President Trump's team has urged GOP lawmakers to rebrand his One Big Beautiful Bill Act as the "Working Families Tax Cut Bill" or the "Working Families Tax Plan."

• But Trump is in danger of getting trapped in the same "vibecession" dynamic that doomed President Biden — only this time, the structural signals are flashing red, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

Some Republicans already fear inflation could cost them dearly in the 2026 midterms, warning that Trump has only a few months to reset his trajectory on voters' most important issue.

• For a president whose credibility on the economy has always been his strongest asset, the prospect of the bottom falling out is uniquely dangerous.

🧮 By the numbers: Trump's approval rating on inflation and cost of living currently sits at -24, nearing Biden's lows during the peak of the 2022–23 price surge, according to averages by pollster G. Elliott Morris.

• Trump's favorability on jobs and the economy overall is better, but still underwater at -13.
• 52% of U.S. adults say the economy is "getting worse," while only 24% say it's getting better and 20% say it's about the same, according to The Economist/YouGov polling.
• Poll after poll shows Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act — which extended his 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid and other safety net programs — is the most unpopular major piece of legislation in years.

🖼️ The big picture: The bleak voter sentiment matches increasingly bleak fundamentals.

• Inflation is creeping higher as Trump's trade war continues to reorder the global economy, with some analysts predicting drug shortages and an uncertain holiday season.
• The labor market is softening: Layoffs are rising, and the number of unemployed workers now exceeds job openings for the first time since April 2021.
• The housing market is on shaky footing, with interest rates relatively high and supply stagnant.
• Manufacturing was supposed to be the biggest beneficiary of Trump's tariffs. Instead, economic activity has shrunk for six months running. Now the sector is shedding jobs.

The other side: Trump officials maintain the economy is fundamentally strong — pointing to consumer spending, corporate investment and the booming stock market — and blame media coverage for skewing perceptions.

• The White House is touting no tax on tips, $1,000 "Trump accounts" for newborns and other worker-friendly provisions as proof the legislation helps ordinary households.

Share this story.

There's a new megadonor force in Republican politics: the crypto-mogul Winklevoss twins (often called the Winkelvii), Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes.

• Why it matters: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, 44, are part of a rising group of millennial and Generation X crypto and tech billionaires who are bolstering President Trump — and could dominate the GOP donor world for decades to come.

State of play: The Winklevosses began donating to Republican causes in 2017, but their giving has exploded this year. According to a person familiar with the latest totals, they've shelled out more than $32 million to date.

• Much of that — $21 million — has gone to the Digital Freedom Fund, a just-launched super PAC that aims to boost pro-Trump and pro-crypto candidates in next year's midterms, Tyler Winklevoss tells Axios.

The PAC hasn't announced which candidates it will support, but it does appear to have an early target to oppose: former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

• Brown, a crypto skeptic, is attempting to return to the Senate after losing his seat last year in a race in which the crypto industry opposed him.

The Winklevosses have established warm relationships with Trump and Vice President Vance.

• "These are two smart, handsome guys. They got the whole package," Trump said at a signing ceremony in July. "They've got the look, they've got the genius, got plenty of cash."

Share this story.

Blue states are quickly moving to defy Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s vaccine restrictions — increasing the likelihood of a patchwork of conflicting policies across the country, Axios Vitals author Maya Goldman writes.

• Why it matters: The resulting standoff could confuse the public on potentially life-and-death decisions. And a state-by-state approach could be inadequate in a major crisis.

🔬 Zoom in: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced yesterday that her state will require health insurers to cover vaccines recommended by its health department and not rely only on CDC recommendations.

• New Mexico's health department issued a public health order last week to ensure that all residents can obtain COVID vaccines.
• California, Oregon and Washington also unveiled a collaborative effort to issue their own immunization recommendations. Healey is leading the charge for a similar compact for Northeastern states.

Keep reading ... Takeaways: RFK Jr.'s contentious 3-hour Senate hearing on vaccines, CDC chaos.

President Trump hosted Big Tech elite last night at a White House dinner, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — and each took turns to lavish praise on him, Axios' Rebecca Falconer writes.

• Zuckerberg, seated next to Trump, thanked him for arranging the event and said that all present were making "huge investments" in the U.S. "to build out data centers and infrastructure to power the next wave of innovation," with Meta committing to at least $600 billion through 2028.

Gates, seated next to First Lady Melania Trump, thanked the president "for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing, advanced manufacturing here."

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman thanked Trump "for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president," adding: "It's a very refreshing change. ... I think it's going to set us up for a long period of leading the world, and that wouldn't be happening without your leadership."

Elon Musk said on X he was invited but couldn't attend.

• More quotes.

🍎 President Trump said he thinks Democrat Zohran Mamdani is likely to become New York City's next mayor unless two of the three major candidates running against him drop out of the race, AP reports.

• Trump said "No" when he was asked by a reporter at the tech dinner if he'd urged or encouraged any of the candidates in the race to drop out — but went on to say he would like to see that happen.
• "I don't think you can win unless you have one-on-one, and somehow he's gotten a little bit of a lead," Trump said of Mamdani. "I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-one, and I think that's a race that could be won."

Recently, intermediaries for Trump reached out to people close to incumbent Mayor Eric Adams to talk about whether he would consider abandoning his reelection campaign to take a federal job.

• On a recent trip to Miami, Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Trump's main diplomatic envoys in Washington.

President Trump plans to sign an executive order today that would rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, Axios' April Rubin writes.

• Why it matters: Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are attempting to reframe the military's identity to project toughness and restore a "warrior ethos."

The agency has been known as the Defense Department since shortly after World War II.

• "As Department of War, we won everything," Trump said last month.

Between the lines: Renaming the department would require an act of Congress. The executive order will authorize the Pentagon to use the Department of War as a "secondary title."

• The order will also authorize Hegseth and other officials to use secondary titles such as "Secretary of War" and "Deputy Secretary of War."

Share this story.

Kicking off Axios AI+ Government — a weekly special send on how AI is colliding with government — Ashley Gold and Maria Curi isolate the industry's biggest policy challenges for Axios AI+ subscribers:

1. AI and workers: Elected officials often say they're committed to protecting workers and creators. It remains to be seen whether those promises translate into policies that give people the skills they'll need in an AI-driven economy.
2. AI and national security: The bipartisan obsession in the U.S. to beat China is shaping every element of geopolitics and industrial policy.
3. AI and defense: The government is tech's biggest customer, and President Trump is not shying away from using that reality to push his agenda.
4. AI and sensitive data: AI has supercharged the privacy debate as governments around the world use health records, financial information and classified materials for everything from public services to national security.
5. States vs. feds: States don't want to wait on the feds to regulate AI. Washington is aiming to slow them down.

Sign up here.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett pushed back on the idea that the Supreme Court has become too political or overtly influenced by President Trump, telling CBS News' Norah O'Donnell that life tenure and a salary ensure their independence.

• Why it matters: A growing number of cases challenging Trump's extraordinary uses of executive power — including tariffs and ending birthright citizenship — could dominate the Supreme Court's next term.

Barrett — whose new book, "Listening to the Law," is out Tuesday — said she wants "people to have trust in the court" and understand how it works.

• "What the court does is not the same kind of work that Congress does, and it's not the same kind of work that the president does. Those are the political branches. The court is not one of the political branches."

Watch: More from the interview, which airs this weekend on "CBS Sunday Morning."

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter, a hot-tempered star, was ejected six seconds into a wild first NFL game of the season for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Carter later apologized.

• The Super Bowl champion Eagles weathered a lightning storm and showed why they're again a favorite to hoist a second straight Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles withstood a 65-minute weather delay and needed a late stop to beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-20. The game ended at 12:18 a.m.

Go deeper (ESPN) ... YouTube highlights.

Above: The Eagles unveiled their 2024 championship banner before the game.