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Axios

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

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.

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Aug 15, 2026
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Publishing rhythm

How many articles Axios published over the last 14 days, by publication time, and at which hours of the day.

Articles per day
By hour of the day (US Eastern)

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.

Top keywords at Axios
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Share of its stories per day, top 5, the last 14 days

Latest articles

  • 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 ·

  • Israelis head to the polls today for 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. Why it matters: 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. If Netanyahu and his far-right coalition win, they're likely to renew the war with Iran in an effort to topple its regime, intensify their crackdown on Israel's democratic institutions and move to end Netanyahu's corruption trial. Driving the news: Netanyahu's campaign was totally focused on the war with Iran. After two military campaigns over the last 18 months in which he claimed that Israel destroyed Iran's nuclear program, Netanyahu's main talking point was that Iran is moving closer to a nuclear bomb. Earlier this week, Netanyahu went as far as posting an AI-generated image of Tel Aviv being destroyed by an Iranian nuclear bomb — implying that's what will happen if he loses. Behind the scenes: Netanyahu spent weeks trying to persuade President Trump to give him a green light to strike Iran ahead of the elections. Trump did not go along. In the 72 hours before the elections, Netanyahu tried to order the Israel Defense Forces to take steps to lay the ground for a potential new military strike or take actions short of an overt attack, Israeli officials say. IDF chief of staff General Eyal Zamir refused to abide. He warned that such a strike could lead to a miscalculation that quickly escalated hostilities and potentially forced the elections to be called off, the officials said. The Israeli officials said Zamir insisted there was no operational urgency in taking these steps ahead of the elections and eventually got Netanyahu to back off. The other side: Netanyahu's main opponent, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, ran on holding Netanyahu accountable for the October 7 failure, forming a national commission of inquiry and drafting ultra-Orthodox men to strengthen the IDF after three years of war. Another Netanyahu opponent, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, blamed the incumbent for what he called extreme government dysfunction the past four years. Both attacked Netanyahu over the fact that some of his closest advisers and his campaign manager received money from Qatar in return for trying to sway Israeli public opinion during the war. Bennett called it "treason." (Netanyahu said he didn't know his advisers were paid by Qatar, and the aides said the money was for a project involving the World Cup.) State of play: Netanyahu and his ultranationalist, ultra-Orthodox bloc arrived at the election unorganized, divided, and highly unpopular. Many of its voters are demoralized, and they face a significant risk of losing voters who back pro-Netanyahu parties that don't pass the 3.25% electoral threshold. The opposition bloc, by contrast, arrived at the elections well organized and with little risk of losing votes to the electoral threshold. The voters of the opposition parties have been much more motivated, with many civil society organizations focusing on canvassing and increasing turnout. More than 50,000 Israelis who have left the country over the last four years traveled back to participate in the elections, according to estimates. Most of them are expected to vote for the opposition parties. The turnout among the Arab minority in Israel is pegged to be the highest ever, with the two Arab parties projected to win around 15 seats combined. With 61 seats needed for a majority, that's a sizable bloc. But the final days of the campaign saw infighting between the opposition parties. Some members of Eisenkot's bloc have yet to accept his leadership. Yes, but: Netanyahu has defied all odds multiple times before. He could still energize his base on election day and win back disgruntled voters who considered switching sides. Netanyahu doesn't have to win. He only needs to get enough seats to block his opponents from forming a coalition or swearing in a minority government. That would allow him to serve as a caretaker prime minister for another six months until another election is held. What to watch: If the opposition bloc wins more seats than Netanyahu's, it will be up to Eisenkot to quickly unite his political partners behind a government that would remove Netanyahu from power. More than 7 million people are eligible to vote, and turnout is expected to be the highest in decades. Polls close at 4 pm ET.

    Barak Ravid ·

  • Anthropic filed yesterday for what could be the biggest IPO ever, capping a massive day of AI dealmaking that nearly equals 1% of U.S. GDP. Why it matters: Few industries have ever become so central to the American economy so quickly — and we're watching Wall Street finance the buildout in real time. Driving the news: Anthropic's long-awaited IPO may seek to raise a record $100 billion. Also yesterday, SpaceX secured $40 billion in debt financing to lease GPUs — the chips that power modern AI — and Meta said it would seek up to $95 billion in financing for its AI buildout. Together, that's roughly $235 billion in a single day — more than the entire U.S. airline industry adds to the economy in a year. The big picture: AI's appetite for capital has outgrown what any one single part of the financial system can supply. Anthropic alone has committed roughly $750 billion to computing power in the coming years — about seven times what its record-setting IPO may raise. Even private investors are struggling to keep up: OpenAI's record $120 billion funding round took months to close. Zoom in: Most Americans will be financially exposed to these deals, even if they never buy a share. SpaceX and Meta are already major holdings in the top stock indices that fill pensions, 401(k)s and other retirement plans. Anthropic will soon join them. Between the lines: Anthropic's filing spells out how big the stakes are, devoting more than a quarter of the document to risks. The company warns that AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity" and that models may try to manipulate the people using them. Zoom out: Each of these three deals is a bet that AI use keeps compounding fast enough to justify the industry's trillions in spending. The flip side, however, is that declining use could crack the foundation of America's entire economy. The bottom line: Everyone is on the AI train, whether we want to be or not.

    Dan Primack ·

  • A day after Venezuela's exiled opposition leader returned to Caracas with great fanfare, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a veiled warning against interfering with the country's fragile democratic transition pushed by the Trump administration. "You're not going to street-protest your way into a democracy," Rubio told reporters Monday without explicitly mentioning María Corina Machado . Why it matters: Machado's demands for elections next year — and her criticism of a massive U.S. oil deal struck with the current Caracas regime — have put administration officials on edge after her surprise return. "Rubio is on a political edge," said a White House source familiar with his thinking. "Venezuela is the top foreign policy achievement of this administration, and if the progress we made gets undone and Machado is a spoiler, nobody wins." A Machado spokesperson didn't return messages seeking comment. Zoom in: Machado and U.S. officials agree that Venezuela needs to hold elections. But she has demanded they be held in 2027, while U.S. officials aren't sure. They want three things to happen first: Reform Venezuela's Supreme Court. It's stocked with loyalists of Nicolas Maduro, who was seized Jan. 3 by the U.S. and spirited to New York City to face narcotrafficking charges. The State Department hopes a new court is picked by year's end. Reform Venezuela's National Electoral Council. It's also filled with Maduro's people, and with the Supreme Court it helped him steal his last two elections as president. The State Department hopes a new council will be in place by early next year. Fix Venezuela's debt. Venezuela has one of the world's largest sovereign debt problems — $300 billion, more than its gross domestic product. The hoped-for timeline regarding this hurdle is less clear, and Rubio didn't explicitly discuss it Monday. Between the lines: As Axios first reported in September, Trump discussed all three of those issues with Rodriguez when he also told her privately that elections need to happen one day. In a transcript of Rubio's briefing, a senior State Department official added another possible issue: reforming the security services, which also could take time. "If you want a democratically elected government to succeed, you don't want them to inherit an economic apocalypse that brings it down," the official said, according to the transcript. "What happens when the security forces that are not loyal to the system decide they're not gonna follow orders from — no matter who got elected? They're not gonna follow their orders; they're not gonna follow through. Now Caracas once again becomes the murder capital of the Western Hemisphere, maybe the world." Rubio did not specify any timelines. He told reporters he wouldn't allow Venezuela's current government, run by former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, to stall out Trump's administration, which ends in January 2029. "What if they just try to wait us out for two years? That's not going to happen," Rubio said. "I mean, we have timelines that are agreed to, and so far they've met every one of the timelines." To call for a new election, Rodriguez would have to declare a vacancy in the presidency. That would trigger an election six months later, State Department officials said. So under the most optimistic timeline, Rodriguez could call for an election for next June. Trump administration officials emphasized to Axios that no date for an election is clear, and that it could take place next year or in 2028. Rubio also said he wants to stay on the job as long as possible: "Best-case scenario, I'm in this job for two more years and two months. So I clearly intend to see this thing well in advance of the time I leave" the administration. The intrigue: Rodriguez and Machado (whom Maduro banned from running in 2024) have made clear their mutual opposition to each other. Without naming her rival, Rodriguez told reporters Monday that Machado should feel remorse or regret for supporting the "external onslaught, that external military-style aggression against Venezuela." That's code for the U.S. seizing of Maduro, but Rubio told reporters he's paying attention to Rodriguez's actions and not her words. So far, he said, she's delivered on eliminating Iranian and Cuban influence in the country and extraditing former Maduro ally Alex Saab, a cooperating witness against him. "If at the end of the day we have a new [Supreme Court], a new [Electoral Council], a new election, and a new ... system of government, that's what we want," Rubio said. "And no matter what people say along the way, as long as it happens, this is a results-based process." The bottom line: Rubio said Venezuela has "got to change the infrastructure of the elections. Not in 10 years. Not in five years. Not in two years. It needs to happen quickly under the timelines that we've established." "But if anybody tries to derail that process, they're doing great harm to Venezuela."

    Marc Caputo ·

  • Former FBI director James Comey is facing new federal charges, according to a charging document made public on Monday. Why it matters: The charges mark the third time the Trump administration has charged Comey. He has been a subject of the president's ire since his dismissal from the first Trump administration in 2017. Driving the news: Prosecutors allege Comey directed the disclosure of national defense information to a reporter through one or more co-conspirators in October 2016, while he was serving as FBI director . He is charged with participating in the transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit national defense information. The case has been ongoing under seal since early October. What they're saying: A DOJ spokesperson told Axios that the case is an "ongoing criminal investigation" and declined to comment further. The other side: Comey's attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement posted to Comey's Instagram account that the former FBI director "steadfastly maintains his innocence" and will fight the latest charges. Fitzgerald said the case concerns an Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article that two separate teams of prosecutors investigated during Trump's first administration. Both teams decided not to bring charges, he said. He also welcomed U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden's decision to unseal the case. Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. Catch up quick: Trump fired Comey in 2017 amid the FBI's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. His dismissal led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, tasked with uncovering any links to Russian interference in the election. Mueller's investigation report — released in 2019 — documented extensive Russian interference in the 2016 election but did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia. Zoom out: The charges were made public the same day as a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who worked on cases involving Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jeffrey Epstein . Go deeper: What to know about James Comey and his history with President Trump Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.

    Rebecca Falconer ·

  • There has never been a company like Anthropic. It owes almost $650 billion for computing, generates eye-popping revenue per employee and wants every investor to know that its product poses existential risks to humanity. Why it matters : The future of the AI race, the market and the global economy rest within Anthropic's IPO prospectus, where some of Silicon Valley's most seasoned investors found new reasons to be bullish. They also found warning signs. A wager on Anthropic is a bet not just that AI will deliver on its enormous promise, but that customers will keep spending at a rate that keeps pace with massive computing costs. It's also a bet that Anthropic can continue to deliver models good enough to justify premium prices, even as competition intensifies and cheaper alternatives improve. What they're saying : Reaching a valuation of $2 trillion would require 50% growth, according to Theory Ventures. "What is Anthropic worth?" Theory's Tomasz Tunguz asked rhetorically. "The case for a very large number is simple," he said, noting that the company grew quickly on a high margin and generated an operating profit. "The case against is equally simple," he added, noting its $637 billion of computing commitments, non-cancellable contracts and no guarantee of customer loyalty. Catch up quick: Monday's filing offered the most detailed public look yet at Anthropic's business , finances and risks as it prepares for a potentially record-setting IPO. (See what Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT say about whether they'd invest). As Tunguz noted, the filing had fodder for a variety of perspectives. The good : Anthropic has nearly 2,000 customers with $1 million or more of revenue, and 250 with $10 million or more. Half the Fortune 500 pays the company $100,000 a year, and those customers spent less than 0.1% of their total expenses in the third quarter on Anthropic. "We are so early," Ben Bajarin, a longtime tech analyst, said on X. He pointed out that there are 300 million global businesses outside of China that spend almost $1.5 trillion on enterprise software annually. The company had more $130 billion in cash and short-term investments on hand as of June 30, about $10 billion less than the total it's raised, pointing to substantial financial discipline, some investors said. As noted, Anthropic had revenue per employee of $6.6 million as of the end of the third quarter, only slightly lower than Nvidia, which is typically seen as one of the most efficient operators in tech. Data: S&P Capital IQ Pro; Note: Calculated as trailing 12-month revenue divided by most recently reported annual headcount The bad (or maybe bad) : Anthropic's five largest customers accounted for approximately 25% of revenue during the first nine months of 2026. Many Anthropic customers pay by usage and don't make multi-year commitments. But the company's computing obligations extend for years and include minimum payments regardless of how much capacity it actually uses. Nearly 50% of Anthropic's first-half revenue came through cloud marketplaces operated by Amazon, Google and Microsoft — companies that are also investors, computing suppliers and competitors. That makes hyperscalers huge winners, since they collect revenue in multiple ways, once by providing compute and also as platform fee. The company said 5% to 7% of revenue in the first nine months of 2026 was from customers using Anthropic models in violation of its policies or against its terms of service. Some outside experts believe much of this is from distillation, the practice of querying a model an immense number of times for training purposes. The surprising/intruiging : Anthropic's deal with Elon Musk is expanding. According to Anthropic's paperwork, the company's payments to SpaceX are now seen reaching $3.1 billion a month and up to $120.5 billion on computing through 2029, up from $1.25 billion a month at the time of SpaceX's IPO filing. (Yes, but: Either side can cancel that deal with 90 days notice.) Anthropic has a ton of cash on its books. Its filing lists more than $134 billion in cash and similar securities. That represents nearly all the money the company has raised, leaving some to wonder if the company has been paying a lot of its bills with convertible notes. Others noted just how few of Anthropic's costs seem to be reflected in its so-called "cost of goods sold," which directly affects reported profit margins. CEO Dario Amodei received nearly $18 million in total compensation in 2025, while Anthropic disclosed millions in spending on personal security for its two top executives. And speaking of Amodei and his co-founders, the filing details an unusual succession plan in which they can nominate successors for their voting power, subject to approval from the other co-founders. The bottom line: Anthropic has demonstrated that demand for powerful AI can grow at a staggering rate. Its IPO will test whether investors believe that demand can remain strong enough, long enough, to pay for the enormous infrastructure being built to serve it.

    Ina Fried ·

  • President Trump will campaign with three football stars in Texas on Tuesday, leaning into America's favorite sport as Republicans scramble to turn out voters in the final week before the midterms, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Trump is trying to mobilize the lower-propensity voters who helped return him to the White House in 2024 — but who may be less inclined to vote when he isn't on the ballot. Driving the news: Former college football stars Johnny Manziel and Colt McCoy, along with two-time Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola, will join Trump for campaign appearances in Lubbock and Corpus Christi. The appearances bring some of Texas' biggest football names onto the campaign trail in a state where the sport commands an enormous following. Amendola starred at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Manziel won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, and McCoy was a standout quarterback at the University of Texas. The big picture: Trump has made football a recurring feature of his campaign stops in recent weeks. He attended the Texas-Tennessee game in September and planned to attend the Georgia-Alabama showdown earlier this month before canceling because of a hurricane. Former NFL coach Jon Gruden joined Trump at an Ohio rally this month, while former Georgia and NFL star Todd Gurley accompanied the president on a stop in Georgia. Vice President Vance, a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, visited the team's practice facility last week while campaigning in Ohio. Republicans are also pouring millions into ads during NFL and college football games. What they're saying: "Trump has many bases. And football is one of them, college and pros," said an adviser. "The response is good. And the president loves the atmosphere. So why not?" Between the lines: Football offers Trump a way to reach younger men who helped power his 2024 victory — a constituency Republicans are struggling to energize in the midterms. By the numbers: Polls suggest Republicans face a challenge holding onto Trump's gains among young men. Trump won men under 30 by 14 points in 2024, according to a Tufts University analysis . But a Harvard Youth Poll released last week found Democrats leading Republicans by 26 points among young men who say they will definitely vote in November. Marc Caputo contributed to this report.

    Alex Isenstadt ·

  • President Trump and MAGA-world influencers are echoing Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro's claims of a rigged election after the Trump-aligned populist fell to the incumbent president in Sunday's election. The big picture: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's runoff victory has been widely seen as a counterweight to the global right's surge in Latin America. But Bolsonaro, like his father , isn't accepting defeat. What they're saying: "It looked like another rigged election, frankly," Trump told reporters Monday. He added, "Elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me." The White House referred Axios to Trump's comments when asked to respond. Friction point: Bolsonaro told reporters it was "impossible to recognize the result of this election in the context of how these things have happened," according to a translation . He also vowed to ask for the results to be annulled. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin's two-hour extension to Sunday's voting has fueled Bolsonaro's claims. Zanin previously served as Lula's lawyer. But both Bolsonaro and Lula's camps requested more time for voters. Lula's team requested the extension because of public transit issues, while Bolsonaro sought additional time in certain states because of weather, Bloomberg reported . The extension was reportedly given as many polling stations were already wrapping up. Multiple outlets noted that the decision risked setting the stage for candidates to dispute the results, despite Brazil's voting system being widely recognized for its reliability. Zoom out: Several prominent voices in the online MAGA movement backed Bolsonaro's refusal to accept the election results, and some urged the Trump administration to act. "The math just ain't mathin'," podcaster Benny Johnson said in a Monday edition of his show where he criticized the election results. He was joined by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who argued Brazil looked like "a banana republic." Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon urged the administration to sever ties with Brazil on his "War Room" show, adding, "if we don't take action ... it's happening next Tuesday here in this country." Jack Posobiec echoed Bannon's unfounded claims, writing on X, "Look at what the Left is doing in Brazil in broad daylight. Do you really think they wouldn't in the United States?" Andrew Kolvet, who produced "The Charlie Kirk Show," said the U.S. should "quietly pressure them behind the scenes" and not accept the result. He further urged Bolsonaro supporters not to show up for work and "rally in the streets." What we're watching: The attention on Bolsonaro's loss comes as MAGA activists have pushed for Trump to take extraordinary measures, like martial law, if they think the U.S. election is rigged, Axios' Brittany Gibson reports . Trump has continued to stoke the coals of election denialism, while political opponents have accused his administration of trying to intimidate voters and election officials. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has waged an aggressive pre-election offensive, including a preemptive request that could delay certification of Alaska's Senate results and a lawsuit against California over alleged suspected noncitizens receiving ballots. Go deeper: Trump allies fall in two elections as Netanyahu faces next test

    Avery Lotz ·