President Trump promised an economic golden age when he returned to office last year.
Instead, voters are in their crankiest mood in years about their financial outlook — and the pessimism is spreading even to Republicans.
Why it matters: The growing GOP gloom could hardly come at a worse time for Trump and the party — less than six months out from a midterm election that's likely to turn on the economy.
America's classic neighborhood watch programs are fading as AI-powered apps turn neighborhoods into digital watch zones.
Why it matters: The automation of neighborhood safety with tools like Amazon's Ring and the Nextdoor app is quietly dismantling one of the country's most basic forms of civic life: neighbors who actually know each other.
WASHINGTON — Latino voters are increasingly driving the political narrative as economic anxiety and immigration concerns leave a majority undecided in critical swing districts, political experts and media executives said at an Axios event.
Why it matters: As the House map heading into the midterms hinges on razor-thin margins, early engagement and deeper structural investments in Latino communities may dictate the balance of political power.
Axios Local Texas editor Astrid Galván moderated a discussion with Alicia Menendez, co-anchor of "MSNBC Now," and Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras talked with Dave Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst at The Cook Political Report. The May 20 event was sponsored by TelevisaUnivision.
Five key takeaways from the conversation:
1. Latino voters remain up for grabs heading into the election cycle.
A new TelevisaUnivision/Harris poll showed 52% of registered Latino voters in 17 House swing districts are undecided or could change their mind.
"These are the swingiest of the swing voters," Menendez said. "We used to be off here and people would talk about us as our own separate thing. ... We are the story now."
2. Financial struggles overshadow other issues, with the Latino swing vote "more attuned to the cost of living," Wasserman said.
Shifting voting patterns are tied to economic pressures rather than party alignment, he said.
73% of Latinos in the new poll stated they are "merely surviving" financially, as affordability remains the top concern.
3. Tough immigration enforcement tactics create deep community anxiety and have altered how community organizers build relationships, Menendez said.
For example, she said organizers with Make the Road New Jersey reported that residents have become too fearful to answer their front doors.
"They were having to do a lot more of ... ¡¿Oye tú?! [listen here] .. talking to people through their windows about their basic rights and their rights to vote," Menendez said.
4. Latino support for President Trump is complex and should not be oversimplified as "buyer's remorse."
"Even if Democrats recover a bit ... I don't think Democrats will get fully back to that [2016] level of support," Wasserman said.
5. Hyperlocal, year-round infrastructure is critical for mobilization, according to Menendez.
Single mailers or dropping campaign ads right before an election fail to build trust with a diverse demographic, she said.
"It needs to happen in a civil infrastructure way where you're making people feel safe and supported... in their ability to vote," Menendez said.
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View from the Top conversation, TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre focused on how politicians can effectively connect with Latino audiences.
A common mistake candidates make is sending a Spanish-speaking staffer because they don't speak the language themselves.
"Hispanics actually want the politician to show up," Alegre said, noting that three-quarters of the community want candidates to appear in Spanish-language media even if they speak English. "It means that that individual is in touch with what is happening to Hispanics. The other part is being local and understanding what the local issues really are."
A pro-AI super PAC, fresh off a string of GOP primary victories this week, plans to keep spending in Kentucky's Senate race as the AI industry tries to focus the public's attention on AI's possibilities, not its potential pitfalls.
Why it matters: Leading the Future and its affiliated nonprofit, Build American AI, are looking for allies in the next Congress to pass a national AI framework, while selling voters today on AI's economic upside.
Driving the news: Gabbard wrote in her resignation letter that her departure is related to her husband's diagnosis with an "extremely rare form of bone cancer."
House members in both parties are embracing the discharge petition like never before to sidestep Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and pass bills he refuses to put on the floor.
Why it matters: Republican leaders have long discouraged their members from signing onto Democratic-led petitions, but those pleas are increasingly falling on deaf ears.
The Warsh era begins with soaring inflation, a Middle East energy shock bleeding into other parts of the economy and colleagues skeptical that rate cuts should come anytime soon.
Add on top: Kevin Warsh faces more political pressure to deliver lower rates than any other Federal Reserve chair in recent memory.
Why it matters: The 17th Fed chair, sworn in Friday at the White House, inherits a set of economic conditions that make it difficult to justify cutting rates.
Here is the draft executive order on cybersecurity and AI as it stood before President Trump pulled the plug on it Thursday.
State of play: The industry and administration are scrambling to figure out what's next as key questions remain unanswered on the future of government access to top AI models and general AI safety.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is going up on the air with ads attacking Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo in Texas, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Galindo has been widely disavowed by Democrats over antisemitic remarks. She most recently said she wants to convert an ICE facility into her district into a "prison for American Zionists."
The deadline for companies to help remove AI-generated pornography under the Take It Down Act passed this week, but advocates say companies will have to be taken to court to secure strong implementation.
Why it matters: The Take It Down Act is Congress' first attempt to tackle child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual intimate images of adults online — content that has proliferated with AI.
Open-source AI firm Reflection AI is partnering with the Department of Energy to help power the Genesis Mission, a federal scientific research initiative,per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: The partnership is a big advancement for a company that's trying to get the U.S. to embrace open-source models.
Never in 250 years has America witnessed a sitting president shield himself and his family from tax scrutiny, after leveraging policies that benefit his own businesses and personal portfolios, as Donald J. Trump has done.
Why it matters: This isn't a hidden scandal. Trump has done this publicly and proudly. Last year, we called it the "most unprecedented presidency in 250 years."
In doing so, he has set a precedent — once so unfathomable as to be laughable — that it's OK for presidents and family members to make billions off deals affected by government decisions, then use the Justice Department to secure lifetime protection from scrutiny of their past tax returns.
The Trump administration is temporarily moving immigration lawyers to the Justice Department to speed up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof, but they're a priority for Trump officials who are searching for fraud in the legal immigration system.
President Trump's week started in triumph when he took out a pair of Republican adversaries up for reelection — but it's ending in a rare moment of Republican resistance, largely of his own making.
Why it matters: Trump has spent the better part of a decade steamrolling congressional Republicans, but the costs of his revenge campaign — and some politically toxic priorities — have caught up with him.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin is facing a surge of anger and even some calls to resign from congressional Democrats following the release of the DNC's 2024 election autopsy on Thursday.
Why it matters: The chaotic handling of the report builds on concerns among Democrats about Martin's leadership and the DNC's anemic fundraising numbers compared to its GOP counterpart.
A record number of Americans will hit the road over Memorial Day weekend — and they'll pay an average of $1.34 more per gallon at the pump compared to a year ago.
Why it matters: Holiday car trips are proving to be resilient, even as President Trump's war with Iran pushes gas prices sharply higher.
