Axios

President Trump's approval rating on his longtime political calling card — the economy — has sunk to 31%, the lowest it has been across both of his terms as president, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC.

Why it matters: The decline in the approval rating comes as the administration is working to take on an affordability crisis that has been weighing on consumers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to freeze $73 million from New York on Friday for allegedly issuing commercial driver's licenses for immigrants "illegally," which could result in the "total decertification" of the state's CDL program.

Why it matters: The warning comes amid the Trump administration's broader goal of pushing undocumented immigrants out of the American workforce and a broader push to remove non-proficient English speakers off the road.

A federal bank regulator on Friday granted conditional approval for five crypto-related firms — including Circle and Ripple — to obtain national trust bank charters.

Why it matters: It's a significant regulatory step for U.S. stablecoin issuers in the wake of the Genius Act — and one traditional banking groups have fought hard to block.

Wall Street's AI hopium is turning to discernment, with investors punishing Oracle and Broadcom for less-than-stellar earnings this week, bringing Nvidia down alongside them.

Why it matters: It represents a shift in the AI investment thesis: Investors are set to reward efficiency, not spending, in 2026. That could be a big problem for Nvidia, which benefits from record spending from a handful of Big Tech customers.

A striking thing about this week's flow of news out of the Federal Reserve is how normal it was — at least compared to some of the possibilities that appeared in play last month for a breakdown in the institution's longstanding norms.

Why it matters: In the Fed's decision to cut interest rates on Wednesday, and the unanimous reappointment of 11 of 12 reserve bank presidents announced Thursday, it was clear that chair Jerome Powell has retained his ability to steer a seemingly fractious organization toward consensus.

Congress yesterday pushed forward a package of bills that could increase capital formation in the private markets.

The big picture: This could be the first part of a one-two punch for private markets, followed by more politically fraught efforts to allow 401(k) plans to invest in alternative assets.

Oracle missed its quarterly revenue, pushing its bond yields to their highest levels of the year, a sign that investors are demanding greater compensation for the risk of holding its debt.

Why it matters: The spotlight is on Oracle, but the market move underscores a broader shift in how tech giants are perceived: from huge cash generators to companies making enormous AI bets using debt.

President Trump's first term opened the age of "Great Power Competition" with China and Russia.

• His second is actively working to end it.

Why it matters: For the past decade, Washington has operated on the bipartisan consensus that China seeks to overtake the United States, Russia seeks to undermine it, and reinforcing alliances in Europe and Asia is key to winning the 21st century.

President Trump is in trouble with most of the North Carolina swing voters in our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups from battleground states.

The big picture: Affordability problems are driving discontent among these Biden-to-Trump voters, and several expressed concerns about the president appearing to fall asleep on the job on recent occasions.

I'm now one of the many Jews who has a Christmas tree.

Why it matters: Growing up without a tree — and working with limited options for decorations — felt central to my Jewish identity.

President Trump's "gold card" program could endanger applicants' money, lead to revoked citizenship, or inspire fraud, legal experts told Axios.

The big picture: Trump's hardline immigration crackdown has disproportionately impacted impoverished households, but the president's Gold Card program could flip the script, causing financial and logistical problems for wealthy applicants.