Mike Lee shares, then deletes fake resignation letter by Fed chair
Reality check: Powell had not resigned as of Tuesday afternoon.
The seal on the letter Lee shared was not the authentic Federal Reserve seal, with misspelled words and non-alphabetic characters.
Driving the news: Lee, a Republican, posted an image of the letter on X with the message, "🚨 Powell's Out! 🚨," per a screengrab shared by Politico's Jordain Carney.
Lee then deleted it "out of an abundance of caution," he told The Hill's Alex Bolton.
The senator's office did not immediately respond to Axios' query.
Context: President Trump and Powell have been feuding over interest rates; Powell has refused to lower them, citing inflation risks created by Trump's tariffs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
a few seconds ago
- CNBC
Stock futures rise as U.S.-EU trade deal kicks off a hectic week for markets: Live updates
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2025. Jeenah Moon | Reuters U.S. equity futures rose on Sunday evening as Wall Street prepared for an especially busy week that'll bring earnings from several major tech companies, a key Federal Reserve meeting, President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 tariff deadline and key inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 161 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures were also higher by 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.5%. The move comes after Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. has reached an agreement with the European Union to lower tariffs to 15%. The president had previously threatened 30% tariffs on most imported goods from the U.S.'s largest trading partner. Wall Street is also coming off a winning week fueled by strong earnings and recent deals between the U.S. and other trading partners, including Japan and Indonesia. On Friday, all three of the major averages finished the day and week with gains. The blue-chip Dow climbed 208.01 points, or 0.47%, to settle at 44,901.92. The broad market S&P 500 gained 0.40% to close at 6,388.64, marking its fifth consecutive day of closing records and 14th record close of the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.24% to 21,108.32 for its 15th record close of the year. "A healthy plethora of earnings beats, positive developments in U.S.-Japan trade relations, strong capex commentary, and a bullish "AI Action Plan" kept the enthusiasm of weeks' past stronger than ever," Nick Savone of Morgan Stanley's Institutional Equity Division said in a note over the weekend. "As we push through the bulk of S&P 500 companies still due to report, the lower bar heading into this season has admittedly kept spirits high, but stock reactions still look most principally rooted in forward guidance — especially as investors brace, time and again, for the impact of these trade headlines to flow through." The market is gearing up for the busiest week of earnings season. More than 150 companies in the S&P 500 are due to post their quarterly results, including "Magnificent Seven" names Meta Platforms and Microsoft on Wednesday, followed by Amazon and Apple on Thursday. Investors will be listening for companies' comments on AI spending for direction on whether big investments in hyperscalers this year are justified. This week, the Fed will also hold its two-day policy meeting, concluding on Wednesday. Although the central bank is expected to keep interest rates at their current target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, investors will be looking for clues about whether a rate cut could be on the table at the September meeting. Tariffs and their effect on inflation will remain in focus on Thursday as traders get the June personal consumption expenditures price (PCE) index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. The report is expected to show inflation rising to 2.4% from 2.3% year-over-year, according to FactSet, and to 0.31% from 0.14% on a monthly basis. Investors will also get a batch of jobs-related data this week, including the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, on Tuesday, ADP's private payrolls report on Wednesday, initial jobless claims Thursday and, on Friday, the critical July jobs report. Economists polled by FactSet anticipate the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in July, down from 147,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to show a slight bump to 4.2% from 4.1%.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
GOP leans into Trump administration's Obama accusations
Some Republican lawmakers on Sunday platformed the administration's recent claims that Obama-era officials waged a Russia-related conspiracy against President Trump — but stopped short of endorsing the president's allegations of "treason." The big picture: Trump is again bemoaning a years-long grudge against the widely held conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, following new accusations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of a " treasonous conspiracy" from former President Barack Obama to sabotage Trump's first term. The initial accusations centered around findings from the Obama-era intelligence community that Russia didn't alter vote tallies by hacking election infrastructure. But as Axios' Zachary Basu and Tal Axelrod note, no serious investigation ever claimed Russia changed them. Last week, Gabbard declassified a report from 2020 that she alleges proves the Obama administration "conspired to subvert the will of the American people" and engaged in a "years-long coup against" Trump. In a rare rebuke, a spokesperson for Obama slammed the administration's claims as "a weak attempt at distraction." Driving the news: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for an investigation into the matter Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If there is evidence of a crime being committed or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," he said. "I think that's the best way to go." Asked by NBC's Kristen Welker whether the new controversy was an attempt to distract from the ongoing fallout from the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Graham argued he was trying to shed light on "something we didn't know before." The other side: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, slammed Gabbard as a "weapon of mass distraction" on "Fox News Sunday," arguing there was "no new information" released. "It's new to you, but all of this information has been available to the House Intelligence Committee, including in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, when all these investigations and reviews were done under the first Trump administration," Crow said, later adding that no information had been "purposefully hidden." In 2020, a Republican-led Senate panel affirmed the intelligence committee's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election and preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. Zoom in: But Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), the chair of the House Intel Committee, slammed what he called the "Russia collusion hoax" in a "Fox News Sunday" interview, describing it as "a fraud perpetrated on the American people at the expense of President Trump." But "with regard to the claims of treason, I'll leave that to the courts to make that determination," he noted. The bottom line: As Trump launches fresh attacks against his predecessors, questions about his administration's handling of the disgraced financier's case are still rippling through Washington. The competing narratives of the ongoing Epstein fallout, over which the president has cried "hoax," and the reinvigorated anger over the Russia investigation are in many ways both rooted in Trump's vision of a "witch hunt" that's plagued his political career, Axios' Basu notes. Trump quickly seized on the Obama storyline, sharing a seemingly AI-generated video of the former president being arrested earlier this month, and more recently, an edited photo of himself pursuing Obama in a car chase.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Ex-MSNBC host Chris Matthews says ‘country is moving towards Trump' — refuting recent polls
Ex-MSNBC host Chris Matthews contends President Trump is winning over a majority of Americans despite nationwide polls showing his cratering approval ratings. The liberal former 'Hardball' host refuted recent polls from Gallup and CNN that put Trump's approval rating at 37% and 41%, respectively, just above his all-time low after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 6 Ex-MSNBC host Chris Matthews contends President Trump is winning over a majority of Americans. Charlie Rose/Youtube Advertisement 6 President Donald Trump strikes a gavel after signing a new tax and immigration bill. BONNIE CASH/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock 'To be honest with you, the country is moving towards Trump,' Matthews told journalist Charlie Rose on Saturday. 'These polls, they come out and show him not doing well — I don't buy that. 'His strength is still greater than the Democratic strength. He is a stronger public figure than the Democratic people,' Matthews said. '[Former President Barack] Obama still has tremendous charisma — but Trump has strength. And I think that's what all voters look for,' he said. 'They want a president who is a strong figure. And he's got it. It's just there. And half the country buys it.' Advertisement While Matthews vouched for Trump's popularity, polls show that overall support for the president is waning after six months into his second term. 6 While Matthews vouched for Trump's popularity, polls show that overall support for the president is waning after six months into his second term. AFP via Getty Images 6 'His strength is still greater than the Democratic strength. He is a stronger public figure than the Democratic people,' Matthews said. Charlie Rose/Youtube Advertisement 6 Trump recently bragged about the numbers as a way to show that he remains unfazed by growing scrutiny over his administration's handling of the case involving late sex predator Jeffery Epstein. AP Along with Gallup and CNN, the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in July put Trump's approval ratings at just 40%, lower than those of recent presidents during the start of their second terms. But Trump has maintained popular support among his Republican base, with a CNN poll finding that 88% of GOPers still back the president, with Quinnipiac putting that figure as high as 90%, a small uptick from prior surveys. Trump recently bragged about the numbers as a way to show that he remains unfazed by growing scrutiny over his administration's handling of the case involving late sex predator Jeffery Epstein. Advertisement 'My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain 'troublemakers,'' Trump boasted on Truth Social. 6 President Trump stepping on stage deliver remarks at the Salute to America Celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on July 3, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Matthews' Saturday's remarks were not the first time the left-leaning politico has backed Trump since leaving MSNBC in 2020. In April, the former host touted the president over his handling of Harvard University after allegations that the Ivy League school allowed antisemitism to run rampant on its campus. Matthews said Trump and his administration were 'smart' to go after the college's grant money, saying it sent the right message to the country amid record-high levels of antisemitism.
