If Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should refocus on Ukraine
The departure from U.S. strategic commitments, combined with Trump's reliance on improvisation and instinct, is antithetical to advancing peace initiatives between Russia and Ukraine. Add inconsistent messaging to the mix, and it won't matter how many nominations those seeking to curry favor with Trump submit to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, as the status quo will remain unchanged.
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22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says 'not planning' fire Fed Chair Powell after reports suggest Powell ouster coming 'soon'
President Trump on Wednesday tempered reports from earlier in the day that suggested he planned imminently to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the latest twist in the ongoing saga regarding Trump's displeasure with the central bank head. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office late Wednesday morning, Trump said he is "not planning" to fire Powell, though reiterated his view that rates should be lower and the Fed chair is doing a "terrible job." Trump's comments came just about an hour after a slew of reports suggested the president was inching closer to firing Powell. Bloomberg reported that the president was likely to remove Powell "soon," quoting a White House official, and CBS News reported that Trump indicated to lawmakers he would do so while polling House GOP members Tuesday night about whether he should go through with it. The New York Times reported that Trump even showed those lawmakers a draft of a Powell firing letter in the Oval Office Tuesday night. 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The Washington Post and Bloomberg reported this week that National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is rising as an early front-runner in the race to replace Powell, although former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is also under consideration. Fed governor Christopher Waller is another possibility. Bessent, though, is 'probably not that much of an option," Trump said Tuesday, citing what he views as his good performance as Treasury secretary. "He's a very soothing force." Trump has been hammering Powell for months over what Trump viewed as a refusal to ease monetary policy for political and personal reasons, referring to Powell publicly as 'dumb,' a numbskull,' a 'stubborn mule,' 'stupid,' a 'moron,' and a 'fool.' Trump nominated Powell for the Fed chair seat during his first administration, and his current term is scheduled to run until May of 2026. Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? Trump's allies in recent weeks have used another tactic to turn up the pressure on Powell: They have invoked a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's headquarters as a way to question the chair's management of the institution and whether he told Congress the truth about the project during testimony in June. Trump said Tuesday that "the one thing I wouldn't have guessed is he would be spending two and a half million dollars to build a little extension onto the Fed." When asked if it was a fireable offense, Trump said, "I think it sort of is, because if you look at his testimony ... he's not talking about the problem. It's a big problem." One House Republican, Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, posted on X Tuesday night: "Hearing Jerome Powell is getting fired! From a very serious source" and later added: "I'm 99% sure firing is imminent." 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The online gunseller with Donald Trump Jr. on its board makes its market debut. Shares plunge
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Yahoo
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US trade chief Greer says wants US trade deficit on downward path
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal (Reuters) -U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that his trade policy goal was to put the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit on a downward path and to stem the loss of U.S. advanced manufacturing capacity. Greer, in remarks to a reindustrialization summit in Detroit, said that President Donald Trump's expanded tariff program was already bearing fruit in terms of spurring new industrial investments in the U.S. This includes $4 billion from General Motors to move some production to the U.S. from Mexico, new steel and pharmaceutical plants, Greer said, adding that Trump was encouraging countries to move production to the U.S. to avoid his tariffs. Greer said in most substantial policy address since taking office in late February, that the U.S. industrial decline was due to long-running trade liberalization efforts by both Democratic and Republican administrations, including allowing China to join the World Trade Organization. The 2024 U.S. trade deficit of $1.2 trillion was "a state of affairs that is as unsustainable as it is unacceptable," Greer said. "It almost sounds like Monopoly money." To help remedy this, he said Trump's tariff policies called for a universal tariff rate of 10% on all countries, with higher rates for the most "problematic" ones, including China, which has the highest tariff rate of 55%. "Of course, the president signaled a willingness to negotiate with countries if they want to have an alternative relation with us and really join us in re industrializing. And countries have been responsive," Greer said. Trump himself drafted the recent letters that he has set to a number of countries informing them of tariff rates for their imports absent trade deals, Greer said. "He had a line in there that says there will be no tariff if you decide to build or manufacture product within the United States," Greer said. Greer also said that he also wanted to increase the manufacturing share of U.S. GDP and increase the median household income in the U.S. While tariffs were an important tool in this, there are others, including the recent enactment of a massive tax cut and spending bill that includes investments in energy, tax breaks for research and development and immediate expensing of capital investments against tax liabilities. As the top U.S. trade lawyer, Greer said, "my job is to clear the playing field of all the pitfalls, the obstacles, all the unfairness that has hindered U.S. re-industrialization." Sign in to access your portfolio
