Axios

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's approval rating in New York has cleared 40% just once during the last six months, according to polling from Siena University.

• His approval was at 53% at the same point in President Trump's first term, according to Siena.

Why it matters: Schumer is obsessed with his hometown polls. He's up for reelection in 2028 and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is eyeing his seat.

Todd Blanche has been appointed as acting attorney general after President Trump announced Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi is leaving the Department of Justice.

The big picture: An administration official told Axios that Blanche is among those Trump is considering nominating as Bondi's replacement, and the president praised his former defense attorney on Truth Social as "a very talented and respected Legal Mind."

President Trump's ballroom project won design approval on Thursday, even though an ongoing legal case has halted construction on the site.

Why it matters: The National Capital Planning Commission's sign-off won't restart construction, but it clears a final procedural hurdle for Trump's fast-tracked, $400 million plans for transforming the White House.

Pam Bondi was ousted as attorney general on Thursday, closing the book on her year-plus tenure as the Department of Justice's leading official.

The big picture: While the hype over the Epstein files saga largely defined Bondi's time as attorney general, it was far from the moment that propelled her into the national spotlight.

President Trump said Thursday he would "soon sign an order" to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees.

Why it matters: The president's announcement marks the second time in a week he's moved to circumvent Congress to pay federal workers amid the record-long DHS shutdown.

The Senate on Thursday morning sent its plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security — excluding ICE and CBP— back to the House for consideration.

Why it matters: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is now on board with the proposal, illuminating a path to ending the record-long DHS shutdown.

Kalshi, the fast-growing prediction market, is adding Stephanie Cutter, a longtime Democratic strategist who's managing partner of Precision Strategies, as a policy adviser as part of a bipartisan overture.

Why it matters: Kalshi, which named Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic adviser last year, is working to educate the Hill and administration about the value of prediction markets. Since opening a D.C. office in January, Kalshi has held nearly 200 meetings with policymakers on both sides of the aisle.

One year after "Liberation Day," the global economy is still reckoning with the fallout of a trade policy that has since been diluted.

Why it matters: President Trump's tariff wall has been torn down by the court, watered down by exemptions and scaled back under trade agreements.

Medical research advocates are bracing for a grinding election-year fight over the future of the National Institutes of Health with the expected release of the Trump administration's FY 2027 budget Friday.

Why it matters: Congress rejected the steep 40% cut the administration proposed for NIH last year, but the biomedical research institution continues to feel fallout from canceled grants, layoffs and a slower pace of getting money out the door to academic researchers.

JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon tells me the U.S. is facing the most concurrent risks in 80 years — and that's before AI starts displacing a large number of American workers.

Why it matters: Dimon, in an interview for "The Axios Show," says American business leaders need to step up, and speak up, to help guide the country through these high-risk, tumultuous times.