting PHP shouldn't be mistaken for evidence that AI-powered hacking isn't a serious threat, Samantha Lewis, head of threat intelligence at Armadin, told Axios. "We don't have to wait another two years before this happens (again)," she said. "It could be three hours from now that the next one of these launches." Between the lines : The sheer volume of AI-discovered bugs means the next era of cybersecurity will be defined by resilience—how quickly a company can detect an intruder, contain the damage, and recover. "This is the worst outlook I've ever had, and it also is the most interesting thing I've ever seen in my life," ExtraHop CEO Greg Clark told Axios. "This stuff actually works, it's going to change everything." Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha warned that the world is in an "era of cyber tsunami," noting that "it will wash over everybody, nobody will be 100% safe." Zoom in: The shift to building resilience doesn't require throwing out the security playbook. Instead, companies should double down on basic cyber principles, such as using multi-factor authentication, Justin Timothy, threat intelligence consultant at GuidePoint Security, told Axios. Rubrik's Sinha also recommended that organizations start preparing by identifying the most critical services that they need to keep up and running and develop a plan to restore those first after an attack. ExtraHop's Clark suggested companies should get their own AI tools up to speed on what's precious in their systems and how best to protect them at machine speed. Samantha Lewis, head of threat intelligence at Armadin, told Axios that companies should proactively test their own systems for exploitable weaknesses so they're not caught flat-footed when the next major vulnerability disclosure arrives. Catch up quick: Experts have dubbed this month " Black October " after a chaotic week of AI-discovered software flaws and attacks on the platforms powering the AI boom. OpenAI's agents discovered critical flaws in PHP , software used by roughly 70% of websites, and Brotli , a widely used data compression library. Breaches at AI coding agent OpenCode , developer platform Railway and AI gateway LiteLLM put customers' API keys and other credentials at risk. Rob Joyce, former head of the NSA's cyber division, warned on X last week that the "transition from vulpocalypse to breachpocalypse is here." What to watch: AI is already making it easier to find and exploit longstanding security weaknesses, even if these particular vulnerabilities have proven challenging to target. The bottom line : Y2K was averted through massive, coordinate effort, not luck. The companies that survive the AI cyber era will be the ones using this current grace period to nail down the basics and prepare for when the alarms finally go off.
Sam Sabin ·
Rival satellite companies are jockeying to loosen Elon Musk's grip on battlefield communications after his company's restrictions on Ukraine's Starlink service shook officials in Europe and the U.S. Why it matters: The episode, which temporarily disrupted Ukraine's drone usage, shows how vulnerable a military can be to the whims of a single company or market dominator. State of play: Musk's SpaceX, which is the parent company of Starlink, is by far the world's leader in space-based connectivity with more than 11,000 satellites, per the American Enterprise Institute's data . Eutelsat, a France-based SATCOM firm, is behind them with more than 600 satellites in its OneWeb network. This summer, Starlink announced it hit 12 million customers across more than 160 countries and territories. SpaceX's massive lead has made it difficult for European countries that want to establish independence from the Musk-led company. Driving the news: Now, non-U.S. firms seeking to compete with SpaceX are pitching their services with more urgency. Last week, Finnish firms ICEYE and Nokia announced an agreement with Ukraine's defense ministry to explore "sovereign satellite communications." The duo's initial satellites are "expected to launch in 2028," an ICEYE spokesperson told Axios, adding the need for reliable satellite communications has been "evident for years, especially in Europe." "Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the ICEYE-and-Nokia announcement. "We must all rely on capabilities that we can control." Zoom in: The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Musk ordered the slowdown of Ukraine's Starlink service. Other outlets have said the White House was involved, which President Trump denied. Musk responded on Oct. 24 that Ukraine "violated Starlink terms of service" by using it for offensive drone strikes. That "loophole," he added, was recently "closed." Follow the money: After Starlink's connection was throttled, shares in Eutelsat spiked . In an interview on French TV last week, Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher said the company's service is already available in Ukraine and its service can be used for drones. "If one day we wanted to decide to cut off a country or to no longer offer services in a country, it is not a decision made by the CEO alone. It is a decision made by our board of directors with a traditional governance system that we find in Europe," Fallacher said, according to a translation. Threat level: Rebecca Wasser, the defense lead at Bloomberg Economics, said the Starlink incident shows a "loss of faith" not only in the U.S. security commitment, but also in a U.S. company's ability to provide key services. "I think we are going to see more of this push towards European sovereign capability when it comes down to space-based communications," Wasser told Axios . Our thought bubble: This is the latest development in battlefield networking and coordination, without which troops can fight but cannot win. The bottom line: "Satellite communications are no longer simply a support function," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. "The events in Ukraine show how a single point of control can be turned against the forces that depend on it."
Thomas Novelly, Colin Demarest ·
Senate Republicans see Iowa moving their way and Ohio slipping, with pessimism growing over Alaska and Kansas. Why it matters: Even when they squint, top Republicans struggle to see a majority beyond 51 seats, according to half a dozen senior operatives. ✈️ A combination of paid media and Air Force One visits has bolstered GOP confidence that they'll hold South Carolina and Mississippi . But across the map, the outlook looks bleak, with only a few bright spots. Zoom out: Republicans are fighting a two-front war: unprecedented Democratic enthusiasm and undeniable Republican apathy. 🏈 President Trump's strategy is to whip up the MAGA faithful with rallies in the reddest parts of red states. 😱 "The Red Scream is my biggest concern , not the blue wave," said Alex Castellanos, a veteran Republican consultant who has worked to help Trump get elected. ‼️ "Republicans and independents are going to be screaming for attention, and many of them, including those who voted for Trump, may show their frustration by not showing up." Zoom in: Texas is starting to look like a late-season football showdown against an SEC rival: The GOP is still in the game, but defeat seems like a real possibility. 🌾 In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall (R) has stopped the bleeding, but it's unclear whether there's enough time left to save his seat. 🛥️ Republicans are quietly bullish on Michigan, but they recognize that the demographics have to break heavily in their favor, especially among Black voters. By the numbers: The math hasn't changed, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sees multiple paths to 51 seats. No one disputes that North Carolina is going to have a Democratic senator. It seems like another lifetime ago that Republicans were talking seriously about flipping Georgia. If just two of the next tier of Ohio, Kansas and Alaska flip, the Senate would be split 50-50 before factoring in other competitive races, like Michigan, Iowa and Maine. 🦞 In Maine, Republicans and Democrats are consumed by competing fears. Republicans are terrified that a national wave will be big enough to wash away Sen. Susan Collins. Democrats, burned by her unforeseen survival six years ago, refuse to trust even the polls showing them ahead. 🎣 Between the lines: Maine and Alaska may be separated by more than 3,000 miles, but they pose a similar challenge for pollsters: small, overfished electorates where voters are increasingly unwilling to pick up the phone and bite on yet another survey. Both could also see delays in their final results — potentially keeping the majority in limbo for days or weeks, as we told you last night.
Hans Nichols, Stef W. Kight ·
Senate leaders could be guessing who will control the chamber well into November, thanks to a slew of tight races and state-specific voting rules. Why it matters: A GOP majority would ease the pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to move quickly on nominations, while a Democratic majority would give Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer more leverage in the lame-duck session. If the chamber splits 50/50, leaders will have to start negotiating their power-sharing agreement. Zoom in: Four states could leave the majority in limbo. Alaska: Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) is trying to fend off former Rep. Mary Peltola (D). Alaska election results have taken weeks to finalize because of the vast state's transportation challenges, mail ballots and ranked-choice tabulation. The Trump Justice Department is preemptively trying to block results from being finalized if Sullivan narrowly loses. Maine's ranked-choice voting could lengthen the vote tallying if neither Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) nor Democratic nominee Troy Jackson gets more than 50% in the first round. Kansas' three-day grace period for mail-in ballots could delay results in the race between Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). It is far closer than expected. In Texas, a dragged-out recount could be coming. A candidate can request one if the margin is less than 10% of the winner's vote total — which is likely to happen between state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and state Rep. James Talarico (D). The candidate who requests it has to pay. The clock: Congress currently plans to leave for the holidays on Dec. 18. But if Republicans lose both the House and Senate , Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) wants senators to stay in town through the holidays (yes, Thanksgiving and Christmas) to work on a massive GOP reconciliation package they can pass without Democratic support. The big picture: Congress has a long to-do list either way, including funding the government past Dec. 11, passing emergency defense spending and potentially raising the debt ceiling. It needs to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, Farm Bill and permitting reform, reauthorize the warrantless wiretap authority under FISA Section 702 and confirm nominations before they expire at the end of the year. The bottom line: "I'm guessing that's a possibility this year," Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told reporters today about working in D.C. through the holiday recess.
Stef W. Kight ·
The Justice Department failed to secure an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson , a former White House aide who testified about President Trump's actions on Jan. 6, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. Why it matters: The grand jury's refusal to indict Hutchinson is another blow to the DOJ in its ongoing effort to prosecute President Trump's perceived political enemies . The latest: A Justice Department lawyer told a magistrate judge Tuesday that a grand jury could not agree on an indictment, according to the Washington Post. The lawyer, whom the Post identified as Neville S. Hedley, the division's acting senior litigation counsel, did not say who the indictment referenced, but multiple sources told the Post and other outlets that it relates to Hutchinson. Catch up quick: Hutchinson's 2022 testimony before Congress revealed several bombshells about the Trump administration's actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021. She testified that she had been told Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent who refused to drive him to the Capitol, that Trump knew some of his supporters were armed, and that former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows had been warned of potential violence on Capitol Hill. She also described Trump's reluctance to call on his supporters to back down as violence unfolded at the Capitol. Zoom out: Republicans have long disputed Hutchinson's testimony, and Secret Service agents she identified as familiar with the events of that day have also said they do not recall some of the incidents she described. Earlier this year, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) sent a criminal referral of Hutchinson to the Justice Department for investigation. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) co-signed it. Criminal referrals are recommendations to the Justice Department and do not necessarily indicate criminal wrongdoing or result in charges. The intrigue: In a break from precedent, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, led by Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhillon, conducted Hutchinson's investigation, according to the New York Times. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., currently led by Jeanine Pirro, typically handles investigations into allegations of lying to Congress. The Times noted that Pirro has struggled to secure indictments against Trump's perceived enemies, with several high-profile cases faltering after evidence proved thinner than initially believed. Go deeper: Red-meat retribution: Trump escalates campaign against MAGA foes
Josephine Walker ·
The U.S. government is granting visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family following his defeat in Brazil's presidential election , a senior Trump administration official tells Axios. Why it matters: The move comes days after Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro , in a closely watched election. Driving the news: Following the election, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro on Monday to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country. The order relates to an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing. Trump administration officials said they would not comment further until the Bolsonaro family is safely in the United States. The big picture: President Trump and his administration have repeatedly backed the Bolsonaro family, with the president denouncing the prosecution of the elder Bolsonaro as a " witch hunt ." Jair Bolsonaro was convicted last year by Brazil's Supreme Court of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election and sentenced to a 27-year prison sentence , though he remains under house arrest due to health problems Trump's administration has targeted Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes , who oversaw the prosecution, with visa restrictions and, separately, sanctions that were later lifted. The Trump administration also imposed steep tariffs on Brazilian imports in 2025, escalating tensions between Washington and Brasília. Go deeper: Brazil's election ignites MAGA's midterm warnings Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.
Marc Caputo, Rebecca Falconer ·
President Trump has increasingly singled out Muslim politicians and communities in a bid to rally his base in the final push before election day. Why it matters: Trump's comments could energize some Republican voters in close races, but the strategy could alienate those who see the rhetoric as fearmongering or discriminatory . Driving the news: Trump's Monday appearance at a Michigan rally for GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers included several barbs at Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed's Muslim faith. Trump suggested that El-Sayed posed a security threat, saying, "He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate." He also called El-Sayed a "jihadist," baselessly claimed the Senate candidate wants to impose sharia law in Michigan, and again accused him of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied ties to extremist groups, and no evidence has emerged linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Between the lines: Republican political consultant Dennis Darnoi told Axios that Trump's rhetoric "doesn't really move the needle one way or the other" in Michigan, where voters have heard similar language before. Darnoi says the strategy could "energize and mobilize" Trump's base. But it could also discourage Jewish and Black Democrats who backed El-Sayed's primary opponent, Haley Stevens, from supporting him in November. "It's not always about winning, but if you can minimize the size of your loss and then go into more Republican areas and gin up your turnout and gin up your margin of victory, then you can win a very close statewide race." By the numbers: About 38% of Michigan likely voters said they would be less likely to support a Muslim candidate, according to a Michigan State University poll released Monday. But 58% said a candidate's being Muslim would make no difference, while 52% said a Trump endorsement would make them less likely to support a politician. What they're saying: Trump and some in the GOP "have chosen to use bigotry and racism" as their election strategy "because there's no other message they're able to run on," Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council, tells Axios. He added that it doesn't matter if voters or politicians agree with El-Sayed's policies, "all of that is up for debate. But they've chosen not to debate the issues. They've chosen to instill fear in people, promote lies, pure lies." Tarin predicted the attacks would have "an opposite effect for both American Muslims and Americans in general." The other side: A White House spokesperson told Axios in an emailed statement that "President Trump is calling out the radical extremists stoking division, defrauding their communities, and perpetuating violence." "The President will continue to unapologetically fight for American greatness and call out extremists like Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed without apology." Zoom out: Trump isn't alone. Several Republican lawmakers have made anti-Muslim comments this year. Trump has also repeatedly targeted Somali Americans and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and previously called Somali immigrants "garbage." Somalis predominantly practice Islam. What we're watching: Whether moderates and independents take the bait, or whether the attacks backfire with Muslim Americans and other voters. Go deeper: "Awful f*cking idiot": Tensions erupt in Congress over Republicans' anti-Muslim posts
Josephine Walker ·
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition is projected to lose its parliamentary majority, but his opponent Gadi Eisenkot's bloc is short of 61 seats, according to Israeli exit polls. The exit polls show Eisenkot's bloc with 52 to 53 seats, Netanyahu's with 50, and Arab parties with 17 to 18. Why it matters: If the election results match that poll, Eisenkot would have to try to swear in a minority government supported by the two Arab parties. It's unclear whether all of his political partners would agree to do that. It would also mean that Netanyahu's coalition shed 14 seats from the 64 seats it won in the 2022 elections . What they're saying: Eisenkot said that the exit poll results "point to an unequivocal lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the government responsible for October 7, on the part of the Zionist majority and the majority of Israeli citizens. If these results hold, it will be a victory for Israel's Zionist, pro-state majority." He added, "I will act immediately to implement the people's verdict, replace Netanyahu's government, and establish a Zionist government committed to military service, as soon as possible." Driving the news: The exit poll results came after voters flocked to polling stations throughout the day, with turnout reaching a four-decade high . It was the culmination of a campaign that each side warned would lead to catastrophe if the other side won. An Eisenkot-bloc victory would offer Israel a chance to reset its strained relationships abroad and chart a new course domestically. The former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, however, vowed to maintain a hawkish approach on security matters. Yes, but: Though Eisenkot's bloc outpaced Netanyahu's, the incumbent prime minister's Likud Party received one to two more seats than Eisenkot's Yashar party, per the exit polls. But because Israel has a parliamentary system, the bloc totals are what ultimately matter. Go deeper: Israeli turnout hits four-decade high
Barak Ravid ·
President Trump applauded Quebec's new separatist premier Tuesday, continuing to jab at Ottawa despite fragile trade talks that seemed to be gaining momentum. The big picture: Even as Trump's top economic adviser suggested a deal to ease the ongoing trade war is possible, the president has continue to antagonize Canada. The U.S. recently accused Canada of trying to influence American elections through retaliatory tariffs, which Canadian officials have denied. Meanwhile, Trump's continued to antagonize Canada from the campaign trail, saying at a Mississippi stop Monday that it was "charging us massive tariffs" and has "treated us badly." Driving the news: In a brief shoutout Tuesday, the president congratulated Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for his win some three weeks ago. While a recent vote stymied an Albertan separatist push , St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to hold Quebec's third referendum on independence, though he's said it wouldn't happen until after Trump leaves office. St-Pierre Plamondon's center-left Parti Québécois won 60 of 127 seats, leaving it four short of a majority. It would likely need support from a fellow separatist party to advance a referendum. Prime Minister Mark Carney has emphasized the importance of Canadian unity as the nation faces unprecedented hostility from the American president. Trump shared an Irish Times article that framed the Quebec vote as a "blow to Mark Carney" that could "hamper" his "efforts to maintain national unity against Trump." Zoom out: Trump on Tuesday also congratulated British Columbia's premier-designate, Lorne Doerkson, after his Conservatives swung the province rightward. "Conservatives are moving strong in Canada!" the president wrote . Doerkson, however, has rejected suggestions that he's aligned with the president, similar to St-Pierre Plamondon. Friction point: The U.S. Embassy in Canada last week accused Canadian leaders of trying to influence American politics with reciprocal tariffs on politically important products and states in the U.S. The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. The intrigue: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in a Fox interview Sunday that negotiations with Canada have "picked up" and are "gathering steam." Carney told reporters Monday trade talks had intensified slightly since the talks last fell apart in August . Midterm politics are complicating Trump's tariff agenda, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports. Last week, the the White House exempted certain Canadian imports from 50% tariffs following pressure from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) . Collins pledged to seek to seek further tariff relief and encourage a broader trade agreement with Canada. The bottom line: Trump relationship with Canada has been tumultuous — rattled by trade tensions and the president's persistent "51st state" threats. Go deeper: Trump's Canada feud collides with Alberta's separatist vote
Avery Lotz ·
TEL AVIV, Israel — Halfway through Election Day , 45% of Israeli voters had cast a ballot — the highest level since 1973. Why it matters: This looks like bad news for Benjamin Netanyahu. Higher voter turnout will likely push several of the parties in his bloc below the electoral threshold — making it harder for the prime minister to reach a 61-seat majority in parliament. An increase in turnout among Arab minority communities could lead to a record number of seats in parliament for them. As in previous elections, Netanyahu has tried to energize his voters by making false claims about "Muslim Brotherhood supporters" of his opponents who are "stealing the elections." State of play: After multiple reports of long lines at many polling stations across the country, the Central Elections Commission issued orders to expedite the voting process and clarified that any voter who arrives at a polling station by 10 pm local time will be allowed to vote. Polls close at 10 pm local time (4pm ET) and exit polls will be published simultaneously by Israel's three TV networks. Driving the news: This is one of the most consequential elections in the country's history — with rival camps warning that victory for the other would put Israel's future in jeopardy. The elections are yet another referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership and the path he's taken the country down over the past four years. It's Israeli voters' first chance to hold Netanyahu accountable for the security failures that led to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks — or to reward him for what he claims were unprecedented military successes in the three years of war since.
Barak Ravid ·
Four Senate Democrats are pressing Trump officials to begin restoring billions of dollars in clean energy grants before a key vote on the permitting deal. Why it matters: The path for the bipartisan bill in the lame duck session just got steeper. The big picture: Before the first vote, the senators — Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Ed Markey (Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) — want Trump aides to tell the Energy Department to: Begin reinstating grants terminated in October 2025 that have not already been restored with a clear timeline for completion, and allow recipients to draw on the funds under the original terms. Pledge in writing not to cancel grants based on the political hue of a state or its officials. Driving the news: Their new letter to the bill's authors stops shy of an ultimatum, but says it would be "compelling" if these steps occurred. It shows deep misgivings about the bill, arguing it could provide new tools for Trump to favor fossil fuels. "[T]he promise of BAAJA will only succeed if President Trump takes care that it is faithfully executed. The Trump administration's record gives us no basis to assume that he will," the letter states, calling the bill by its acronym. Catch up quick: The letter recounts the scuttling of Biden-era grants, and White House budget chief Russ Vought listing states that did not vote for President Trump in 2024. The Energy Department has acknowledged , in a court filing , that selections of grants for termination in October 2025 were based on politics. Restoring "unlawfully terminated DOE clean energy awards would be a small but important first step" toward fairness in permitting, it states. Friction point: Co-authors Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) want to see more federal approvals of stalled renewables projects. They've called some recent administration moves a step in the right direction. But the new letter shows that other lawmakers have separate asks of the administration. Already, some House Democrats have criticized other portions of the bill and called for changes, such as its effects on tribal input into energy projects. State of play: The status of billions of dollars in scuttled or frozen grants — under the 2021 infrastructure and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — is a moving legal and administrative target. Many are in "limbo," per a report this month from the DOE Alumni Network and Lawyers for Good Government. It also found that most projects DOE retained have received "negligible" funding. The October 2025 cancellations largely targeted blue states, but wider delays and uncertainty have affected places of varying political stripes. Flashback: DOE has said it reviewed grants for financial soundness, economic viability, consistency with administration goals, and other criteria. Sign up here for Axios' Future of Energy newsletter.
Ben Geman ·
A fight over Israel is fracturing the socialist movement just as it stands within reach of capturing the Los Angeles mayor's office . Why it matters: The same socialist movement celebrating its ascendancy through New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now debating whether to disown Nithya Raman before Los Angeles voters can even weigh in. National Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) leaders face demands to overturn the local chapter's endorsement of Raman over her position on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The Los Angeles chapter of DSA still enthusiastically endorses Raman , arguing Angelenos deserve a functioning city government. The mayoral race has been defined by homelessness, affordability and public safety. By the numbers: Raman leads incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in recent polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, though many voters remain undecided. Overall : A September Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times poll put Raman ahead 39%-28%, with 33% undecided. A more recent Manhattan Institute poll showed Raman leading 38%-32%, with 30% undecided. Among likely Latino voters: Raman led 45%-21%, with 34% undecided in the Berkeley poll. Among socialists: DSA's Los Angeles chapter endorsed Raman in a 937-484 vote, with 52 abstentions. State of play: On Oct. 4, DSA's National Political Committee found that the chapter violated endorsement rules by failing to ask Raman about BDS, but stopped short of invalidating its support. National leaders have considered proposals to revoke the endorsement and bar the chapter from using resources to campaign for her, per Vanity Fair . A DSA faction has called for questioning Raman about her views on Palestine, with possible expulsion if national leaders find her positions incompatible with the group's principles. Sticking point: The Democratic Socialists of America's published endorsement requirements say candidates must actively support BDS and avoid affiliations with the Israeli government or "Zionist lobbying groups." The DSA declined to comment. Zoom in: Raman has broken with DSA before, including on Israel, policing and housing. DSA-LA censured her in 2024 for accepting an endorsement from Democrats for Israel-Los Angeles but maintained its support. She voted to approve LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell over DSA objections and sought changes to L.A.'s mansion tax . At a September 29 Jewish voter forum , Raman defended calling Israel's military campaign in Gaza genocide but declined to put BDS on her municipal platform. Raman said she believes Israel has a right to exist. What they're saying: Raman has stressed her independence from DSA. "My independence will always be paramount," she told the Jewish forum, according to AP . The next night, Raman described her approach to socialism to Axios and Noticias Telemundo as "sewer socialism" or "pothole politics," adding: "I just want government to work for the people." Zoom out: Raman isn't the first prominent progressive to clash with DSA over Israel. National DSA leaders withdrew a conditional national endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in July 2024 over unmet demands involving Israel and BDS. Its New York City chapter continued supporting her. In March, Ocasio-Cortez pledged to oppose all U.S. funding for Israel, including defensive weapons. New York City's DSA chapter subsequently endorsed her reelection despite more than 500 opposing votes.
Russell Contreras ·