Update 872– The Trump-Musk Meltdown:Elon Attacks OBBB… But to Any Effect? Yesterday, President Trump and Elon Musk’s disagreement over the projected deficit impact of Trump’s reconciliation package erupted into public view on social media. While the dust seems to have settled somewhat as of today, this split raises questions about Musk’s political influence going forward. …
Update 870 – House OKs Trump OBBB:On to the Senate for Tweak or Overhaul? The House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) yesterday in a 215-214 vote after a week of seemingly fraught negotiations. The bill, which consists of trillions of dollars in tax cuts that are skewed towards the ultra-wealthy and paid …
Update 862 – Tariffs Taking a TollPoll Numbers Drop, No Deals Done Finance and trade ministers from around the world flocked to D.C. this week for the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. Top of mind were Trump’s tariffs and his attack on the global trading system. As forecasts for global growth and inflation were revised downward, …
Update 840 — Week of Chaos, Confusion; GDP Growth Slows in 4th Quarter 2024 The country was plunged this week into a frenzy of chaos and confusion amid the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again freeze on federal grants and loans spending. The broad and vague memo released by the OMB Monday was rescinded on Wednesday but …
Update 837 — Key Nomination Hearings,CPI Report, CTC Bill Lead Week Roundup This week, Trump’s nominees for Treasury Secretary, HUD Secretary, and OMB Director faced pointed questioning by Democratic Senators ahead of coming confirmation votes by the committees of jurisdiction and the full Senate. The three nominees addressed a broad range of economic issues with …
Update 837: Nomination Hearings Lead Week’s Roundup Read More »
Update 831 — CPI’s Elusive Soft Landing;FTC Pick Named; FSOC, SEC’s Stalled Out This week’s CPI report for November showed the road back to the Fed’s two percent target inflation rate remains bumpy – but the new data is unlikely to push the Fed to readjust its downward interest rate trajectory – though Donald Trump …
Update 829 — Jobs Gains Up Again in November; Crypto Friendly SEC Pick among New Trump Noms. This morning’s jobs report, showing 227,00 jobs added to the economy and unemployment ticking up to 4.2 percent in November, indicates that the labor market remains strong after labor action and extreme weather led to low job gains in …
Update 827 — Trump Floats Major Tariff Plan;Bessent is Treasury Pick; DOGE Days Ahead President-elect Trump has now named all of his Cabinet-level nominees — including his pick for Treasury Secretary — as well as choices for other critical economic policy positions, which we cover below. Not among these are Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, …
Update 826 — First of Trump’s Econ. Policy Noms;End of Basel III/Endgame?; Other Developments President-elect Trump continued announcing Cabinet nominees this week as his administration begins to take shape. The early appointments signal the incoming Trump administration’s intention to elevate the priorities of wealthy interests who appear loyal to Trump and willing to undermine institutional …
Update 652 — House Democrats ElectNew Leadership for the 118th Congress The House Democratic leadership triumvirate of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Jim Clyburn has paved the way for succession by a new generation of Democratic Caucus leaders, approved by acclamation of the Caucus earlier today. The Caucus will now be led by Brooklynite Hakeem …
