Marjorie Taylor Greene takes aim at Trump on artificial intelligence
'My deep concerns are that the EO demands rapid AI expansion with little to no guardrails and breaks,' she wrote on X on Thursday.
Greene said she is concerned about the impact the order — which indicates artificial intelligence data centers will be built on federally owned land — will have on the environment and the water supply.
She also said the order threatens states who choose to regulate AI, a move she says is 'an absolute threat to federalism' and a reason she originally criticized and threatened to vote against final approval for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Greene's direct attack on artificial intelligence — an industry which Trump has made his support for known — is another in a series of notable breaks. She has also recently criticized Trump for his intervention in Iran and his criticism of some vocal MAGA supporters.
In a long post on X in May, Greene warned that she represents the MAGA base and when she is 'frustrated and upset over the direction of things' — which in the post included Iran, Ukraine, vaccines, the judicial system, use of federal funds and gender ideology — the base wouldn't be happy either.
'When you are losing MTG, you are losing the base,' she said. 'And Trump isn't on the ballot in the future, so do the math on that.'
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Chicago Tribune
28 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
President Donald Trump removes official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data, which has long been seen as the 'gold standard' of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have long accepted the data as free from political bias. Trump's move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world's international trade system, media companies, America's top universities and Congress' constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions. 'Firing the Commissioner … when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,' Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. 'I can't stress how damaging this is.' After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs. 'What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,' Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.' Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6 when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs. 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!' Trump posted at the time. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most-recent revision down to just 19,000. The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday. The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses to its survey, which help provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month. In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions. The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination.
The Hill
28 minutes ago
- The Hill
5 questions Trump faces after dismal jobs report; BLS commissioner firing
President Trump's economic pitch took a serious hit Friday after the latest federal jobs report revealed stunning weakness in the labor market. He responded by firing the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for what he called politically-motivated revisions that lobbed off hundreds of thousands of job gains earlier this summer. The dismal jobs report raised serious questions about the strength of the U.S. economy, especially in light of looming tariffs causing anxieties in the global market. Here are the five big questions facing Trump as he faces the fallout. How much worse does it get? After months of warnings from economists and weakening data from the private sector, federal jobs numbers have caught up to the concern. The July jobs report dramatically changed the picture of the U.S. economy, ramping up concerns fueled by Trump's tariffs and the uncertainty they unleashed. The U.S. added only 73,000 jobs in July and just 106,000 jobs since May — a three-month total barely enough to sustain the labor market for one month. 'Not only was this a much weaker than forecast payrolls number, the monster downward revisions to the past two months inflicts a major blow to the picture of labor market robustness,' wrote Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, in an analysis. 'More concerning is that with the negative impact of tariffs only just starting to be felt, the coming months are likely to see even clearer evidence of a labor market slowdown.' The U.S. economy needs to add 80,000 and 100,000 jobs each month just to replace those who leave the workforce for retirement or incapacity. Without a significant turnaround, the unemployment rate could begin to rise, and the overall economy could slow drastically. 'The U.S. slowdown is starting to take shape,' wrote Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, global co-CIO at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a Friday analysis. She added that a decline in labor force participation, which is also bad for the job market, was keeping the unemployment rate from rising further. 'While overall levels are not flashing red, the trend is cause for concern,' she wrote. How does Trump adjust his tariff plans? Trump and top White House officials spent months laughing off the dire projections of economists, who feared his tariffs would tank the job market and boost inflation. That position may not be tenable after Friday. The July jobs report came out on what was supposed to be the final deadline for the imposition of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs. After insisting for weeks that he would not delay the deadline further, Trump announced Thursday evening that some countries would have an additional week to strike deals with the U.S. Trump's latest punt — which happened after the president is typically briefed on the jobs report — was the latest in a series of delays issued amid rough economic news or stock market turmoil. The president proposed much steeper tariffs during his 'Liberation Day' announcement in April, but delayed and weakened his plan after two weeks of turmoil in financial markets. Trump and top White House economic aides touted the benefit of federal revenue from import taxes, which are paid by the U.S. businesses and individual who purchase foreign goods. But the growing pressure of his tariffs could prompt further delays from Trump. Trump could also keep higher headline tariff rates while quietly making exemptions for key goods, undermining the overall goal of his import taxes while potentially avoiding some of the costs. 'A web of exemptions and, in the case of the deals, preferential rates means many key imports face lower tariffs or none. That significantly lowers the actual tariff rate, in many cases well below the quoted headline rate,' wrote Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, in a Friday analysis. How does the Fed respond? The stunning July jobs numbers will boost pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in September, and are already raising questions about whether it should have cut rates already. The Fed kept rates steady Wednesday as inflation continued to rise and the labor market appeared to be weakening at a much slower rate than seen in Friday's jobs report. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged Wednesday the risks that the job market could weaken quicker than expected under the bank's moderately high interest rates, he said he and his colleagues were still unsettled about how Trump's tariffs could drive inflation higher. The Fed now appears to be in a quagmire with the country on track for both a weaker economy and higher inflation — a dynamic known as 'stagflation.' Lower interest rates could stimulate the sluggish labor market, but also drive inflation higher with additional money in the economy. Keeping interest rates unchanged could stave off inflation, but suffocate the economy into higher unemployment and slower spending. 'With persistent policy uncertainty, tariffs, and diminished immigration flows paralyzing employers, the U.S. economy is now flirting with job losses, revealing a labor market that is much weaker than most Fed policymakers had believed,' wrote Gregory Daco, chief economist EY-Parthenon, in a Friday analysis. 'The Fed is now behind the curve.' Will voters ding Trump as job approval sinks? Trump is largely fulfilling his campaign promises on the economy, including instituting tariffs, though that policy proved to be much more widespread than what he suggested while running for a second-term. He's also making good on mass deportation plans, which the administration is using to sell what they see as a stronger economy for the American worker. But some slices of voters don't appear to be singing Trump's praises. Trump headed into the big week on the economy with his job approval rating slipping, with net approval dropping 15 points, according to an Economist/YouGov poll. And his net approval rating also fell 9 points to its lowest rating yet last week in the Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) average, with independents taking issue with Trump's actions on the economy and immigration. Consumer confidence ticked up only slightly in July, a sign that anxieties over the economy could be coming to a head as a result of the president's policies. Consumers also expressed more negative assessments of their economic situations overall. What impact will firing the BLS commissioner have? Experts and economists were left reeling Friday afternoon when Trump announced he was firing the commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Erika McEntarfer. That cast doubt on the bureau's reporting standards and the type of revisions it makes on previously released reports. When Trump was later asked if that decision meant anyone providing him data he doesn't agree with could risk losing their job, he responded: 'I've always had a problem with these numbers.' In considering who could be McEntarfer's long-term replacement, Trump did not pinpoint experience in labor statistics as a qualification. 'We need people we can trust,' Trump said. 'I put somebody in who's going to be honest.'
Boston Globe
28 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Death toll soars in Russian strike on Kyiv
Among the dead were five children, the youngest two years old, and 159 were injured, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. He said that in July alone, Russian forces launched about 3,800 drones, 260 missiles — including 128 ballistic missiles — and 5,100 guided bombs. In June, an overnight attack killed 28 people. Advertisement Zelensky called the overnight attack on Thursday 'a vile blow' and said it demonstrated that additional pressure on Moscow was needed and that Ukraine's Western allies should tighten their sanctions regime against the Kremlin. President Trump has been threatening to do just that. 'No matter how much the Kremlin denies their effectiveness, [the sanctions] are working and must be stronger — to hit everything that allows such strikes to continue,' Zelensky wrote, after receiving a report on the strike from Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Trump appears ready to slap additional sanctions on Moscow in a bid to pressure Russia to accept a ceasefire. On Thursday, Trump called the airstrikes on Ukraine 'disgusting' and 'a disgrace,' though he questioned whether sanctions would influence Russian President Vladimir Putin. Advertisement 'I don't know that sanctions bother him,' he said. 'I don't know if that has any effect, but we're going to do it.' The Patriot transfer to Ukraine was made possible by an agreement with the US that Germany would be 'the first nation to receive newly produced, latest-generation Patriot systems at an accelerated pace,' which Berlin would pay for, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement. The delivery to Ukraine would also include 'additional system components within the next two to three months,' Pistorius said. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the German transfer. However, Patriot antiaircraft systems are highly valued for their ability to shoot down cruise and ballistic missiles, which Russian forces have been firing at Ukrainian targets in clusters, combined with waves of drones, to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Ukraine's air force said that Thursday's overnight attack involved more than 300 drones across Ukraine, 21 of which struck targets, and Kyiv bore the brunt. The Ukrainian military also said that eight cruise missiles were fired, five of which penetrated its air defenses. Media reports indicated that all the missiles were directed at Kyiv. One missile partially destroyed an apartment block in a western district of the capital, burying more than a dozen people under rubble. Trump also has been threatening secondary sanctions that would penalize buyers of Russian oil, mainly China and India, potentially starving Russia of funds for its war machine, but so far, he has refrained from imposing them, arguing this could alienate Moscow and reduce hopes of reaching a peace deal. Advertisement Russia, meanwhile, has launched deadly attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, while grinding forward and seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine. Russia has struck playgrounds, maternity hospitals, apartment buildings, civilian buses, and other civilian targets. Russia's Ministry of Defense insists that Russia attacks military targets with 'precision strikes.' Earlier in the week, Trump tightened the deadline to 10 days from 50 days for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would fly to Russia to meet with officials after visiting Gaza and Israel. Witkoff has met Putin four times in solo meetings in a bid to broker a peace deal, eschewing State Department experts on Russia, and using an interpreter supplied by the Kremlin on at least one occasion. He initially appeared to credit Putin with a will to end the war in return for keeping the territory Russia has seized and shutting Ukraine out of NATO. Those hopes proved overly optimistic. On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a radio interview that senior US officials were in contact with their Russian counterparts this week but made 'no progress' on securing a ceasefire. Trump has suggested that he is losing patience with Putin after phone conversations in which Putin appeared conciliatory, only to launch new airstrikes, while Ukraine has accepted Trump's call for a ceasefire, Rubio suggested. 'And I think what bothers the president the most is he has these great phone calls where everyone … claims, 'Yeah, we'd like to see this end, if we could find a way forward,' and then he turns on the news and another city has been bombed, including those far from the front lines,' Rubio said. Advertisement 'So, at some point, [Trump has] got to make a decision here about how much to continue to engage in an effort to do ceasefires if one of the two sides is not interested in one,' Rubio said. On Friday, Putin said that any disappointments in the progress of peace talks arose from 'excessive expectations.' 'Negotiations are always in demand and always important, especially if it is a desire for peace. I evaluate them positively overall,' Putin told journalists after meeting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at Valaam island in Karelia, in northwest Russia. Putin said Russia's conditions had not changed. Those conditions have long been tantamount to Ukraine's surrender. Putin said Russia needed 'a lasting and durable peace on good basic foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine and would guarantee security of both countries.'
