MAGA Antitrust Agenda Under Siege by Lobbyists Close to Trump
The injection of politically-connected lobbyists and lawyers into antitrust investigations is a shift in an arena that for decades was a niche area dominated by specialized lawyers and economists.
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8 minutes ago
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US Sen. Ruben Gallego tours Iowa State Fair but dodges talk of 2028 run for president
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona toured the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Aug. 8, speaking to Democrats about winning back seats in the 2026 midterms and drawing a crowd of national reporters curious about his 2028 presidential prospects. Gallego's message for Iowa Democrats, in between visits to the butter cow and flipping pork burgers at the Iowa Pork Producers Tent, was to focus on working-class issues, "stop going for the easy votes" and reach out to Republicans. "We have to get out to these rural areas or suburban areas, wherever it is where we're maybe not winning Republicans, and we have to actually start having conversations with them," he said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. "And focus on what they want to talk about. Not what makes us comfortable to talk about." Gallego defeated Republican Kari Lake in 2024 to win his seat in the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Latino senator to represent Arizona. Before that, he served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. "The reason we got Trump-Gallego voters in Arizona is because we talked about border security," he said. "And we talked about the cost of living and how things were going bad and we needed to work on it instead of being in denial and hoping that we would win." 'Too early' to talk about running for president, Gallego says Gallego's visit to Iowa comes amid a string of his visits around the country that have sparked speculation about a potential bid for president in 2028. More: Why Arizona's Sen. Ruben Gallego is 2028 presidential longshot as he heads to Iowa Gallego will travel to New Hampshire, the traditional leadoff presidential primary state, on Aug. 22. His stops will include the Politics & Eggs breakfast, a staple for presidential candidates, as well as a town hall and a fundraiser, according to WMUR. In May, he held a town hall in Pennsylvania, a key swing state. In his interview with the Register, Gallego acknowledged that, "yes, I've been prepped" to be asked about whether he'll run for president in 2028. "Too early," he said. "Right now, the most important thing is, I need some help in the House and in the Senate. I know how to help Democrats win in really hard states. That's what we're here to do." Gallego also noted that he has a 7-week-old son, his third child, and "that's going to be the focus for the next couple of years." Asked if that meant he was ruling out a presidential bid in 2028, Gallego deflected the question with a joke about U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's viral town hall comments about Medicaid. "I mean, like, who knows what the hell is going to happen in the next couple of years, right?" he said. "As Joni Ernst said, we could all be dead, too." Past tweet disparaging Iowa Caucuses 'not my finest moment,' Gallego says But his visit to the fair was also dogged by conservative activists from Turning Point USA seeking to draw attention to past social media posts Gallego made disparaging the Iowa Caucuses. "F--- caucuses," he posted on Feb. 4, 2020. "Iowa failed time to move on. #IowaCaucuses." "Love my friends in Iowa and New Hampshire, but time to move on," he wrote in another post on Feb. 14, 2021. "South Carolina and Nevada should start the primaries." Gallego said he made the post because he was frustrated by the fact that the results of the caucuses were not known for weeks after the app failed that the Iowa Democratic Party was using to report precinct results. "The tweet was definitely not my finest moment," he said. "However, you know, it was mostly focusing on the results of that day." National Democrats stripped Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status following the 2020 election, although the party may revisit the presidential nominating calendar before the 2028 election. More: Iowa House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer calls for his party to hold caucuses first in 2028 Gallego said Democrats' presidential nominating calendar will be determined by the Democratic National Committee. "Look, the DNC's got to figure out the calendar. If Iowa is back in front, then it's Iowa," he said. "But overall, fighting for people like here in Iowa or Arizona or anywhere else, you know, we have shared needs, and we have some shared threats," he added. "Like, right now, what's the threat? People are getting kicked off of Medicaid. People are going to get kicked off food stamps." Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said voters will decide whether Gallego's past comments about the caucuses are a dealbreaker if he decides to run for higher office. "It's up to the voters," she said. "But I would tell you that I talked to him about that. And, you know, I think he recognizes that he was running his mouth, right? And that's one reason why it's really great that he's here in Iowa, because maybe this will give him a different attitude going forward." She said she's "thrilled" candidates such as Gallego are interested in coming to Iowa. "We've had a lot of conversation about Iowa's place in the big picture of first-in-the-nation, etc.," she said. "And candidates get it. They know that Iowa is the place to come. We have a such a strong reputation of being the place where you come to be vetted by honest to goodness ordinary citizens who are smart and savvy and are paying attention, and it gives you an idea of what the pulse of the nation is." Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann issued a statement calling Iowa Democrats "out of touch" for welcoming Gallego and saying Iowans "don't need lectures" from him. "Ruben Gallego trashed the Iowa Caucuses, mocked our farmers, and then voted against tax cuts on tips, bigger paychecks and financial relief for seniors," Kaufmann said. "Now he wants a photo‑op at the State Fair? Iowans know better, he's out of touch and out of his depth." Gallego rounds out Iowa State Fair with butter cow visit, pork burger flipping Despite his deflections, Gallego's day at the fair had all the hallmarks of a presidential condender's visit. Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen took Gallego to try an apple eggroll at her Applishus stand before he kicked off his official schedule by answering questions from reporters. Gallego walked around the fairgrounds with Hart and state Sen. Matt Blake, D-Urbandale. As he strolled, he and Blake chatted about their kids and their military service, and Gallego got some advice about the "science" behind where to stand to get the best picture with the butter cow. "There's a science?" he asked. After seeing the butter cow, Gallego tried an egg on a stick — another Iowa State Fair staple. "Needs a little salsa," he said, before dipping it in some Cookies BBQ seasoning that a volunteer offered him. He stopped to take selfies with several Democratic volunteers at the party's booth in the Varied Industries Building. And he completed his fair tour with a visit to the Iowa Pork Producers Tent to flip pork burgers. At the end of the day, he hinted that it might not be his last visit to Iowa. "You're going to have competitive races no matter what," he said. "I think you're going to have competitive Senate candidates and House candidates and governors. And if they ask me to come back again, yeah, I'll come back again." Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@ or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ruben Gallego visits the Iowa State Fair, raising questions about 2028
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chicago Bears call on state legislature to pass bill and provide momentum for suburban stadium
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren said Friday the team requires a big push from the state legislature to reach its goal of digging for a new stadium in Arlington Heights sometime this year. The Bears have the plans drawn up for the indoor stadium but need a mega bill to pass in Springfield in October to supply momentum for the construction. 'The biggest item that remains, that has remained, is the fact that this mega project build that was on the docket in the spring but was not put forth for a vote, but it is very, very important that it passes,' Warren said. 'Because without that legislation, we are not able to proceed forward. 'We stand ready. The stadium is designed.' Warren said team officials have been meeting with Arlington Heights village Mayor Jim Tinaglia on the project, which is their only target site. Over three years they fluctuated from Arlington Heights to Chicago and now back to Arlington Heights. The bill the Bears want to see passed would freeze property taxes for large-scale construction projects like the stadium. Warren maintains the bill could create 56,000 jobs during construction and 9,000 permanent jobs. 'So, if that bill passes in October there are items we have to work on and obviously there is a process you have to follow with the village of Arlington Heights from an approval process,' Warren said. 'But obviously they are committed. 'The goal would still be to be in a position to move dirt this year. There's still work, some initial work that needs to be done to get the site ready, but to hopefully break ground next year formally but to actually move dirt this year.' Warren has said it would take three years for the stadium to be built once ground is broken. The Bears are devoting about $2.7 billion to the project on their own property at the old Arlington International Racecourse. Bears owner George McCaskey said he hasn't become frustrated with the political process of getting the stadium built. 'These things take time,' McCaskey said. 'It's on us to convince the governor and the state legislators that this is a good idea for the people of Illinois and we need to do a better job at that.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3 reasons gold broke through another fresh record high
Gold continued its record-breaking rally early Friday, briefly rising as high as $3,534 an ounce. Analysts say the main catalyst was a report that gold bars would be subject to tariffs. The precious metal has also gotten a boost from geopolitical tensions and economic concerns. It's a glittering year for gold. The precious metal broke through another record high on Friday, briefly rising to $3,534 before paring its gains. At its peak, gold prices were up 32% from levels at the start of the year — far outstripping the S&P 500's 8% year-to-date gain. Analysts on Wall Street are pointing to three catalysts that drove the latest leg up: 1. Trump's tariffs The US specified that gold bars are subject to tariffs, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing documents it reviewed from the Customs and Border Protection agency. A ruling letter dated July 31 from the agency said that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars would be grouped under a customs code that would subject to levies, the outlet said. That means gold bars could be subject to the 39% tariff on goods from Switzerland, which is one of the world's largest producer of gold bars. "The White House intends to issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products," a White House official told Business Insider in an email. Markets had previously assumed gold bars would be exempt from reciprocal tariffs, Helen Amos, a commodities analyst at BMO, wrote in a note on Friday. Trump's original Liberation Day announcement included a separate customs code that said "non-monetary gold, unwrought, in the form of bullion and dore" would be exempt from import duties, she noted. "If true, US citizens who tried to hedge the inflation impact of US President Trump's trade taxes by buying gold bars must pay those same taxes on their hedge. The ruling suggests gold imported between 9 April and 7 August was subject to tariff," Paul Donovan, the chief economist at UBS, wrote in a note. 2. Geopolitical tensions Tensions between the US, Russia, and China are fueling gold's rally, according to Samer Hasn, a senior market analyst at Hasn pointed to Trump's attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, which has involved imposing steep tariffs on some of Russia's top trading partners, like India, and threatening to impose secondary sanctions on Russia if a ceasefire isn't achieved by Friday. China, another of Russia's top trading partners, has also yet to reach a trade deal with the US, despite the looming August 12 deadline before higher tariffs take effect. "As a result, the coming hours and days may play a key role in shaping market dynamics. Should negotiations with China and India falter, and no ceasefire in Ukraine materialize, geopolitical tensions could escalate beyond tariff threats alone. Such an outcome could renew the risk premium on safe-haven assets and most notably gold," Hasn wrote in a note. 3. Concerns about the US economy To top it off, investors have been fretting over the strength of the US economy, which has been flashing key signs of weakness despite robust GDP growth over the second quarter. Most recently, cracks have been appearing in the job market, with the US adding fewer jobs than expected in July. Job growth over the months of May and June, meanwhile, saw a large downward revision, signaling that hiring has been weaker than markets originally thought. That, combined with several inflation metrics ticking higher, has stoked fear among some investors that the US could be headed toward stagflation, a scenario where inflation remains hot and growth slows. That situation is thought to be even worse for policymakers to solve than a typical recession, as high prices prevent the central bank from cutting rates to give the economy a boost. "Even conservative platforms are increasingly voicing concern about long-term consequences and the false sense of optimism some economic figures may convey. Lingering concerns among investors are likely to continue supporting gold as a long-term safe-haven asset and sustain its broader upward momentum," Hasn said. Wall Street forecasters are generally bullish on gold, as uncertainty stemming from Trump's tariffs continues to loom over the US economy. In April, Goldman Sachs lifted its year-end gold forecast to $3,700, implying 6% upside for the precious metal from current levels. Ed Yardeni, a market veteran and the president of Yardeni Research, said he believed gold could climb as high as $4,000 by the end of 2025, implying a 14% increase. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
