Update 897 – Trump’s Shutdown Threat:Mass Gov’t Firings without Budget Deal Congressional leaders remained at an impasse this week on federal government funding beyond October 1, leaving four days until a government shutdown kicks in, absent an agreement. Democrats want healthcare concessions in exchange for their votes – seven of which are necessary to reach …
Update 896 – Trump’s New H-1B Visa: Whopping Cost for American Employers On Friday, the President drastically raised the cost and requirements for high-skilled workers to be employed in the United States on an H-1B visa. His unilateral Executive Action leaves an uncertain future for American companies that depend on highly specialized foreign workers. While …
Update 895 – Sliding toward ShutdownFY26 Status Leads Week’s Round-Up With only 10 days left for Congress to approve and Trump to sign a Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget to avoid a shutdown, the House voted today to advance a Republican CR proposal that would fund the government through November 21. But the Senate quickly …
Update 894 – Fed Cuts Rates 25 BPs; Only Dissent: Trump-Nominated Miran The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected, at the conclusion of its September FOMC meeting this afternoon. Fed Governor Stephen Miran, who has not resigned from his position at the White House, dissented, voting instead for a 50 basis …
Update 893 – Macro Muddle Faces Fed; Democrats’ Shutdown Strategy Emerges The nation’s macroeconomic picture got murkier this week, with CPI showing August prices rising by the most since January, even as jobless claims jumped by the most in four years this week and unemployment edged up last month — “a curious kind of balance,” …
Update 892 – SBC OK’s Miran for Fed;Court Allows Cook to Remain on Board President Trump’s effort to stack the board of the Federal Reserve with friendly voices advanced today as Stephen Miran, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, was confirmed by the Senate Banking Committee to a seat on the Federal …
Update 891 – Aug. Job Gains’ Slowdown;SBC Miran Fed Hearing Raises Concerns The August jobs report released this morning showed a much lower-than-expected 22,000 jobs added to the economy last month and a net 13,000 job loss in June, with Trump’s tariffs noticeably softening the labor market. The soft jobs data comes as the Trump …
Update 890 – Fed Independence Cooked?Landmark Suit vs. Trump Firing Launched President Trump attempted to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Monday after his administration accused her of fraud – a crime she has not been charged with or convicted of. Cook has refused to step down and challenged her attempted “for cause” removal …
Update 889 – OBBB Policy and Politics:Bill’s Impact, Polling, Recess Messaging President Trump signed the One Big “Beautiful” Bill Act (OBBB) into law on July 4, solidifying much of his economic policy agenda for his second term. The massive package, which was passed through the partisan reconciliation process with no Democratic support, includes tax cuts …
Update 888 – Mid-Decade Redistricting:Fight Fire with Fire or Burn Down the House? The current U.S. House redistricting fight, sparked in Texas, seems to have pulled Democrats together nationally for the first time since the election. With AOC and Bernie Sanders offering one economic policy approach, Freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin presenting another, and with Democratic …
