Axios

President Trump's attempt to strike a deal with Iran was supposed to quickly cut U.S. gasoline prices. It's a slower process than he might like.

Why it matters: American anger over gas prices has hammered Trump's approval rating on the economy, imperiling GOP control of Congress.

Growing demand for medical care and high-cost drugs helped drive up national health spending 7.3% last year, to $5.7 trillion, according to new projections federal actuaries released on Wednesday.

The big picture: It marked the third consecutive year that health spending rose above 7% — a trend that's likely to continue this year and intensify affordability concerns.

The war-driven spike in gas prices has caused "financial hardship" for about two-thirds of American households, per survey data from Gallup out Thursday.

Why it matters: Although it's becoming clear that the rise in oil prices wasn't a huge hit to the overall U.S. economy, high prices at the pump certainly slammed people in the pocketbook.

President Trump is making life hell for Senate Republicans, and they're returning the favor.

• "I make no apologies for standing up to the president," Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told reporters after he got into a shouting match with Trump on Wednesday at a Senate GOP lunch. "I made it clear that I wasn't going to be bullied."

Why it matters: Trump's push for a pre-midterm elections crackdown, via the SAVE Act, has opened of the deepest GOP ruptures of his second term.

President Trump's lunch with GOP senators devolved into a lengthy shouting match between him and outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

Why it matters: Trump's handling of the war in Iran and the Senate's passage of a war powers resolution consumed the conversation, despite Trump's renewed pressure to pass a voter ID bill and kill the filibuster.

Candidates pushing for AI safety regulation were far from silenced following Tuesday's primaries.

Why it matters: AI money is now a significant part of the election landscape.

President Trump cancelled Wednesday's planned signing of a landmark bipartisan housing bill, demanding Congress pass the unrelated SAVE America Act first.

Why it matters: Trump has been angling for Congress to pass the voting bill for months, and previously threatened to withhold his signature on any other legislation until lawmakers passed it.

In a speech in New York on Tuesday night, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a long-running bet on cheaper goods and deeper economic integration making America richer and safer had failed.

Why it matters: The speech set a framework for President Trump's economic policies since his second term, including tariffs and calls for reshoring.

• But it also suggests that those policies may be part of a broader rethinking of globalization that extends well beyond one administration.
• If that's right, investors betting on a return to the old globalization playbook may be waiting a long time.

Back in 2001, most Americans thought the Founding Fathers would be pleased with how our country turned out.

• Today, fewer than one in five agree, according to a recent poll.

Why it matters: Few things unite Americans in its 250th year like their shared conviction — across party, age, race and income — that the country has let its founders down.

Here are early conclusions and things to watch in the Energy Department's plan to loan utilities billions of dollars to buy equipment for large new reactors.

Why it matters: DOE envisions 10 Westinghouse AP100 reactors — enough to power about 10 million homes — under construction across five two-reactor projects by 2030.