President Trump is indulging his fondness for Vladimir Putin at a moment of acute political peril, forcing Republicans in the midterms to take cover as he showers Moscow with one-sided concessions, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

• Why it matters: With just three weeks until the election, Trump is rekindling a decade-long, scandal-scarred relationship with a dictator reviled by most Americans — including his own supporters.

🔎 Zoom in: Since speaking with Putin on Friday, Trump has embarked on a remarkable five-day campaign of diplomatic concessions and cover for Russia — sparking bipartisan blowback just as voters prepare to cast their ballots.

• On Friday, Trump announced a deal to unleash millions of tons of Russian diesel onto global markets, easing sanctions designed to starve Moscow's war revenues.
• On Saturday, Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for striking Russian refineries and demanded that Kyiv replace its leader.
• On Sunday, Trump blindsided Zelensky by declaring an immediate "energy ceasefire." Russia has continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with no apparent consequences from Washington.
• On Monday, Trump dismissed months of intelligence-based reports that Russia was enabling Iran's war effort by supplying information about U.S. military assets.
• Yesterday, Trump doubled down on the diesel deal and brushed off concerns that the proceeds could finance Russia's war machine, even as GOP senators labeled it a "betrayal" and "a gift to our adversary."

Between the lines: The benefits to Russia are clear. Far less apparent is what Trump's concessions accomplish for American security, European allies or his own political fortunes.

• For America: Energy analysts doubt the diesel deal will meaningfully ease fuel prices sent soaring by the Iran war.
• For Europe: Washington is breaking ranks with a NATO alliance confronting a historic threat environment, as Russia escalates its hybrid campaign of sabotage, cyberattacks and drone incursions.
• For Republicans: With control of Congress hanging in the balance, Trump is embracing a dictator viewed unfavorably by 81% of his own 2024 voters, according to a January YouGov poll.

🖼️ The big picture: Trump's warm relationship with Putin has haunted his political career since 2016, when Russia interfered in the presidential election to help him defeat Hillary Clinton.

• A decade of investigations, scandals and Washington outrage has done little to shake that affinity. If anything, the scrutiny appears to have hardened Trump's determination to defy the foreign-policy consensus.

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Axios' Zachary Basu, Mike Zapler and Stef W. Kight — tracking a big midterm debate night — write:

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) delivered another debate performance tailor-made for social media last night, feeding the presidential speculation he insists is entirely misplaced.

• Ossoff emphatically ruled out a White House bid. Asked whether he'd pledge to serve a full six-year Senate term if reelected, Ossoff said: "Yes, I will. I have zero interest in running for president. I'm not running for president. I'm running for reelection to the Senate."
• Republican challenger Rep. Mike Collins countered: "He is running. He's going to be your DSA candidate." Ossoff is not a Democratic Socialists of America member.

The big picture: Georgia was one of three battleground states hosting Senate debates last night. Candidates in Iowa and Maine also clashed over President Trump's foreign policy, the cost of living and their records in Washington.

🍑 In Georgia, Ossoff and Collins traded vicious personal attacks throughout their second and final debate, reprising a feud that has become a viral spectacle online.

• "Will you commit tonight that for the remainder of this campaign — it's just three weeks, Mike — you won't allow any more neo-Nazi propaganda to be produced from your house?" Ossoff demanded, referring to Collins' son-in-law, an alleged white nationalist influencer.
• Collins accused Ossoff of inciting threats against his family, then attacked him over campaign support from billionaire Reid Hoffman.

🦞 In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins cast her independence from Trump as a political asset, arguing that her willingness to challenge the president — and work with him when necessary — has delivered for her state.

• Democratic challenger Troy Jackson argued that Collins has spent years helping Trump advance policies that hurt Maine, only to express "concern" and claim credit for mitigating the damage.

🌽 In Iowa, GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democratic challenger Josh Turek squared off in a race that has Republicans on edge, as Trump's tariffs and soaring farm costs threaten their grip on a state he carried by 13 points.

• Hinson broke with Trump over his deal to ease sanctions on Russian diesel, saying she believed there were ways to lower fuel prices without empowering Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.
• Turek accused Hinson of helping drive Iowa toward a "second farm crisis" through her support for Trump's tariffs and votes against congressional efforts to end the Iran war.

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Axios' Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo write:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump last week discussed the possibility of launching a major new operation against Iran before the Israeli and U.S. elections, according to two U.S. officials, one Israeli official and a fourth source with knowledge of the matter.

• Netanyahu said during the call that he was concerned about Israeli intelligence indicating Iran was taking troubling steps to reconstitute its nuclear program, according to the Israeli official.
• The Israeli leader's call with Trump about the possible attack took place before Trump said he would not strike Iran ahead of the midterms.

Why it matters: Resuming major combat operations in Iran would inject a volatile new issue into the Oct. 27 Israeli elections and the U.S. midterms a week later.

👀 Behind the scenes: An Israeli official said Trump initially seemed to be leaning toward resuming attacks, but then grew more hesitant.

• A U.S. official said Trump has been going back and forth on the issue.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the leadership of U.S. Central Command are the strongest backers of resuming strikes in Iran, a source familiar with the discussions said.

• Most of Trump's advisers favor keeping up economic sanctions and other forms of pressure for now.

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48% of U.S. adults are very concerned that people who want to work won't be able to find jobs, according to a Pew survey — the highest reading since it started asking the question five years ago, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Neal Rothschild write.

• Half of Americans also say they're very concerned about AI's role in the economy, Pew found.

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Above is what the Justice Department says is a photo of Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who was then an OpenAI engineer, peering behind a TV last week in an OpenAI conference room in San Francisco. Prosecutors say the man was checking a surreptitious audio recording device that had earlier been inserted in a USB port on the back of the TV.

• Alfozan, who joined OpenAI in July 2025, was arrested Friday and charged with installing the encrypted device. He was fired and is in federal custody.

The device, installed on or about Sept. 28, had been concealed in one of the lowest-tech ways possible: wrapped in toilet paper.

• Prosecutors say that on the same day this photo was taken, Alfozan "left a bag unattended in a different room in an OpenAI building. OpenAI security personnel found and opened Alfozan's bag, inside which they discovered — among other things, including Alfozan's wallet and ID — another recording device" similar to the one behind the TV.

The Justice Department account says security footage showed Alfozan "near the executive conference room on multiple dates prior to the device's discovery, although he had no authority to access or to participate in meetings occurring in the executive conference room."

• Meetings in the room "frequently involved discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information," the government says.
• Prosecutors say a chatbot account associated with Alfozan's spouse "submitted prompts between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 related to building, customizing, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device."

OpenAI announced on X: "We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. ... At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated."

• Alfozan appeared in federal court yesterday on a charge of using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. It wasn't immediately clear whether he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. Alfozan is due back in court next Monday.

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Advocates for AI safety and regulation — including AI researchers themselves — are emerging as a force in U.S. elections, spending nearly $50 million this election cycle on candidates who favor regulation, a new analysis shared exclusively with Axios' Maria Curi shows.

• Why it matters: The people building AI are increasingly spending to push for its regulation — sometimes at odds with the companies they work for.

Donors tell Axios they're not primarily motivated by party affiliation or specific policy positions, but by fears that industry money will scare candidates into staying quiet about an unpopular technology.

🔭 Zoom out: Forces favoring AI acceleration — who earlier this year seemed poised to target pro-regulation candidates — haven't spent as much as opponents expected, and safety advocates see an opportunity to fill the void.

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Pope Leo underwent surgery yesterday that confirmed he has lung cancer, Axios' Josephine Walker writes.

• The news came just hours after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung.

The Holy See Press Office said the cancer is lung adenocarcinoma, which earlier tests had led his medical team to suspect.

• Leo, 71, said Sunday that the nodule "was detected at a very early stage and is well localized."

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A federal judge yesterday ordered tree removal work to stop at East Potomac golf course through at least Oct. 26, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil writes.

• The court granted a request to require three business days' notice before conducting additional work on the site, according to legal advocacy group Democracy Forward.

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