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

Tuesday at 07:46 PM

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.

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ps:So now it's $90 instead of $100??

Tuesday at 09:19 PM

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 of an exclamation point sign with a virus cell as the dot on the exclamation point.

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 ...

Wednesday at 12:40 AM

💰 Trump's dilemma: Good data, bad story

Illustration of President Trump sitting on the tallest of five bars of a bar chart.

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 ...

Wednesday at 12:45 AM

U.S. evacuates bombers from Britain

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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?

Wednesday at 05:58 PM

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

Wednesday at 07:31 PM

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/?

Thursday at 01:31 AM

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 ➤

Thursday at 01:40 AM

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

Thursday at 07:12 PM

😡 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.

Friday at 01:44 PM

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?????

Friday at 02:20 PM

🏛️ Dems weigh another Trump impeachment

Illustration of a gavel wearing a MAGA hat and red tie

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!!!!

Friday at 02:24 PM

💼 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.

2026-10-11T19:20:19Z

Two lawsuits challenge Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads, alleging they violate propaganda law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two lawsuits filed Wednesday challenged President Donald Trump’s recent series of federally funded television advertisements, which promote his political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-propaganda-lawsuit-a1e286d37989f1cb5bbe13905f8fbbf1?

Disaster relief funding is creeping into Trump's midterm rhetoric. Critics say it has no place there

President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign talking point in the final sprint to the midterm elections, approving disaster declarations in consequential states and coupling endorsements with funding announcements. As the country braces for a major hurricane barreling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, the moves have revived questions about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery. Read More.

2026-10-11T20:02:56Z

The Name’s Bond

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The political strategist James Carville once joked that if he ended up being reincarnated, he’d like to come back as the bond market. “You can intimidate everybody,” he said.

Not Scott Bessent. About a month ago, during a talk at Southern Methodist University, the Treasury secretary issued a challenge—both to the business-school students in the audience and to the traders of the world. “I have asymmetric information. I am the house now,” he said. “You can bet against me if you want.” The line was an attempt to explain the government’s decision to boost the Japanese yen over the summer, but it was also a broader statement about his ability to influence markets and guard against financial downturns.

This past weekend, Bessent conceded that “the house doesn’t win every hand”—a sign that he’s been slightly chastened. Emphasis on slightly: Although he admitted he “can’t control the bond market,” he maintained that the house still wins “over time.” The bond market’s behavior over the past month clearly called for an adjustment to his posture. The interest rates on the 10-year Treasury (which dictates rates on certain consumer loans) and the 30-year Treasury (an important measure of how investors feel about the government’s ability to pay back its debts) are now the highest they’ve been since 2002. The Trump administration’s market interventions, which have been ramping up in recent months, have had little effect on bond prices. Bessent may continue to insist that he’s the “house,” but it’s clear at this point that the market isn’t listening.

The rates on all kinds of everyday loans are closely tied to what goes on in the Treasury market. When holding government debt starts feeling like a riskier proposition, people start demanding bigger payouts—and when yields increase, consumers pay the price. Looking to buy a house? The average rate on a standard 30-year mortgage is now about 7.5 percent, the highest it’s been in almost three years. Mortgage costs are directly tied to the 10-year Treasury note—and before the war in Iran began driving up yields, the average mortgage rate had just dipped under 6 percent. What about a car? CNBC is reporting that rates on auto loans, some of which are already ticking up, are likely to rise even more as yields on five- and 10-year Treasurys continue to spike.

Yields are up for a few reasons, one of which has to do with massive ongoing expenditures in the AI sector. Companies are laying the groundwork for decades of further investment in the American tech industry, and the Federal Reserve is expected to respond to the economic boost with higher interest rates to curtail inflation. Inflation is a major concern for traders—it has jolted upward as a result of the Iran war, making the Fed even more hawkish. Yields may also be up because of concerns about the $40 trillion national debt. The deficit is about 6 percent of GDP right now, and the government’s borrowing costs are skyrocketing; it currently spends more on debt financing than it does on defense or Medicare. Although there’s some debate around how much the current deficit panic is affecting bond yields, the market could be signaling that this level of spending is unsustainable.

As Bessent rightly points out, he can’t single-handedly determine what happens in the bond market. That hasn’t stopped him from trying. Over the past couple of months, the Treasury has taken steps to expand its regular bond-buyback program. Usually, these buybacks are intended to keep the Treasury market liquid, but many commentators suspect that these moves were really about managing bond prices. When the government uses its own spending power to purchase Treasurys, it can send a signal to the market that prices ought to go up, and yields ought to come down. Lately, though, the buybacks have had the opposite effect. Despite these supercharged interventions, yields have continued to rise, and Bessent has been taking heat for it on Wall Street. He seems unfazed: “If some of the Bloomberg Terminal bros are unhappy with what I’m doing, well, that’s too bad,” he told Steve Bannon last month.

As Bessent digs in, he’s being undercut by his boss’s erratic decision making. Treasury yields tend to go up when foreign bondholders lose trust in the U.S. economy—and Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, on-again-off-again tariffs, flagrant federal-budget increases, and general air of unpredictability are all points against him. (The president made the unusual suggestion this summer that the military could somehow be used to tame yields.) Plus, the Iran war has driven up consumer prices and raised yields on government debt around the world.

Most voters think the president has hurt the economy, and rising borrowing costs won’t make people any happier. In the meantime, the administration doesn’t seem ready to face reality. Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, said he doesn’t “buy” the negative polling on the economy, and Trump continues to insist that the country is experiencing “the best economy we’ve ever had.” Bessent is doing his part to inspire confidence, but the house seems to be down on its luck.

Related:

2026-10-11T22:59:18Z

ICE agents told to ramp up daily arrests

ICE agents nationwide have been directed to ramp up immigration arrests to 3,000 people a day, up from a recent average of 2,000 daily arrests, according to sources familiar with the directive. The increased quota marks another escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, even as some Republicans raise concerns about who is being targeted.

+ Exclusive: ICE agents told to ramp up daily immigration arrests despite GOP unease as midterms near

+ Meanwhile: ICE agents could soon be equipped with these electric shock gloves

2026-10-12T00:18:20Z

Trump campaigns in reliably red Texas

President Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to make sure Republicans keep control of the Senate in the midterm elections. But when he’s campaigning in Texas, you know the stakes are high. On Wednesday, he visited the Lone Star State to rally support for Ken Paxton, who’s locked in a tight race against Democrat James Talarico. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, but the GOP isn’t leaving anything to chance this November, not even in its longtime Republican strongholds.

+ On the trail: Trump campaigns for Republican in Texas senate race

+ Meanwhile: New CNN polls give Democrats hope in a pair of red states

2026-10-12T00:25:57Z

RFK Jr.’s embrace of AI confounds some MAHA allies and medical experts

Last week at a MAHA summit featuring AI and Silicon Valley executives, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that artificial intelligence would free Americans from “medical tyranny” by allowing them to “fact check their own medical advice.” Read more.

What to know:

Kennedy wants to give Americans more control of their own health data by using AI “to help them understand it, interrogate it, compare it with the evidence, and make better decisions with their doctors,” Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard said. But some prominent MAHA voices criticized Kennedy’s embrace of AI, saying the movement’s leaders are increasingly cozying up to the corporate interests they once scrutinized. At the same time, medical experts say Kennedy’s vision of AI as a check against the medical establishment is fundamentally flawed.

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