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Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Polling Hits New Low, as He Loses Independent Support
President Donald Trump calls on a reporter during an Oval Office meeting at the White House on July 22, 2025. Credit - Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images President Donald Trump's approval rating slid further Thursday, hitting a new low during his second term of 37% among U.S. adults, according to Gallup, as he continues losing support from independent voters. Independents rated him most poorly on his handling of the budget, Ukraine and foreign trade. Trump's standing among partisans hasn't shifted. Gallup found that his support from Republicans has stayed steady at around 89% and his approval from Democrats remained in the single digits, falling slightly to 2% in July. Gallup's pollsters spoke to voters in the two weeks after Trump signed into law his signature spending bill—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That law included tax cuts, and increased funds for immigration enforcement, the military and U.S. fossil fuel production. It also included funding cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Among independents, Trump's lowest approvals came in for his handling of the federal budget, at 19%, and the war in Ukraine, at 24%. Twenty seven percent of independents approved of his handling of foreign trade and the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. His handling of the economy found 29% approval among independents. Trump's overall approval among independent voters declined to 29% down from 46% when he took office six months ago. Trump's Gallup approval rating during his first term peaked at 49% in May 2020 and fell to its lowest level at 34% during his final weeks in office in January 2021. The new approval rating comes as Trump grapples with concerns from Republican supporters about his administration's refusal to release more files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. On Wednesday, three House Republicans on the House Oversight Committee broke with GOP leaders and agreed with Democrats to subpoena Justice Department records from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The committee also agreed to issue a subpoena for a deposition from Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted for her role in a sex trafficking conspiracy with Epstein, and requested testimony from high-profile figures including President Bill Clinton, former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. Trump has tried to change the subject for days, but with little effect. On Tuesday in the Oval Office, he revived a long-time grievance against former President Barack Obama, saying, without evidence, that Obama committed treason for his handling of investigations into Russia's attempt to influence the 2016 election, which Trump won. On Sunday night, Trump launched a flurry of online posts on Truth Social calling for the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Commanders football teams to return to their earlier names, posted clips of people doing dangerous stunts, and shared a fake AI-generated video of Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may have found a way to achieve his goal of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: by accusing him of mismanaging the U.S. central bank's $2.5 billion building renovation project. The push comes after a monthslong campaign by Trump to try to rid himself of the politically independent central banker, who has resisted the Republican president's calls to slash interest rates out of concerns about the administration's tariffs sparking higher levels of inflation. The Supreme Court recently signaled that Trump can't fire Powell simply because the president disagrees with him on interest rates. But legally he could do so 'for cause,' such as misconduct or dereliction of duty. Trump has seized on that provision, indicating that Powell's handling of an extensive renovation project on two Fed buildings in Washington could be grounds to take the unprecedented and possibly legally dubious step of firing him. The project has been underway for years, going back to Trump's first term. But it only recently caught the White House's attention. Last week, when asked if he thought the building renovation was a 'firing offense,' Trump said, 'I think it is.' But he later added that it was 'highly unlikely' that he would ultimately remove Powell before his term expires in May 2026. The risk of the Fed losing its political independence could undermine America's financial markets, possibly leading to a meltdown in stocks and investors charging a premium to lend to the U.S. economy. Here's what to know: Ousting Powell risks setting off market panic The Fed chair has been an obstacle in Trump's efforts to gain total control over the executive branch. Powell and his board have the dual mandate of maximizing employment and keeping prices stable, a task that can require them to make politically unpopular moves such as raising interest rates to hold inflation in check. The general theory is that keeping the Fed free from the influence of the White House — other than for nominations of Fed officials — allows it to fulfill its mission based on what the economy needs, instead of what a politician wants. An attempt to remove Powell from his job before his term ends would undercut the Fed's long-standing independence from day-to-day politics and could lead to higher inflation, higher interest rates and a weaker economy. The Fed's main headquarters is over 90 years old The Fed says its main headquarters, known as the Marriner S. Eccles building, was in dire need of an upgrade because its electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, among others, are nearly obsolete and some date back to the building's construction in the 1930s. The renovation will also remove asbestos, lead and other hazardous elements and update the building with modern electrical and communications systems. The H-shaped building, named after a former Fed chair in the 1930s and '40s, is located near some of Washington's highest-profile monuments and has references to classical architecture and marble in the facades and stonework. The central bank is also renovating a building next door that it acquired in 2018. The Fed says there has been periodic maintenance to the structures but adds this is the first 'comprehensive renovation.' The renovation costs have ballooned over the years Trump administration officials have criticized the Fed over the project's expense, which has reached $2.5 billion, about $600 million more than was originally budgeted. Like a beleaguered homeowner facing spiraling costs for a remodeling project, the Fed cites many reasons for the greater expense. Construction costs, including for materials and labor, rose sharply during the inflation spike in 2021 and 2022. More asbestos needed to be removed than expected. Washington's local restrictions on building heights forced it to build underground, which is pricier. In 2024, the Fed's board canceled its planned renovations of a third building because of rising costs. The Fed says the renovations will reduce costs 'over time' because it will be able to consolidate its roughly 3,000 Washington-based employees into fewer buildings and will no longer need to rent as much extra space as it does now. White House budget director calls renovations 'ostentatious' Russ Vought, the administration's top budget adviser, wrote Powell a letter that said Trump is 'extremely troubled' about the Fed's 'ostentatious overhaul' of its facilities. The Fed's renovation plans call for 'rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more," Vought said in last week's letter. Powell has disputed the claims, which were given wide circulation in a paper issued by the Mercatus Center, a think tank at George Mason University, in March 2025. The paper was written by Andrew Levin, an economist at Dartmouth College and former Fed staffer. 'There's no VIP dining room," Powell said last month during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. 'There's no new marble. ... There are no special elevators. There are no new water features. ... And there's no roof terrace gardens.' Some of those elements were removed from initial building plans submitted in 2021, the Fed says. White House also takes issue with the Fed reducing its renovation costs The Fed's changes to its building plans have opened it up to another line of attack: White House officials suggest the Fed violated the terms of the approval it received from a local planning commission by changing its plans. In its September 2021 approval of the project, the National Capital Planning Commission said it 'Commends' the Fed for 'fully engaging partner federal agencies.' But because the Fed changed its plans, the administration is indicating it needed to go back to the commission for a separate approval. Essentially, White House officials are saying Powell is being reckless with taxpayer money because of the cost of the renovation, but they are also accusing him of acting unethically by scaling back the project to save money. James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff whom Trump named to the commission, said in a post on X that Powell's June congressional testimony "leads me to conclude the project is not in alignment with plans submitted to & approved by the National Capital Planning Commission in 2021.' Blair said he intends to review materials from the Fed on how the approved 2021 renovation plans have changed and circulate a letter among his colleagues on the commission that would go to Fed officials. The Fed has asked for an independent review of the project The central bank says, in a series of frequently asked questions on its website, that it is "not subject to the direction' of the commission and has only complied with its directives voluntarily. Instead, the Fed said it is accountable to the Senate and the House of Representatives and is overseen by an independent inspector general, not the White House. Powell has asked the inspector general to review the costs of the renovation project. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the Federal Reserve System at Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Commentary: Paramount is now battling Trump and Colbert — and all of Colbert's friends
There's a new entrant in the annals of corporate hole-digging: Media titan Paramount, which owns CBS, recently said it's canceling the top-rated "Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Paramount said it needs to cancel the Colbert show for 'financial reasons' and leaked reports likely sourced to the company suggest the show loses around $40 million per year. But the decision reeks of Trumpian subterfuge, putting Paramount in the fraught corporate position of picking sides in one of President Trump's many disputes over business and cultural priorities. Paramount hopes to merge this year with media firm Skydance to help stabilize its finances and ease the transition from legacy media behemoth to a nimbler streaming operation. The two companies agreed on the $8 billion deal last year, when Joe Biden was still president. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the deal in February. The Federal Communications Commission must also sign off since it involves the transfer of broadcast licenses. When Trump took office in January, the FCC's sign-off on the merger was 'widely seen as a formality,' as Deadline reported in April. But Trump had other ideas. In January, he appointed loyalist Brendan Carr to the commission's top job. Then he converted the formerly independent agency into an arm of the White House's policy and political operations. 'The chairman of the FCC has cagily created a new and coercive technique for operating outside the agency's established statutes and procedures to attack corporate decisions he and Donald Trump do not like,' former FCC commissioner Tom Wheeler, now of the Brookings Institution, wrote earlier this year. 'Prime targets are media company editorial decisions.' One of Carr's first moves as Trump's FCC boss was opening an investigation into the CBS news show "60 Minutes," which Trump sued last year as an individual. Trump claimed that the show distorted a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris, Trump's foe in the presidential election, to give her favorable treatment. No evidence ever emerged of CBS aiding Harris. But earlier this month, Paramount and CBS agreed to settle the Trump lawsuit for $16 million. The Los Angeles Times and other news organizations have reported that Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of umbrella company Paramount Global, has pushed her executives to settle with Trump. Redstone and her family stand to net about $1.75 billion from the Skydance deal. So she has a clear interest in pushing barriers to the deal out of the way. The FCC still hasn't approved the Paramount-Skydance merger, which may be where Colbert joins the saga. The cheeky host roasts Trump regularly on his show and is far more political than David Letterman, whom he replaced in 2015. On July 14, Colbert called the Paramount payment to Trump involving "60 Minutes" a 'big, fat bribe,' on CBS's own air. Three days later, Paramount canceled Colbert's show. There's no public evidence that the company axed Colbert to appease Trump. Yet it did please Trump. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,' Trump posted to social media on July 18. Paramount may think it has made the ritual sacrifices necessary to earn Trump's blessing, secure FCC approval, and complete the Skydance deal. But the controversy over Paramount sucking up to Trump is probably going to get a lot worse (and funnier). Colbert's contract lasts until next May (same as the tenure for embattled Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell), and the show will air until then. 'For the next 10 months, the gloves are off,' Colbert told his audience on July cronies Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Myers, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Weird Al Yankovic joined that show for a spoof that ended with a Trump-Paramount kiss-cam exposé. The same day, Jon Stewart devoted half of his weekly Comedy Central program to blasting Paramount for trying to 'make yourselves so innocuous, that you can serve a gruel so flavorless, that you will never again be on the boy king's radar.' Stewart ended the show with a musical number, backed by a gospel quintet, featuring the refrain 'Go f— yourself,' which may or may not become an instant classic but is certainly giggly. Stewart's show, like Colbert's, runs on a network owned by Paramount. So does the animated series "South Park," which just debuted the premiere episode of its 27th season, in which a fictional Trump tries to seduce a [fictional] Satan, who mocks fictional Trump for having diminutive [fictional] genitalia. Maybe Paramount won't get FCC approval after all? Will Trump really be satisfied that Colbert's Paramount-supported mockery of him might continue until next year? Or that Stewart and the diabolical "South Park" brain trust will keep tweaking him indefinitely? Paramount can cite contractual obligations and then prepare for Trump to laugh in their face. Big public companies make mistakes all the time. The memorable ones are those compounded by a corporate reaction that amplifies the original sin and makes everything worse. In 2023, Target tried to back away from its own LGBTQ outreach effort, offending the very people it was wooing and making no new friends in the process. In 2017, United Airlines appeared to defend thuggish security guards who forcibly dragged a passenger off a plane, igniting a firestorm of bad publicity that wiped nearly $1.5 billion off its market value. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO in 2017 after failing to shake months of controversy over a toxic company culture rife with sexual harassment and discrimination. Those incidents are now textbook examples of how to worsen a crisis, rather than fix it. Paramount now seems headed toward its own chapter in that cringy volume. Colbert, Stewart, et al. won't do Trump any harm, since they've been slamming him for years and have long been speaking to like-minded audiences. But now they're aiming their comedic lances at Paramount, which most of their viewers have probably never thought much about. That will change. Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Bluesky and X: @rickjnewman. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices.
