🏦 Axios PM: Fed under fire

Plus: The "Gen Z stare" | Monday, July 14, 2025

View in browser   PRESENTED BY AMAZON   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Jul 14, 2025 Good Monday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 537 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing. ⚖️ Situational awareness: The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education. Go deeper.     1 big thing: Trump's new weapon against Powell   Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Mark Makela/Stringer   The Fed's independence is in the crosshairs as President Trump's threats become more concrete, Axios' Neil Irwin reports. Trump's appointees are trying to lay out legal predicates to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell for cause — specifically, that the Fed's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation included changes not approved by a federal planning authority and/or that Powell lied to Congress about the project. The president has also installed allies, including the White House staff secretary, on the commission that approves such renovations — normally the province of architects and historical preservationists. 🏛️ The other side: The Fed, as is its style, is responding in a restrained and legally precise way. As Axios first reported, Powell asked Fed inspector general Michael Horowitz to review the cost overruns and any other matters involving the building he deems appropriate. 🧠 The bottom line: If Trump successfully uses this avenue to fire Powell, it will create a new world in which the president can use an obscure planning commission to coerce the world's most important central bank. Go deeper.     2. 🇺🇦 U.S. will arm Ukraine   Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the press last week in Rome. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. will dramatically increase weapons supplies to European allies, who will then send those weapons to Ukraine, President Trump announced today. This is a seismic shift for Trump, who originally refused to side with Ukraine and until very recently insisted he would only supply defensive weapons, Axios' Barak Ravid writes. 🪖 The supplies ultimately bound for Ukraine include missiles, air defense weaponry and artillery shells. A source familiar with the plan tells Axios the U.S. will sell around $10 billion in weapons to NATO allies in the first wave. Go deeper.     A MESSAGE FROM AMAZON Meet Jon: Amazon connects him to customers across America     About his business: Jon started his candle business, Bluecorn Beeswax, in his hometown of Montrose, Colo. He is able to sell nationally with help from Amazon. Why Amazon: "We went from a facility that could barely contain our inventory to needing a space three times that size." Find out more.     3. Catch me up   Andrew Cuomo speaks to supporters on June 24. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP 🗽Andrew Cuomo announced an independent campaign for New York City mayor. Eric Adams, the current mayor, is also running as an independent, in an effort to stop Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. Go deeper. 📱The X account for Elmo, the "Sesame Street" character, was hacked over the weekend, sending a series of antisemitic, racist posts. Go deeper. 😷 COVID cases are rising in about half of the U.S. Go deeper.     4. 👁️ The "Gen Z stare"   Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios   There's a fight simmering on TikTok over the "Gen Z stare" — the blank look you might get from a young person who doesn't seem to be listening. Depending on who you ask, the stare either means the Gen Zer thinks you're a total moron or that kids today don't have social skills, Axios' Emily Peck writes. 💡 Zoom out: "If you spent your formative years on Zoom, you didn't get much exposure to learning how people give each other visual cues that they're listening," says Kate Lindsay, a millennial, who wrote about the stare on her Substack, Embedded. The other side: Gen Z says the blank look is their response when someone says something baffling and/or stupid. Plus, they just don't like small talk. 🙄 Remember: Gen Z is hardly the first generation of teens and 20-somethings to think of their elders as cringeworthy idiots. Share this story.     A MESSAGE FROM AMAZON Meet Jon: He transformed his small business with Fulfillment by Amazon     Favorite Amazon tool: After using Fulfillment by Amazon, "we saw our sales spike 4x in a month. All of the sudden we had this Amazon momentum working for us." Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options. Learn how Amazon helps businesses across America.   📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends to join PM. Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: