Top stories: South Coast Rail arrives; free trees for Taunton residents, businesses
Top stories this past week included:
Richard Blanchette, 20, of Middleboro died last Thursday in a Massachusetts hospital as a result of his injuries from the crash on Somerset Avenue on Tuesday, March 18, District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn, III said in a written statement. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, as of this writing.
Republican Larry Quintal, a Taunton City Councilor and co-owner of Silva Funeral Home, has pulled papers to run for Carol Doherty's old state representative seat.
Taunton High School's Tiger Shack and Tiger Café have earned gold level certification from DECA's school-based enterprise (SBE) program for the 2024-2025 school year.
Greater Taunton area softball players to watch this spring. Plus: Greater Taunton area boys volleyball players to watch, and Greater Taunton area baseball players to watch.
The Falcons Wrestling Club sees growth both on and off the mat.
Mayor Shaunna O'Connell recently hosted Taunton's fourth annual Women's History Month celebration.
The Freetown Lakeville School Committee violated Massachusetts Open Meeting Law during a July 31, 2024 meeting, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office ruled in a March determination.
Harper Lane Brewery is planning a retro video game night.
Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School has been awarded a $43,800 grant to support student mental health and wellness.
What will parking and traffic conditions be like once the Whittenton Mills housing project is built? What we know, as of this writing.
The latest Greater Taunton real estate report, featuring a remodeled Raynham home that sold for $862,000. The house on Adam Lane features a huge primary bedroom, an updated kitchen and bathrooms, a two-car garage, and a large front yard. Check out this property, as well as other recent top-sellers.
These were the Top 5 stories of the past week, according to Gazette readers:
After a decades-long wait, South Coast Rail has arrived, and the trains are running over at the East Taunton station.
There was a kick-off ceremony at the station on March 24, attended by officials from all over the region and beyond.
Here's what the arrival of train travel means for Taunton, as well as a look at parking, schedules, and more.
'A win for the region': South Coast Rail finally arrives. What it means for Taunton.
Ever thought about a bike trail from Taunton to Gillette Stadium?
That could be a possibility, if several proposed projects move forward.
Here's what we know about the projects.
Taunton to Gillette Stadium by bike?: Why that could be a possibility with new rail trail
Residents and businesses residing in central Taunton are eligible for free trees, and they don't even have to plant them: the trees will be planted for you.
Since 2022, Taunton has been part of a statewide green landscaping program, Greening the Gateway Cities, to increase the number of trees in urban residential areas for cities considered "gateway cities."
Here's how to find out if you live in a planting zone, and how to get a free tree.
Want a free tree?: How Taunton residents can get one. Bonus: someone will plant it for you
Raynham resident Inge Pustelnikas, 89, became homeless by age 9 in her native city of Konigsberg, which was left in ruin by the Soviet Russian offensive into Germany, in April 1945, towards the end of World War II.
She became separated from her surviving family, including her mother and siblings, as she was forced to beg daily for food and shelter.
With no alternatives, she and many other young survivors of the war in that region wandered into neighboring Lithuania, looking for any kindness from people, living day-to-day, trying not to starve, be imprisoned by the Russians, or freeze to death.
She did that for 15 years, and history has given a name for the thousands of orphans and homeless children like her: "Wolfskinder," which is German for "Wolf Children."
This is her story of survival.
Story of survival: Raynham woman's remarkable story of surviving as a 'German Wolf Child.' What it was like
In response to Gov. Maura Healey's recently announced "Energy Affordability Agenda," State Sen. Kelly Dooner has called out the governor and urged her administration to support legislation the senator filed.
This is a look at the governor's plan, and the legislation that Dooner filed.
'Breadcrumbs': Taunton senator blasts guv's $50 electricity credit. Here's Dooner's plan
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Top stories: South Coast Rail arrives; free trees for residents
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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Social Security has existed for 90 years. Why it may be more threatened than ever.
Just as it has for decades, Social Security faces a looming shortfall in money to pay full benefits. Since President Trump took office the program has faced more tumult. Agency staffing has been slashed. Unions and advocacy groups concerned about sharing sensitive information have sued. Trump administration officials including the president for months falsely claimed millions of dead people were receiving Social Security benefits. Former top adviser Elon Musk called the program a potential 'Ponzi scheme.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Trump and other Republicans have said they will not cut Social Security benefits. Yet the program remains far from the sound economic system that FDR envisioned 90 years ago, due to changes made — and not made — under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Advertisement Here's a look at past and current challenges to Social Security, the proposed solutions and what it could take to shore up the program. The go-broke date has been moved up The so-called go-broke date — or the date at which Social Security will no longer have enough funds to pay full benefits — has been moved up to 2034, instead of last year's estimate of 2035. After that point, Social Security would only be able to pay 81% of benefits, according to an annual report released in June. The earlier date came as new legislation affecting Social Security benefits have contributed to earlier projected depletion dates, the report concluded. Advertisement The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden and enacted in January, had an impact. It repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions, increasing Social Security benefit levels for former public workers. Republicans' new tax legislation signed into law in July will accelerate the insolvency of Social Security, said Brendan Duke at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 'They haven't laid out an idea to fix it yet,' he said. The privatization conversation has been revived The notion of privatizing Social Security surfaced most recently when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this month said new tax-deferred investment accounts dubbed " Trump accounts " may serve as a " backdoor to privatization," though Treasury has walked back those comments. The public has been widely against the idea of privatizing Social Security since former President George W. Bush embarked on a campaign to pitch privatization of the program in 2005, through voluntary personal retirement accounts. The plan was not well-received by the public. Glenn Hubbard, a Columbia University professor and top economist in Bush's White House, told The Associated Press that Social Security needs to be reduced in size in order to maintain benefits for generations to come. He supports limiting benefits for wealthy retirees. 'We will have to make a choice,' Hubbard said. 'If you want Social Security benefits to look like they are today, we're going to have to raise everyone's taxes a lot. And if that's what people want, that's a menu, and you pay the high price and you move on.' Advertisement Another option would be to increase minimum benefits and slow down benefit growth for everyone else, which Hubbard said would right the ship without requiring big tax increases, if it's done over time. 'It's really a political choice,' he said, adding 'Neither one of those is pain free.' Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, is more worried that the administration of benefits could be privatized under Trump, rather than a move toward privatized accounts. The agency cut more than 7,000 from its workforce this year as part of the Department of Government Efficiency's effort to reduce the size of the government. Martin O'Malley, who was Social Security agency commissioner under Biden, said he thinks the problems go deeper. 'There is no openness and there is no transparency' at the agency, he said. 'And we hear about field offices teetering on the brink of collapse.' A Social Security Administration representative didn't respond to a request for comment. Concerns persist An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in April found that an increasing share of older Americans — particularly Democrats — support the program but aren't confident the benefit will be available to them when they retire. 'So much of what we hear is that its running out of money,' said Becky Boober, 70, from Rockport, Maine, who recently retired after decades in public service. She relies on Social Security to keep her finances afloat, is grateful for the program and thinks it should be expanded. 'In my mind there are several easy fixes that are not a political stretch,' she said. They include raising the income tax cap on high-income earners and possibly raising the retirement age, which is currently 67 for people born after 1960, though she is less inclined to support that change. Advertisement Some call for shrinking the program Rachel Greszler is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, the group behind the Project 2025 blueprint for Trump's second term. It called for an increase in the retirement age. Greszler says Social Security no longer serves its intended purpose of being a social safety net for low-income seniors and is far too large. She supports pursuing privatization, which includes allowing retirees to put their Social Security taxes into a personal investment account. She also argues for shrinking the program to a point where every retiree would receive the same Social Security benefit so long as they worked the same number of years, which she argues would increase benefits for the bottom one-third of earners. How this would impact middle-class earners is unclear. 'When talking about needing to reform the system, we need to reform it so that we don't have indiscriminate 23% across the board cuts for everybody,' Greszler said. 'We need to reform the system in a more thoughtful way, so that we are protecting those who are most vulnerable and reliant on Social Security.'
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
The Auctioneer and the Treasury Chief: How Billy Long Fell Short at the I.R.S.
The meeting between Billy Long and President Trump in the gilded Oval Office last month was supposed to mark a victory for both men. For Mr. Trump, the ceremonial swearing-in of Mr. Long to his role as the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service underscored that he at last had a political loyalist and friend, rather than the typical technocrat, at the head of the powerful tax agency. For Mr. Long, a former Republican congressman from Missouri, it signified the completion of a political comeback. After Mr. Long suffered a dismal showing in Missouri's 2022 Republican Senate primary, his unwavering and, at times, over-the-top support for Mr. Trump had finally panned out. As members of his family and close aides from his time in Congress looked on, he was put in charge of one of the federal government's most visible and fundamental agencies, responsible for collecting roughly $5 trillion in tax revenue each year. By all appearances, Mr. Long had the full support of the president, who had also invited him to a private lunch that day and structured the July 18 swearing-in around it. But within days, Mr. Long began to lose his grip on a job that he had held for barely a month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had already ousted one White House-installed I.R.S. commissioner this year. He would soon orchestrate the removal of another, culminating in the agency having its seventh leader since January. At the center of Mr. Bessent's concerns was the fact that Mr. Long had been trying to put together an independent plan for the I.R.S. without informing the Treasury Department, according to five people familiar with the matter. But Mr. Long's vision for the I.R.S. had at least in part been shaped by Mr. Trump. Over their lunch, Mr. Trump suggested people at the I.R.S. whom Mr. Long should fire, while Mr. Long told the president he wanted to elevate a Treasury staff member brought in as part of the Department of Government Efficiency, Sam Corcos, to become his No. 2. Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump's powerful aide, at one point stopped by the meeting. Soon after the lunch, the working relationship between Mr. Bessent, a multimillionaire former hedge fund manager, and Mr. Long, a former auctioneer without a college degree, began to break down. Mr. Long remarked to colleagues, as well as the president, that he had to ask Mr. Bessent for permission for everything he wanted to do at the I.R.S. Mr. Long said he wondered why he had been asked to do the job in the first place, according to people who heard the remark. Treasury officials, after some public gaffes from Mr. Long, began to doubt that he possessed the basic discipline to do the demanding and heavily scrutinized job. Several people in the president's orbit also questioned whether Mr. Long was up to the task. Over several weeks, Trump administration officials discussed alternative roles for Mr. Long, and eventually, Sergio Gor, the White House personnel director, informed Mr. Long that he would be moving to a new job, two people briefed on the matter said. Last Friday, Mr. Long said he would leave the I.R.S. and be nominated to become the next ambassador to Iceland. Mr. Long ultimately lasted less than two months at the I.R.S., the latest in a chaotic stretch at the tax agency. Mr. Bessent has temporarily taken over the position. In a statement in response to the reporting for this article, a White House spokesman, Harrison Fields, said that Mr. Long was a 'steadfast ally' and that the president was 'surrounded by highly talented patriots united in advancing his historic and successful agenda.' A Treasury spokesperson said Mr. Long's 'enthusiasm and ability to connect with people' had helped morale at the I.R.S. 'We appreciate his efforts to help kick-start the long overdue modernization of the technical systems within I.R.S. and implement President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill,' the spokesperson said. Mr. Long and the I.R.S. did not respond to requests for comment. This article is based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former officials at the I.R.S., at the Treasury, at the White House and on Capitol Hill who were granted anonymity to discuss the personnel changes. They described a territorial Treasury secretary in Mr. Bessent who has sought total control of the beleaguered I.R.S., a neophyte administrator in Mr. Long who stumbled during his brief tenure and a rudderless tax agency that is scrambling to execute on its mission amid the leadership turmoil and deep staff cuts this year. 'You say you're concerned about the debt and the deficit and at the same time you're creating chaos at the revenue collection agency,' said John Koskinen, who led the I.R.S. during the Obama and first Trump administrations. 'This is a complex system.' 'Upbeat, Friendly and Open' Mr. Long had almost no background in tax policy or running large organizations when he stepped into the I.R.S. job in mid-June after the Senate confirmed him along party lines. What he lacked in experience he seemed to try to make up for in charisma. He traveled to I.R.S. offices around the country and held early-morning office hours in Washington, inviting employees to sign up to meet with him individually for 10 minutes. He sent regular, playful missives to the full I.R.S. staff, telling workers about the books on leadership he was reading and repeatedly sending staff members home early on Friday, or 'FriYay,' as he called it. 'I used to teach a class on UFOs: 'Upbeat, Friendly and Open.' That's the way I plan to operate, and I hope you'll join me,' he wrote in his first email to the staff, which was viewed by The New York Times. For I.R.S. workers, Mr. Long's attitude was in some ways a welcome change. The period since Mr. Trump took office in January had been marked by upheaval and constant turmoil. In addition to the nearly constant reshuffling of the executive suite, the I.R.S. had also lost roughly 25,000 employees, a quarter of its staff, as the Trump administration razed the ranks of the federal work force. Mr. Long told employees that he did not want to even discuss the possibility of further large-scale staff cuts to the agency. There were still doubts among the rank and file, though. The only tax work Mr. Long had ever done was pitching small businesses, nonprofits and friends on a pair of tax credits — one riddled with fraud that the I.R.S. had been trying to close down and another that the agency has said does not exist. Under the handle @auctnr1, he posted on social media constantly, regularly amplifying posts from conservative accounts attacking Democrats and even I.R.S. employees. He had abruptly put on leave two senior I.R.S. officials targeted by conservative, anti-tax activists. His attempts to curry favor with the staff at times caused issues. I.R.S. managers were forced to scramble to schedule the early dismissals. Some employees continued to work overtime as they tried to clear a backlog of international tax returns and correspondence. 'He did not have a very good understanding of the organization or how it operates or the necessary steps to meet the mission,' said Doreen Greenwald, the president of the National Treasury Employees Union. 'So, that was concerning early on, but obviously I.R.S. employees care deeply about the success of the organization. They were willing to work with him.' He also made errors. At a conference of tax professionals in Utah in July, Mr. Long said next year's tax filing season would start later than normal, a sign of potential disarray at the agency that would come with real repercussions. Such a change would delay the ability of millions to receive their annual tax refunds, a vital source of cash for low-income Americans. He also said the agency's Direct File program, which allows Americans to file their taxes online with the I.R.S. for free, was dead. The agency had to walk back both remarks. A Power Struggle Mr. Long's statements in Utah added to frustrations at the Treasury Department, where there were concerns that the commissioner did not properly appreciate that the I.R.S. fell under the umbrella of the Treasury. The I.R.S. is the largest single component of the Treasury Department, making up more than 70 percent of its budget. But in the second Trump administration, officials from around the government have sought to tap into the tax agency's vast powers. The Department of Homeland Security has pushed the I.R.S. to share typically confidential taxpayer records it keeps on undocumented immigrants, a process that began last week after months of legal wrangling. Mr. Trump also called for the I.R.S. to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status, an attempt to use the agency's auditing powers to put pressure one of the president's political foils. In April, Mr. Bessent had to wrest control of the agency back from Elon Musk, who had Mr. Trump install a temporary commissioner at the I.R.S. without consulting the Treasury secretary. Mr. Bessent protested to Mr. Trump, who ultimately acquiesced, saying Mr. Bessent could fire Mr. Musk's pick, Gary Shapley, after he had led the I.R.S. for just a couple of days. The flap led to a physical confrontation between Mr. Bessent and Mr. Musk in the West Wing, according to multiple people briefed on what took place. Over his short tenure, Mr. Long made clear that he hoped to put his own mark on the job. He wanted to plan his own events, and in July he attended the National Auction Association's annual conference, held outside Chicago. Mr. Long, a member of the association's hall of fame, held a session at the conference, titled 'View From the I.R.S.' At one point, he auctioned off a tie that he had signed, with the proceeds going to charity. 'He's been doing that for as long as I can remember,' said Mike Jones, an auctioneer and friend of Mr. Long's who said he could not recall how much the tie had sold for. Mr. Long had at various points floated to Treasury employees the possibility of running the I.R.S. from his hometown in Springfield, Mo., according to people familiar with the remark. Just days before he would step down from the job last week, a phone call Mr. Long had set up with Representative Richard E. Neal, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, was abruptly rescheduled. An I.R.S. representative had told Mr. Neal's staff that Mr. Long could not be found in time for the original call. The I.R.S. is in the middle of trying to put in place the new tax law Republicans passed last month, a process that includes ironing out the final details of Mr. Trump's campaign promises to not tax overtime or tips, among others. That work is proceeding without Mr. Long, though plans to post a happy birthday message on the internal I.R.S. website for Mr. Long's 70th birthday on Monday were quietly abandoned. Mr. Long, for his part, has appeared unbothered by the quick end to his time running the I.R.S., writing on social media that he was 'thrilled' to be nominated to become the next ambassador to Iceland. Mr. Long has long celebrated just about everything about Mr. Trump, claiming to have coined the term 'Trump train' and distributing fake $45 bills with the president's face during his first term. 'I was never much of a fighter, but I'm loyal to a fault,' Mr. Long wrote to I.R.S. employees on July 25. 'Loyal to my family, my employees partners and my industry. I will stand up and fight for those I'm loyal to.' Alan Rappeport contributed reporting from Washington.
Politico
5 hours ago
- Politico
Sherrod Brown's never-ending crypto headache
Editor's note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. Quick Fix Remember the Senate Banking Committee of 2022? The cryptocurrency industry — then beleaguered by scandals, lawsuits, and unfriendly lawmakers — doesn't want to. And crypto firms may again drop a bomb of super PAC money on Ohio to keep it from coming back. As your host reports in a new story out this morning, crypto campaign cash is looming over former Banking Chair Sherrod Brown's Senate comeback bid in the Buckeye State. A deep-pocketed super PAC funded by crypto companies that spent more than $40 million to help defeat Brown during his failed 2024 re-election campaign could once again pose a major problem for the Ohio Democrat as he seeks to return to the Senate in next year's midterms. Defeating Brown, a longtime thorn in the side for both Wall Street and the crypto sector who was a big roadblock to industry-friendly digital asset legislation as chair of the committee, was the biggest win last year for the crypto PAC network, known as Fairshake. Its 2024 crusade featured more than $130 million in spending across a swath of House and Senate races, which helped turn around the industry's fortunes in Washington. The PAC network has replenished its war chest with more than $140 million ahead of 2026, and it is already signaling that Brown could again be a target. 'Last year, voters sent a clear message that the Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren agenda was deeply out of touch with Ohio values,' Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said in a statement. 'We will continue to support pro-crypto candidates and oppose anti-crypto candidates, in Ohio and nationwide.' As chair of the banking panel from 2021 to 2025, Brown often warned that digital assets open the door to illicit finance and money laundering, and he stood in the way of GOP-led proposals aimed at boosting the sector. Crypto firms capitalized on his political vulnerability in 2024, when he was one of only two Democratic incumbents running in states won by President Donald Trump. Fairshake — which is funded primarily by the crypto firms Coinbase and Ripple and the venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz — spent more money on his Ohio race than any other contest it meddled in. The PAC plastered ads across the state boosting Republican Bernie Moreno, a crypto enthusiast and car dealer who defeated Brown and now sits on the banking panel himself. It is unclear if Brown would retain his seniority and replace Warren as the committee's Democratic leader. Senate Democrats' current rules stipulate that seniority is defined by a member's most recent entry into the conference, meaning that 'the seniority of a Member with interrupted service or service in another Party does not date from that Member's initial entrance into the Senate.' But Democratic leaders could seek to change those rules or grant an exception to Brown, who was their top recruit for the Ohio race. Regardless, crypto lobbyists worry that Brown could pose problems for them if he returns — especially given the brute-force tactics the industry has used to try to take him out. And his opponent, Republican Jon Husted, has been a reliably industry-friendly vote. Husted campaign spokesperson Tyson Shepard said in a statement that if Brown enters the race, 'he will be starting in the biggest hole of his political career,' dubbing him Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's 'handpicked candidate.' Ohio Democrats hope a more favorable national environment will help propel Brown next year. 'Crypto can come in again and do whatever they're going to do,' said Jerry Austin, a longtime Democratic strategist in the state. 'I think they've shot their wad. And if they want to come back and do it again, I think a lot of things have happened between the last election and now, and that is what Trump's been doing in Ohio and the rest of the country.' It's THURSDAY — Send Capitol Hill tips to jgoodman@ For econ policy thoughts, Wall Street tips, personnel moves or general insights, email Sam at ssutton@ Driving the day Labor will release the Producer Price Index for July at 8:30 a.m. … The Securities and Exchange Commission has a closed meeting at 1 p.m. … Rate cut watch — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by half a percentage point when it meets next month, Bloomberg reports. 'I think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,' Bessent said on Bloomberg TV. 'Any model,' he said, suggests 'we should probably be 150, 175 basis points lower.' New York v. Zelle — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sued the operator of Zelle, accusing the bank-owned payment platform of facilitating widespread fraud and failing to protect consumers, our Michael Stratford writes. The lawsuit against Early Warning Services, which runs the popular peer-to-peer payment network, revives similar allegations that were dropped earlier this year by the Trump administration's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A Zelle spokesperson said New York's lawsuit was a 'political stunt to generate press, not progress.' ICYMI — Why Trump's BLS pick is in for a fight, via Sam Sutton and Nick Niedzwiadek At the regulators Treasury waives sanctions for Trump-Putin summit — The Treasury Department is temporarily easing its sweeping sanctions program targeting Russia to allow activities needed to carry out Trump's historic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. The order, signed on Wednesday, underscores the complex logistics involved in hosting Putin and other Russian officials who are cut off from the U.S. financial system. Treasury greenlit transactions that would otherwise be prohibited if they're 'ordinarily incident and necessary to the attendance at or support of meetings' in Alaska between the U.S. and Russian governments. The reprieve lasts through Aug. 20, and it explicitly prohibits the unblocking of any frozen Russian assets or other property. On The Hill Strange bedfellows — A coalition of groups that are normally on opposing sides in financial regulatory policy fights is calling on lawmakers to change a section of the recently enacted stablecoin law that it says allows state-chartered uninsured depository institutions to operate nationwide without proper supervision. A letter sent to lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday led by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors said the GENIUS Act 'allows any state-chartered uninsured depository institution with a stablecoin subsidiary to perform traditional (i.e., not solely related to payment stablecoins) money transmission and custody activities nationwide through that subsidiary, thereby bypassing host state licensing and allowing substantially less state oversight.' The letter was signed by bank trade associations including the American Bankers Association and consumer groups including Americans for Financial Reform. 'This unprecedented overriding of state law and supervision weakens vital consumer protections, creates opportunities for regulatory arbitrage, and undermines state sovereignty,' the letter said. Outbound investment on the big stage –– From our Katherine Hapgood: House Financial Services National Security Subcommittee Chair Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that as Congress considers their proposal for the Defense Production Act, they will have to wait on a potential outbound investment addition, as it will most likely be a part of Trump's trade negotiations with China. 'We have a strong sense from the administration, they would rather have a threat of very harsh outbound investment criteria than finished outbound investment criteria, because they're also hopeful for a positive outcome in the negotiations,' Davidson told Katherine after the subcommittee's field hearing on the DPA. Davidson said he also wants to decouple the legislation from the annual appropriations deadline for 'more floor time' to modernize the DPA, and let trade negotiations play out. He said he is eyeing June for the revamped DPA reauthorization. Bessent endorses congressional stock trading ban — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling for a ban on single-stock trading by members of Congress, our Gregory Svirnovskiy and Meredith Lee Hill write. Trade Bessent dismisses Nvidia deal concerns — Bessent on Wednesday brushed off concerns about Trump's decision to charge Nvidia for a government license to export semiconductor chips to China, our Doug Palmer and Ari Hawkins report. 'There are no national security concerns here' because the H20 chips are not the most advanced chips that Nvidia makes, Bessent said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. His comments come despite criticism from former officials and members of Congress. Jobs report Anastasia Dellaccio is joining the Digital Chamber, a crypto trade group, as executive director of state and regional affairs. She is an alum of the Export-Import Bank.
