Axios

President Trump's 2027 budget proposal is here — and it suggests changes to how the U.S. government operates.

Why it matters: Many of the decisions align with Trump's long-term goals of consolidating the federal government, pushing out the "woke" agenda, and doubling down on AI and new military technology.

Officials embodying decades of experience have exited — or been booted from — the U.S. military under the second Trump administration as the nation's defense apparatus undergoes a massive MAGA makeover.

The big picture: Expertise matters, especially with the U.S. presently locked in a fiery conflict in the Middle East, one where the president has threatened to push the bounds of the generally accepted principles of warfare.

President Trump's $400 million ballroom renovation to the White House remains up in the air — but it's far from his only legacy project in the works.

The big picture: Throughout his second term, Trump has been advocating for makeovers of the White House and promoting his name and likeness — many times in ways that have never been done by a president.

President Trump's 2027 budget proposes a $5 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health, setting up a showdown with Congress and patient advocacy groups over medical research funding.

Why it matters: The amount is a fraction of the nearly $20 billion cut the administration proposed for NIH last year, which Congress rejected. But it shows how the biomedical research institution remains a lightning rod for criticism from the right.

A sharp rise in defense spending. Steep cuts elsewhere. All against a backdrop of rapid growth.

• That is the Trump administration's formal 2027 budget proposal, in a nutshell.

Why it matters: As always, the presidential budget is more of a statement of the White House's goals than a road map that is likely to be enacted by Congress. This one shows a president who is eager to spend big on the military while bringing austerity to the rest of the federal budget.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday sued three states — Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois — for what what it calls "unconstitutional and invalid" applications of state anti-gambling laws to prediction markets.

Why it matters: These cases could determine who really regulates companies like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have raised billions of dollars from venture capitalists

A local nonprofit is racing to save a nearly 80-year-old Houston theater from demolition, with plans to turn it into a neighborhood arts hub.

Why it matters: The Garden Oaks Theater could become another loss in a city with a track record of tearing down its historic buildings, Ian Druke, the assistant director at Arthouse Houston, tells Axios.

Public resistance to data centers isn't driven as much by electricity prices as conventional wisdom suggests — it's more about how the giant projects might alter their communities, a new Harvard/MIT poll shows.

Why it matters: The poll could shape how developers engage with communities as they try to build more data centers to meet AI's massive electricity demands, said Harvard researcher Stephen Ansolabehere, who oversaw the poll.

NATO is a promise, and now it's broken.

The big picture: The alliance was built on the premise that an attack on one member is an attack on all. President Trump has made that conditional: if you won't help me in my war, I might not show up for yours.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and two other military leaders to leave their posts, two Defense officials confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: George is the Army's most senior general and is being removed during the Iran war. Axios could not immediately confirm the reasons for his ouster, which was first reported by CBS.