Sep 10, 2018 - Politics & Policy

White House pushes back on Obama over inherited economic growth

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

White House chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett, during a presentation on the overall health of the economy, pushed back Monday on comments made by former President Obama last week, saying its "factually incorrect” to assert that current economic gains are a continuation of trends from the previous administration.

Yes, but: Hassett made a point to note that the presentation he gave today was "not in any way a timing that's related" to Obama's speech, adding that his appearance in the briefing room had been planned for weeks. He also said President Trump's tweet from earlier today falsely claimed GDP growth has exceeded the unemployment rate for the first time in over 100 years. It's 10 years, Hassett said, not 100 years.

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Alexi McCammond, Margaret Talev
12 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats' mail voting pivot

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Democrats spent the early months of the coronavirus pandemic urging their base to vote absentee. But as threats of U.S. Postal Service delays, Team Trump litigation and higher ballot rejection rates become clearer, many are pivoting to promote more in-person voting as well.

Why it matters: Democrats are exponentially more likely to vote by mail than Republicans this year — and if enough mail-in ballots are lost, rejected on a technicality or undercounted, it could change the outcome of the presidential election or other key races.

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Margaret Talev, David Nather
23 mins ago - Politics & Policy

New interactive tool shows Biden's mail voting danger

Data: SurveyMonkey; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Voters who disapprove of President Trump most strongly are by far the most likely to vote by mail in the presidential election, according to an Axios analysis of exclusive data from SurveyMonkey and Tableau.

Why it matters: The new data shows just how strongly the mail-in vote is likely to favor Joe Biden — with potentially enormous implications in the swing states due to the greater risk of rejection with mail ballots.

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Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
52 mins ago - Health

Reopening the ACA debate is politically risky for GOP

Data: Kaiser Family Foundation, The Cook Political Report; Notes: Those losing insurance includes 2020 ACA marketplace enrollment and 2019 Medicaid expansion enrollment among newly-eligible enrollees. Close races are those defined as "Toss up" or "Lean R/D"; Table: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The sudden uncertainty surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act could be an enormous political liability for Republicans in key states come November.

Between the lines: Millions of people in crucial presidential and Senate battlegrounds would lose their health care coverage if the Supreme Court strikes down the law, as the Trump administration is urging it to.

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