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| Presented By BlackRock® |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen · Jul 06, 2022 |
| Hello Wednesday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,165 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Noah Bressner. |
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| 1 big thing: GOP plots vengeance on Jan. 6 committee |
| House Jan. 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) swears in Cassidy Hutchinson last week. Photo: Sean Thew/Pool via AP Key House Republicans are threatening to subpoena records of the Jan. 6 committee if the GOP retakes the majority next year — an escalation of the party's effort to undercut the investigation's findings. - Why it matters: Fresh talk of 2023 subpoenas means the committee's "final report," expected this fall, may be far from the last word on the Capitol attack, Axios' Alayna Treene and Jonathan Swan report.
Ever since the Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed GOP members of Congress — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — Republicans have been threatening unspecified subpoenas in retaliation. - The hearings have painted a damning portrait of former President Trump, with many former aides testifying they told him his claims of a stolen election were bogus.
- While Republicans have been eager to move beyond what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, many want to use a GOP-controlled majority to frame their own narrative of what happened that day — and also raise questions about the Jan. 6 committee's work and spending.
Some Republicans have sought to dispute elements of Cassidy Hutchinson's explosive testimony about Trump's behavior and state of mind. - Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who chairs the largest bloc of House conservatives, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on July 1, requesting that DHS "review White House gate logs, surveillance videos, and all other records that could indicate which of these senior staff were present at the White House during the times referenced" in Hutchinson's testimony.
The Jan. 6 committee declined comment. - Drew Hammill, Speaker Pelosi's spokesperson, dismissed GOP suggestions that Pelosi is responsible for the 1/6 security failure: "Numerous independent fact checkers have confirmed that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination."
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| 2. 🧠 State relief checks could worsen inflation |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| Political efforts to blunt the impact of inflation could end up prolonging it, Kate Marino writes in Axios Markets. - Why it matters: Politicians are caught in a bind on whether to offer short-term inflation relief for struggling constituents — or help address the underlying causes by curtailing consumer demand.
Some states are touting "inflation relief" checks for residents — effectively amounting to fiscal stimulus — to help them deal with rising prices. - California is offering checks of up to $1,050 to individual taxpayers, as part of a $17 billion relief package signed last week, with more money going to those with lower incomes.
- Colorado, Indiana, Maine and Delaware are offering similar, smaller programs, mostly structured around tax rebates and enacted by both Democratic and Republican leaders.
Between the lines: If the number of states sending out inflation rebates remains low, it's unlikely to create an inflationary jump for the U.S. as a whole, says Sonal Desai, fixed-income chief investment officer at Franklin Templeton. - But at scale, that would change: "If you see most states going in this direction, it makes the whole job of controlling inflation that much harder."
👀 What we're watching: Many states have budget surpluses this year. So it shouldn't be surprising that leaders — many of whom will seek re-election at some point — are looking to offset the pain. |
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| 3. Illinois suspect legally bought 5 guns |
| Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images Above: Vice President Kamala Harris hugs Highland Park (Ill.) Mayor Nancy Rotering yesterday during a visit to the site of the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade that left seven people dead. A 21-year-old was charged yesterday with seven counts of murder. - He legally bought five weapons — including the high-powered rifle that sprayed more than 70 rounds onto the parade — despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, AP reports.
The big picture: The revelation about his gun purchases is just the latest example of young men who were able to obtain guns and carry out massacres in recent months, despite glaring warning signs about their mental health and inclination to violence. 🇺🇸 President Biden ordered that in honor of the Highland Park victims, U.S. flags will be flown at half-staff on public buildings through sunset on Saturday. |
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| 4. 📷 1,000 words |
| Photo: Benoit Tessier/Reuters The rusting Eiffel Tower is being stripped and painted ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Photo: Benoit Tessier/Reuters |
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| 5. 🦠 COVID was third leading cause of death |
 Data: JAMA Intern Medicine. Chart: Axios Visuals COVID was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021, accounting for 1 in 8 lives lost, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes from a new review of death certificate data in JAMA Internal Medicine. - Why it matters: The virus exacted a huge human toll even after vaccines became widely available. It indirectly affected other causes of death, including heart attacks and strokes, in part by discouraging some Americans from seeking care.
The National Cancer Institute study found COVID trailed only heart disease and cancer among the leading causes of death from March 2020 through October 2021. |
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| 6. 😨 Great Salt Lake hits 175-year low |
| Boat docks sit on dry, cracked earth at the Great Salt Lake's Antelope Island Marina near Syracuse, Utah, last August. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The Great Salt Lake this weekend dropped below the 175-year low set last October, the Utah Department of Natural Resources announced. - "This is not the type of record we like to break," DNR executive director Joel Ferry said. "It's clear the lake is in trouble."
Why it matters: The West's megadrought, worsened by climate change, is shrinking the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi — and the largest salt-water lake in the Western Hemisphere. - Water has also been diverted for homes and crops in the fast-growing Beehive State.
The lake level will likely continue to decrease until fall or early winter, the state said. - Records date back to 1847.
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| 7. 🇬🇧 Boris on the brink |
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| Prime Minister Boris Johnson clung to power today, gravely wounded by the resignation of ministers who say he's not fit to govern — and with a growing number of lawmakers calling for him to go, Reuters reports. - Johnson's finance and health secretaries quit yesterday, along with several more in junior roles, saying they could no longer stay in government after the latest in a series of scandals.
🗞️ The Times of London, in an editorial today with the headline "Game Over" (subscription), said Johnson's "serial dishonesty" is "utterly corrosive." - Johnson today showed his determination to stay in office by appointing businessman and education minister Nadhim Zahawi as his new finance minister and filling some of the other vacancies.
🔮 What's next: Later today, Johnson appears in parliament for his weekly question session. |
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| 8. 🎞️ 1 film thing: Bananas for Minions |
 Data: IMDbPro. Chart: Nicki Camberg/Axios "Minions: The Rise of Gru," the new installment in the Despicable Me franchise, broke the box-office record for a Fourth of July weekend opening, Kerry Flynn writes in Axios Pro: Media Deals. - The cartoon prequel broke the record set by "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in 2011.
Stuart the Minion in "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Photo: Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures via AP Why it matters: This is the latest in a string of successes for Universal's family releases, including "Sing 2" and "The Bad Guys," AP notes. So "Minions" is further proof families are willing to go back to the movies. Get a free 14-day free trial of Axios Pro: Media Deals. |
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