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.

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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.

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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:

• Blame Trump for rising borrowing costs, David Frum argues.
• Economists who weren’t worried about the debt are now panicking.

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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

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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

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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.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Most Americans think artificial intelligence is developing too fast, a new AP-NORC poll finds Trump’s $90 Medicare rebate rolls out, but millions aren’t eligible. Critics see a political stunt FCC considers allowing more political robocalls, including those created with AI Trump proposes Camp David-style presidential retreat at his private Florida golf club Trump administration proposes a $70,000 fee for international students to work in the US Two lawsuits challenge Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads, alleging they violate propaganda law

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New US indictment charges Maduro with overseeing machine of repression, torture of Americans

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. prosecutors unveiled sweeping new criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday, accusing him and his wife of heading a state-sponsored system of repression responsible for beating, asphyxiating, and delivering electric shocks to scores of victims, including several Americans.

https://apnews.com/article/maduro-venezuela-criminal-case-da82df35aab0f02e344d1c3de0ed31d7?

The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft from a green card program, alleging fraud

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration announced Thursday it was suspending Microsoft and several other firms from a program allowing foreign workers to apply for green cards, as it also lashed out at universities that bring international students to the U.S. on exchange programs.

https://apnews.com/article/h1b-visa-program-vance-microsoft-e7b3a407f822702b269ee277d21343ea?

ps:Just Pathetic!!!!!

• 🇮🇷 President Trump said today that the U.S. will not attack Iran ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. More from Barak Ravid.
• 🧑‍💻 The Trump administration is blocking Microsoft, Adobe and several other tech companies from hiring foreign-born workers for permanent U.S. jobs. Vice President JD Vance said today: "Our message to Microsoft is, you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers." Go deeper.

Trump honors Microsoft’s CEO after Vance drops an H-1B visa hammer on the company

President Donald Trump celebrated tech billionaires for their contributions to America on Thursday only hours after a company run by one of them, Microsoft, was accused by his vice president of abusing the visa system to bring in more foreign workers. Read More.

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Corrupt Bargains

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Kimberly Guilfoyle was so close to getting it right.

The Trump hanger-on—former fiancée to Don Jr. and the current ambassador to Greece—was exchanging messages with a man named Eric Deters, according to a bombshell Wall Street Journal story last night. Deters, a right-wing podcast host, failed political candidate, and suspended lawyer in Kentucky, wanted help in clearing up some tax issues, and also wanted the Trump administration to extradite a doctor whose alleged fraud victims he was advising in a legal case. Guilfoyle, the messages indicate, wanted money—in one instance, a $100,000 wire—and she wanted it untraceable.

Guilfoyle was right to worry about secrecy. She was about to begin confirmation hearings for her ambassadorship, and understood the pay-to-play could hurt her. Yet neither she nor Deters could stop breaking the Stringer Bell rule by recording their skullduggery in writing.

“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” Guilfoyle wrote. “Please.” And in another: “Honey please I need you to get this done for me today.” Yet even as she laid these instructions out, she kept haranguing Deters for indiscretion. “I really wish you would stop papering all these things. It’s really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on signal,” she wrote, referring to the encrypted messaging app. In one message, she wrote, “If you write an email or a text about, l’m gonna kill you cause I love you but you’re so out of control.” Unfortunately for Guilfoyle, her Signal messages were not as safe a space as she might have wished. (The Journal does not reveal how it viewed the messages. Guilfoyle’s lawyer broadly disputed their authenticity to the paper but offered no details.)

 

Somehow, this is not the only Trump scandal with Balkan ties in the news this week. The New York Times reported that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who are ostensibly President Trump’s top political advisers, traveled—during an intense midterm campaign in which Republicans appear to be on the verge of serious setbacks—to advise a candidate in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s self-governing Serbian entity.

 

Both of these stories show the way that many people in Trump’s orbit view their positions not as public service but as a profit center. There’s a long and often depressing pattern of former officials capitalizing on government and political work, but Trump’s aides aren’t even willing to wait until they take their leave to start taking. Forget a team of rivals. Trump world is a team of mercenaries, in some cases literally.

 

Jared Kushner, who was a senior adviser in his first presidency and is married to his daughter Ivanka, continues to work as an envoy for Trump while pursuing business deals around the world. As Dexter Filkins wrote in The New Yorker in September, Kushner’s record as a diplomat is underwhelming, yet his financial gains have been enormous. “He represents a new kind of Washington figure, for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth,” Filkins wrote. Kushner and Ivanka Trump even have their own Balkan boondoggle, an attempt to develop an island in Albania that has run into legal and political difficulties.

 

Earlier this year, the Times reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick helped negotiate access to Kazakh tungsten reserves for an American mining company, and the federal government provided $1.6 billion in financing. Lutnick’s sons and Trump’s sons are both involved with companies that stand to profit from the deal (though representatives for them have said that they did not play a role in the deal). A Washington Post investigation this summer noted that Trump’s sons have invested heavily in defense-technology companies; the companies have scored “at least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested and an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options.” (Company representatives told the Post that they secured their business without assistance from Trump’s sons.)

 

Where do any of these people get the idea that this is appropriate or that they can get away with it? From the president himself, naturally. Trump has moved on from small-scale grifts such as charging the Secret Service exorbitant fees to stay in his hotels during his first term to far more ambitious and lucrative schemes such as crypto ventures; even conservative estimates put his gains during this term alone in the billions.

 

Though Trump doesn’t have ethical scruples, he does have a sense of right and wrong: It’s right for him to profiteer, but wrong for others to make too much money from his name. That’s where Blair, LaCivita, and Guilfoyle may run into trouble. Politico reports that Republicans’ “knives are now fully out” for the two consultants. Trump himself weighed in on Truth Social, saying he was unaware of their clients but adding that he “will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!” Firing them just before the midterms seems risky, as it might just create more chaos for Republicans, but they could make for good scapegoats after the fact. Trump has not spoken publicly about the Guilfoyle story, although Vice President Vance said he didn’t “love that.” In a further embarrassment, the article emerged while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was visiting Athens.

 

Perhaps inevitably, Guilfoyle’s relationship with Deters ended acrimoniously. “I have paid you $300,000 over the years,” he wrote her in 2025, adding, in an amusingly self-negating flourish, “As of this memo, I have not received one favor. I am not naive or a sucker.” She was not happy, either. “What a nightmare you’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship stop writing,” she told him at one point, per the Journal. Her warning may have been too late.

 

Related:

• MAGA is making the world safe for corruption.
• The watchdogs are barking themselves hoarse.

ps:It's astounding the amount of corruption from this administration!! And not one word from those that complained about the Biden, Obama, Bush2, Clinton, Bush1, Reagan, Nixon, etc.! Actually all combined they don't equal what we've seen from this administration!!!!! Absolutely Pathetic!!

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Trump establishes committee to investigate Federal Reserve’s Lisa Cook in latest effort to fire her

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump opened another chapter in his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Friday by establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate allegations that she made false statements in mortgage applications.

https://apnews.com/article/cook-federal-reserve-trump-debef61d38fbb6a74e84a57fe8e26fc5?

Trump strikes deal with Putin to get diesel in sharp reversal of US policy weeks before midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-diesel-midterms-12baccc7aade559bf329079b0548c9da?

ps:The US doesn't need Russia's diesel!!

• 🏦 President Trump ordered a new investigation into allegations of mortgage fraud against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, directing a committee to question the central bank official at a White House hearing next month. More from Courtenay Brown.
• 🎤 Vice President JD Vance said he won't be watching the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan if it is livestreamed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday that the Dec. 3 execution by firing squad would be "public." More from Josephine Walker.

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Trump names commentator Katie Zacharia of his media company as next White House press secretary

President Donald Trump announced Friday that Katie Zacharia, a communications adviser for his media company, will succeed Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. Read More.   🇷🇺 Trump's diesel deal     Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images   President Trump announced yesterday that he's reached a deal with Russia to increase the supply of diesel to the U.S. and global markets. The announcement came as U.S. diesel prices hovered near record highs and Ukrainian and European diplomats arrived in Miami for talks on ending the war with Russia. 📞 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios' Barak Ravid in a phone interview yesterday that Trump's decision to unilaterally lift sanctions on Russia and allow it to export diesel was "not fair and not honest." Trump's announcement, which came after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, shocked Ukraine and many European governments and created a new crisis between the U.S. and its Western allies. "You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible," Zelensky said in frustration, referring to the Russian president's birthday earlier this week. The other side: Trump decided to strike a deal with Russia after Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told Axios' Barak Ravid. "Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the goodwill that he has built with Trump over the last six months," the U.S. official said. Go deeper.

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White House tightens AI leash

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Trump administration officials say they are now mandating that AI companies notify and correct security incidents following Anthropic's "fraudulent" use of government systems, Axios' Maria Curi, Marc Caputo and Ina Fried report. Why it matters: The administration's approach to AI regulation had been voluntary, at least in name. But as AI incidents stack up, Washington is feeling the pressure to act. 🚨 "This notification and remediation process is not optional," White House Super Intelligence Force leaders said in a statement shared exclusively with Axios. "It is a critical national security obligation." Driving the news: Anthropic contacted the government to share details of incidents discovered late last month regarding the "unauthorized and fraudulent use of government and other systems," which have since then ceased, the government says. Anthropic contacted the State Department on Thursday to report that one of its testing models had submitted 19 non-immigrant visa applications in August and one application in May through the publicly available form on the department's website, a State Department official said. None of the applications were processed and at no time were any of the department's systems compromised or hacked, according to the official. Separately, police officials in Philadelphia say they received a false homicide tip that was submitted by an Anthropic model. ⚡ State of play: The White House requirements apply to all AI companies. "SI companies must immediately disclose incidents involving their models and follow with swift, decisive action to remedy any and all harm," the SI Force statement said. "We also expect these companies to work with the affected systems to ensure that similar incidents do not occur."

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📺 Age of viral violence

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Finn Gomez/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's announcement that the Fort Hood shooter's execution will be livestreamed reflects a shift toward putting raw, real-world violence on display for unlimited audiences, Axios' Neal Rothschild and Herb Scribner write. Why it matters: The Trump administration has made a show of flexing American power, sometimes with grisly footage. Now, it's preparing to make the government's ultimate punishment available for all to see. The big picture: Americans are increasingly encountering shocking images on their phones, often without warning. Graphic footage of Charlie Kirk's assassination spread instantly to social media users, including young ones. Since Oct. 7, 2023, footage from the Hamas attacks and Israel's military campaign in Gaza has circulated online. Some videos have spread from Telegram to social platforms like X, where clips are easy to find. Footage of the August 2025 killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train went viral across X, stirring debate about crime and public safety. President Trump later said he had watched the video and wished he hadn't. A livestream of Nidal Hasan's execution would be the first known public broadcast of a lawful execution, according to death penalty experts interviewed by Reuters. Public executions are increasingly rare worldwide. In recent years, most have taken place in Iran and Taliban-run Afghanistan, according to Amnesty International. Trump told reporters he had approved the decision to livestream the execution. But Vice President Vance told reporters yesterday: "I don't know that that's actually going to happen ... So whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don't forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people ... Now, that said, I mean, look, if it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it." Keep reading.

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🎤 Trump's new voice

Via X Katie Zacharia, a Californian and former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, will be the next White House press secretary, President Trump announced on Truth Social: "She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning. She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!" Zacharia will take over for Karoline Leavitt, who announced her departure from the administration in August, Axios' Josephine Walker writes. Zacharia wrote on X: "I look forward to working with the White House press corps, and with reporters across the country, to get [the administration's] record out. Following the fabulous Karoline Leavitt is a high standard, and one worth meeting." Catch up quick: Zacharia is a conservative lawyer and commentator who works as a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social. She also served for about six weeks as the Department of Homeland Security's deputy assistant secretary for public affairs and spokesperson. She holds both a law degree and a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University, where she currently serves on the school's Dean's Council. Via Truth Social At 2:22 a.m. ET today, Zacharia, emulating Trump's nocturnal posting proclivity, popped up this excerpt from former President Teddy Roosevelt's iconic 1910 speech, "The Man in the Arena." She reupped it on X at 4:58 a.m.

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Zelenskyy furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel

US president says agreement needed to lower fuel prices, but move likely to create fresh crisis with Ukraine and Nato allies

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/09/trump-putin-russian-diesel-ukraine?

ps:Such a pathetic potus! Can he be more obvious about his love for putin? He talks about communists in the USofA?? But here he is wanting to be just like Putin, North Korea's president, China's Leader, etc.!! Are they not Communists????? So who's the Communist?????

‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation

Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/09/live-stream-execution-fort-hood-shooter?

ps:Here's another example: He talks about not liking Iran, Isis, Hamas, etc., but here he is doing exactly what terrorist do!!!!! Just Pathetic beyond belief!!!!!