Centuries' worth of experience vanished from key government agencies this summer, including high-level departures from the CDC, Pentagon and intelligence community just this week, Axios' Dave Lawler reports.

Why it matters: President Trump and his allies see the "Deep State," scientific establishment and federal bureaucracy as ripe for a purge.

• They're building a government where officials maintaining nuclear weapons, monitoring medical trials, or guarding state secrets, have shorter résumés and smaller staffs — likely for years to come.

⚕️Driving the news: Three top CDC scientists quit this week after director Susan Monarez was fired, prompting a staff walkout in support of their outgoing colleagues and opposition to HHS leadership.

• Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned as the CDC's vaccine chief, accused HHS leaders, including Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of data manipulation "to achieve a political end."
• Kennedy, who once called the CDC a "cesspool," said it needs a long-term purge to "change the culture."

✂️ Zoom out: 3,000 CDC staffers have left since January, with thousands more gone from the FDA and NIH. The expertise drain also hits cyber defense, nuclear safety, weather forecasting and disaster response.

• In the past week, Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse was fired, Defense Innovation Unit head Doug Beck quit, and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin retired early.
• Since Trump took office, the heads of the Joint Chiefs, NSA, Coast Guard and other senior military leaders have departed.

🚪 The bottom line: "I've been going to these going-away parties every week," one veteran told Axios. "You look at what we're losing ... It's depressing."

• For Trump's team, the message is clear: good riddance.

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Senior White House officials tell me that some European leaders are publicly supporting President Trump's effort to end the war in Ukraine, while quietly trying to undo behind-the-scenes progress since the Alaska summit.

• The White House has asked the Treasury Department to compile a list of sanctions that could plausibly be imposed by Europe against Russia.

Why it matters: Two weeks after the summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, there has been little clear progress toward ending the war. Frustrated Trump aides contend the blame should fall on European allies, not on Trump or even Russian President Vladimir Putin.

🔎 Behind the scenes: White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia.

• Trump was visibly frustrated about the situation during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. "Everybody is posturing. It's all bullshit," he said.

💰 Axios has learned that the sanctions the U.S. is urging Europe to adopt against Russia include a complete cessation of all oil and gas purchases — plus secondary tariffs from the EU on India and China, similar to those already imposed on India by the U.S.

• "The Europeans don't get to prolong this war and backdoor unreasonable expectations, while also expecting America to bear the cost," a top White House official told Axios. "If Europe wants to escalate this war, that will be up to them. But they will be hopelessly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory."

What they're thinking: The Europeans are said to be pushing Zelensky to hold out for a "better deal" — a maximalist approach that has exacerbated the war, Trump's inner circle argues.

• The U.S. officials believe British and French officials are being more constructive. But they complain that other major European countries want the U.S. to bear the full cost of the war, while putting no skin in the game themselves.
• "Getting to a deal is an art of the possible," the top official said. "But some of the Europeans continue to operate in a fairy-tale land that ignores the fact it takes two to tango."

A senior White House official told Axios' Barak Ravid that Trump is seriously considering stepping back from the diplomatic efforts until one or both parties begin to show more flexibility.

• "We are going to sit back and watch. Let them fight it out for a while and see what happens," the official said.

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Some industry leaders and observers have a new idea for limiting mental health tragedies stemming from AI chatbot use: They want AI makers to stop personifying their products, Axios' Scott Rosenberg reports.

• Why it matters: If chatbots didn't pose as your friend, companion or therapist, users might be less likely to develop unhealthy obsessions with them or to place undue trust in their unreliable answers.

🪞 Between the lines: Critics say these design choices — chatbots speaking in the first person, creating fictional personas, or addressing users by name — are not inevitable features of LLMs.

• Google's search engine, for example, has long answered queries without pretending to be a person.

💬 Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and co-founder of DeepMind, warned in a blog post this week: "We must build AI for people; not to be a digital person."

• In a post on Bluesky addressing a teen suicide that prompted a lawsuit against OpenAI, web pioneer Dave Winer wrote: "AI companies should change the way their product works in a fundamental way. It should engage like a computer not a human."

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Republicans most favor Democrats' most hated government agency: ICE. It's only one example of a widening partisan gap in how Americans view key government agencies, Axios' Josephine Walker writes from a new Pew Research poll.

• Democrats and Republicans diverge sharply in their views of agencies tied to immigration, law enforcement, and public health.

🚔 Case in point: Last year, Democrats rated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) more favorably than Republicans.

• The August poll found that 68% of Republicans view the department positively, compared to 26% of Democrats.

🌲 Yes but: Some agencies still get relatively bipartisan approval — including the National Weather Service, the Postal Service and the National Park Service.

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The "Labor Day sale" for mattresses and school supplies is out — and "pre-tariff sales" are in, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Kelly Tyko report.

• Retailers are warning shoppers — some subtly, others bluntly — to "buy now before prices rise."

🖼️ The big picture: Global tariff rates are in flux after a court declared much of Trump's trade agenda to be illegal. Still, retailers' pre-tariff inventory is nearly depleted — and what hits shelves next will have already been subject to higher tariff rates that companies are passing on to consumers.

🥾Case in point: Larroudé, a Manhattan-based shoe retailer, blasted out an email last week — subject line: "Beat the Tariff Price Hike" — one of several brands urging customers to buy now.

• Some brands "have very different prices for items three months ago than now when the new merchandise arrived," co-founder Marina Larroudé told Axios. Her label is offering 30% off current merchandise.
• "We want customers to know prices will rise — we are giving them an offer to shop before all of that happens," she added.

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🌵 New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is deploying the National Guard in a way she insists is distinct from President Trump's high-profile crackdown in Washington, D.C., Axios' Russell Contreras reports.

• Since May, 60–70 Guard members have assisted Albuquerque police with non-law enforcement duties — such as securing crime scenes, traffic control, drone operations, and booking suspects.
• They wear black polos and khakis instead of military fatigues, drive marked pickups, and are barred from making arrests or traffic stops.

📉 By the numbers: Albuquerque has seen a 24% drop in homicides in the first half of the year.

Lujan Grisham argues her strategy is collaborative, not imposed, even as critics accuse her of political theater.

• She's now weighing deploying troops to other New Mexico communities, including Española, which faces surging overdoses and gun violence.

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⚡ A five-year push to replace diesel school buses with electric ones has stalled amid a federal funding freeze and the collapse of leading manufacturer Lion Electric, Axios Future of Mobility author Joann Muller reports.

• The Canadian company filed for bankruptcy in late 2024. Its new owners won't honor U.S. orders or warranties, leaving districts scrambling for service or reverting to diesel.
• ❌ Meanwhile, $2.3 billion in unspent federal funds is under EPA review after Trump rolled back clean-energy programs.

🌱 Still, states are ramping up support, citing health and economic benefits of phasing out diesel buses.

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Royal Caribbean's new mega-ship, the Star of the Seas, is the world's largest cruise ship — a floating city featuring a flying DeLorean in a full-scale "Back to the Future" musical, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.

• The cruise industry is in an arms race of scale and destinations.
• Star sails its maiden voyage tomorrow from Port Canaveral, Fla.

By the numbers: Star weighs nearly 249,000 gross tons, like Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, but edges it out in length at 364.83 meters — a mere 3 inches longer.

💭 Kelly's thought bubble: Axios was on a preview sailing earlier this month, which sailed so smoothly it was easy to forget we were at sea.

• Cruisers were captivated, from "The Pearl" kinetic art sculpture when boarding, to finding lobster tails at the embarkation buffet.

🎭 Entertainment included the Torque water show in the Aquadome, the high-action Sol ice skating show and the adapted Broadway musical.

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