Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

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Trump announces $90 payments for seniors on Medicare ahead of midterm elections for premium costs

President Donald Trump is promising more payments to voters just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections — this time, to more than 20 million seniors, giving them $90 each to help pay for Medicare premiums. Medicare Part B enrollees can expect to receive a one-time payment in October, the White House said. Polls show Americans increasingly blame Trump for the high cost of gasoline and groceries with just 17% approving of his handling of inflation. Trump has sought to shrug off concerns about affordability, saying the economy is booming. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Republicans move cash from purple North Carolina to red Kansas as battle for majority shifts Voters favor Democrats on key issues, lack faith in either party to fix problems: AP-NORC poll Trump names national intelligence director Jay Clayton to lead a new federal AI task force Trump defends data centers in Ohio as he rallies to boost Jon Husted in a tight Senate race Nearly 1,400 laid off at truck factory just days before Trump rally Trump posts cell phone number of Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in fight over daylight saving time Inside the DC ‘Power to the People’ festival headlined by Bruce Springsteen Former GOP Rep. David Rivera sentenced to 10 years for secret Venezuela lobbying For more politics coverage, sign up for AP’s free Ground Game newsletter   ps:So now it's $90 instead of $100??

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Trump names national intelligence director Jay Clayton to lead a new federal AI task force

President Donald Trump on Sunday tapped Jay Clayton, his director of national intelligence, to lead a new government task force on artificial intelligence. Read More.   White House monitoring Russia outbreak     Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios' Alex Isenstadt. Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures in response to the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research facility, but have not confirmed that she contracted plague. The Trump administration "is aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options," the administration official said. On Sept. 25, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at an anti-plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region, broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen, local reports said. Shipilova was admitted to a hospital on Sept. 29 with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died overnight between Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. After her death, authorities imposed quarantines at several medical facilities in the region. Get the latest ...

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💰 Trump's dilemma: Good data, bad story

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump's economic data keeps getting stronger. His economic polling keeps getting worse by the day, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes. Why it matters: The midterms are less than a month away, and the administration is circling the drain on voters' No. 1 issue. It may be too late to change that, but it's also not clear anyone has much of a plan to try. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said yesterday on CNN's "State of the Union": "If I say 'Oh, people are wrong, the economy is great,' then it looks like I'm insensitive. And if I then go into why the economy is great, then it looks like I'm insensitive." "It's true that the polls ... have been saying that people are looking a little bit depressed about the economy," Hassett said. "But if you look at their actions, the actions speak way louder than words." 💸 The big picture: There's ample evidence the economy is, statistically speaking, relatively strong. Economic growth is solid and accelerating. The labor market is relatively stable. The K-shaped economy is ending as lower-end wages rise. Public and private data say consumers are spending more than ever. 👎 The other side: People feel lousy. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index is at a 12-year low. Republican sentiment in particular is eroding at its fastest rate since the Great Financial Crisis, according to University of Michigan data. 73% disapprove of President Trump's handling of the economy, according to the latest AP-NORC survey, the lowest rating he — or President Biden — ever had. Watch my interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ...

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U.S. evacuates bombers from Britain

Plane spotters and aviation enthusiasts watch a B-1 bomber take off at RAF Fairford in March. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images The U.S. military evacuated a dozen B-1 bombers from the RAF Fairford airbase in the U.K. over the weekend, Axios' Barak Ravid writes. Why it matters: A U.S. official said the base was under threat of attack by Iran. British security forces last week arrested several dual British-Iranian citizens suspected of planning an attack on the base. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel gave the U.K. intelligence that pointed to a threat of an Iranian attack. The Pentagon said the U.S. military bomber force, including B-1s, B-2s and B-52s, "remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities — including through operations that launch and recover from the continental United States." ps:So maybe this is what Iran has wanted?

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Support for Trump eroding with midterms weeks away

We’re less than 30 days from the midterm elections and the political terrain is looking increasingly difficult for President Donald Trump.

Democrats are leading or running competitively in states Trump carried comfortably just two years ago, while Latino voters — who helped power his return to the White House — are showing signs of drifting away. Then there’s the economy: Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of cost-of-living issues by an overwhelming 82% to 17%, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

Inside Trump’s orbit, however, that gloomy assessment is being brushed aside. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNN on Sunday that reports of Americans being unhappy with the economy are the result of inaccurate or “bad” polls. He went on to defend the president’s record, arguing that the economy isn’t merely doing well — it’s “booming.”

+ Read more: Republicans are playing defense + Latino voters are souring on Trump, new poll finds

+ Video: ‘The pollsters are wrong’: White House adviser defends Trump economy

+ For subscribers: The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2026 US military says latest strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean kills 4 US Marine’s arrest in a killing on Okinawa triggers outrage in Japan Trump’s immigration crackdown divides rural voters, AP-KFF poll finds FBI Director Kash Patel gets engaged to longtime girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins

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After states sue, Trump administration walks away from disability rights enforcement

A court battle that began when conservative-led states sued to block protections for transgender people has ended in a rollback of protections for people with disabilities — a result disability advocates have feared for months.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/04/repub/after-states-sue-trump-administration-walks-away-from-disability-rights-enforcement/?

Outraged over ‘illegal’ wetlands rule, a GOP senator blocks dozens of Trump nominees

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Keith Sonderling as secretary of Labor on Wednesday, marking one of the few Trump administration picks to get through the upper chamber recently after a North Dakota senator put a hold on “any and all” nominees. 

https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/02/repub/outraged-over-illegal-wetlands-rule-a-gop-senator-blocks-dozens-of-trump-nominees/?

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Trump says his super PAC will pay for taxpayer-funded ads  President Donald Trump said Monday that he will stop using taxpayer funds for television advertisements glorifying himself that sparked a major backlash and instead tap his super PAC to cover costs going forward. Read more.

What to know: In a post on his social media site, Trump defended the ads, which cost at least $1.5 million in federal funds, saying they were “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” But he added that he’d “decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.” That is Trump’s political war chest, which had amassed more than $400 million by the end of July. Trump has begun to tap it to boost Republican candidates around the country ahead of midterm elections.   Trump’s abrupt about-face came after leaders from both parties criticized using taxpayer funds for the ads. Legal experts said the ads might even violate federal statutes. Trump provided no details on reimbursing taxpayers for ads that already aired, nor how he would go about having his political organization pay for such future advertising.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Trump says threats prompted US to remove bombers from British air base Supreme Court rejects Roy Moore’s push to restore $8.2M defamation verdict Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan Trump criticizes election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County over error affecting 3,000 ballots Republican Sen. Tillis calls his deciding vote for Hegseth the ‘biggest regret of my career’ in a new book Rubio begins three-nation NATO tour in Iceland, which is wary of Trump’s Arctic intentions Dennis Hastert, longtime Republican House speaker who went to prison, dies at age 84 RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump doesn’t commit to repaying federal funds already spent on controversial ads Trump did not call for attacks on US cities but explained how he’s preventing them, aide says Families of some US troops killed in the Iran war’s deadliest strike absent from White House event Alito critical of emergency docket surge and Trump’s rhetoric In first Maine Senate debate, Collins seeks to distance herself from Trump Lawyers for ex-Olympian cleared in Reflecting Pool case call for government watchdog investigations US military restricts troops from leaving the base in Okinawa after Marine is arrested in a killing Former CIA official accused of stealing $40M in gold bars pleads guilty

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Trump signs order aimed at lowering diesel prices

A person pumps diesel fuel into his tractor-trailer. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday aimed at easing near-record diesel prices by expanding the use of cheaper, tax-free red-dyed diesel, typically reserved for off-road vehicles. Trump said the move will “drive down the costs of all goods, including groceries,” and could offer relief to truckers and farmers. Diesel has jumped from $3.76 a gallon before the Iran war to $6.32 on Monday, according to AAA. A trucker filling up an 18-wheeler with 250 gallons of diesel currently costs about $1,575, and tax-free diesel could cut that cost by roughly $150. “It’s not really a needle-mover,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, an app that tracks fuel prices. “This won’t fix the problem overnight, but it can allow politicians to take a bit of a victory lap.”

+ Read more: Trump signs executive order aimed at lowering diesel prices

+ Meanwhile: Americans are rushing to buy hybrid cars

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• 😡 California leaders are blasting President Trump after he said during a rally last night, about Iran: "Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego." The White House claims that Trump was talking about stopping Iran from attacking those cities. Get the latest.

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Pentagon says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, the Pentagon said Thursday. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009. Read more.

Why this matters: It’s a stunning revelation about plans for the military’s first execution in more than 65 years. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaking to the conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice on Wednesday, said, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public.” The public nature of the execution — let alone one as violent as a firing squad — has raised further questions about how the death penalty is carried out in the U.S., especially after the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee.

 

ps:Imagine that! We are now going to act just like the terrorist by televising an execution????? Are we now any better than they are?????

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🏛️ Dems weigh another Trump impeachment

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Democrats believe President Trump has committed impeachable offenses. But they're divided over whether they should try to impeach him if they win control of the House, Axios' Marc Caputo and Alex Thompson report. Why it matters: If Democrats win the House, as expected, their 2027 decision on whether to try to impeach Trump could have major consequences for the 2028 presidential race. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the second Trump impeachment, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, said of impeachment: "t is not a fetish with us ... On the other hand, it's definitely not a taboo." Raskin — who's in line to lead the House Judiciary Committee, which would be at the heart of any impeachment — said impeachable offenses could include going to war without congressional consent, imposing tariffs outside presidential authority and engaging in "unprecedented scales of corruption." 🔎 Friction point: Many top Democrats note that Trump survived a record two impeachments in his first term — and that he'd be unlikely to be removed from office. That would require a two-thirds, bipartisan vote in a Senate that's likely to be closely divided. But Democrats' more progressive wing is already talking about an impeachment drive. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Floridian in March: "If you are asking me if I support impeachment, I do. I think that it's on very objective grounds of following the law or not." 🔭 What we're watching: Trump, who denies wrongdoing, is already preparing for his third impeachment. He told reporters Wednesday that he was "never even worried" about his first two impeachments. "I can do whatever I want, if I want," Trump said, calling the impeachments and subsequent criminal cases against him "very illegal things." Deep down, Trump might welcome an impeachment, one adviser said, "because he's in his element in chaos and when he's being persecuted." Keep reading. ps:Don't bother, he was guilty before and got away with it!! Just because the Demos think they'll have an advantage this time doesn't mean it will happen!!!!

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💼 Immigration split-screen

The Trump administration said yesterday that it was suspending Microsoft from a key program used to sponsor employees for green cards.

• Later in the day, the administration honored the tech giant's CEO with a medal for innovation.

Why it matters: The split-screen highlights the tension between the administration's championing of Big Tech and its immigration policies, which constrain an industry that has long relied on hiring foreign-born workers, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

• Tech leaders have said that restrictions on hiring hamper the country's ability to compete — especially at a moment when the U.S. is in a race with China on AI.

Vice President Vance addressed the apparent contradiction at a press conference yesterday: "Our message to Microsoft is not that we want to harm your company; it's that we want your company to thrive, but we want it to thrive by employing and empowering your fellow Americans."

• Microsoft said 80% of the applications it submitted in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees — not to hire new people.

Read on ... Brittany Gibson contributed reporting.