Washington Wire
Washington Wire RSS Get our newsletter

Trump Faces Credibility Test In Grappling With Coronavirus

Washington Wire No comments.

—President Donald Trump faces a critical personal challenge in grappling with the new coronavirus outbreak: asking Americans to believe him after he and some of his top advisers have contradicted federal scientists in playing down the threat. But he continued to minimize the risk, saying the outbreak“ may get a little bigger; it may not get bigger at all.” And he…

Read more

State insurance regulators moved briskly through four topics as they try to thread the needle between suitability and fiduciary in crafting an annuity sales model law.

Nearly 700 health insurance and benefits advisors from across the nation will travel to Washington to meet with members of Congress. In addition, NAHU members will hear from industry experts, members of Congress and members of the Trump administration as they look at the future for health care reform.

Congress has a lot of its plate, but financial services would like to see a retirement income security bill get passed before the end of the year.

Latest Exclusives >

The fast-moving coronavirus isn’ t just confounding health officials. The Dow Jones industrial plunged 878 points— 3%— after plummeting more than 1,000 points Monday, the sharpest drop in two years. The outbreak will have a significant effect on worldwide demand for tourism, travel, and other services, economic officials say.

Feb. 25– COLUMBIA, S.C.– Days before the South Carolina primary, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer released an ad across the state punching at the two front-runners in the Palmetto State race. “South Carolina has a chance to make history, but we have to get this right,” the ad says. Steyer has barely registered in national polls, but has managed to pick up some support in…

Who will occupy the White House in 2021? The upcoming election is sure to hinge on the economy, pundits agree.

The right couldn’t have invented a better candidate than Bernie Sanders. The following year, he got married and left the next day for a combination fact-finding trip and honeymoon in the Soviet Union. Sanders thought the Soviet Union was the future three years before it collapsed.

—Joe Biden, standing on a Las Vegas stage roughly 1,000 feet from the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, took on White House rival Bernie Sanders Saturday night for his past vote to exempt gun manufacturers from liability for shootings. The former vice president devoted the majority of his speech at a Democratic gala on the Las Vegas Strip…

Caterpillar this week said most of its Chinese suppliers had returned to work. But Foxconn, a major electronics producer for Apple, said it will be the end of the month before even half of its facilities are operating. Both United Airlines and American Airlines said this week they would not resume normal service to mainland China until April 24, almost a month…

“Republicans only have a one-vote margin on the Banking Committee,” so a nominee like Shelton, opposed by Democrats, “cannot afford to lose a single Republican vote,” Gardner said later in an email. Pat Toomey, R- Pa., and Richard Shelby, R- Ala., “were the most skeptical Republicans of the ones who attended the hearing and asked questions” of Shelton, Gardner added.

The facade of the Federal Reserve Bank.

One of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the Federal Reserve will likely face skeptical questioning from a Senate committee Thursday over her unconventional economic views. Trump has nominated Judy Shelton for the Fed’s Board of Governors, a position with significant influence over interest rate policy and the regulation of banks.

WASHINGTON- Republican and Democratic senators voiced strong support for an independent Federal Reserve during a hearing with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, one day after President Donald Trump launched another attack directed at Powell on Twitter. The support from members of the Senate Banking Committee suggests Trump's attacks on Powell and the Fed have…

Democrats ranked education as well as social insurance ahead of the environment while only 12% of Republicans believe the environment should be considered a top spending priority. Meanwhile, Republicans believe social insurance, defense and international security, and infrastructure should be the top government spending priorities.

Feb. 12– NASHUA, N.H.– Pete Buttigieg surged to a runner-up finish in New Hampshire's primary, capitalizing on Iowa momentum and delivering another strong performance that will carry into Nevada and beyond, he told fired-up supporters Tuesday night. “Now our campaign moves on, to Nevada, to South Carolina, and to communities all across our country, and we will welcome…

Who will occupy the White House in 2021? The upcoming election is sure to hinge on the economy, pundits agree.

In 2016, Sanders carried New Hampshire by 22 points, pummeling Hillary Clinton and setting the stage for a protracted fight over the Democratic presidential nomination. Taken together, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden drew support from more than 50 percent of New Hampshire voters— twice as much as Sanders.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release:. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data released the January 2020 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows no change in the short- and medium-term inflation expectations. The average expectation of an increase in U.S. stock prices continued on its upward…

In the wake of the Iowa caucuses and heading into the New Hampshire primary, there is a dramatic shift in the Democratic primary race for president as Senator Bernie Sanders claims frontrunner status for the first time, overtaking former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released. Sanders gets 25 percent of the vote…

Mrs. Shelton is under attack for her alleged“ unorthodox views.” Elizabeth Warren— who advocates adding trillions of dollars in new federal spending, huge tax increases and massive new regulations— had the gall to call Mrs. Shelton radical. Mrs. Shelton has committed the sin of being right when many in the Washington establishment have been dead wrong.

The economy should remain in the positive for at least 2019, economists say.

Government officials, business leaders and academics privileged to attend Davos or the Fed’s annual conclave at Jackson Hole are convinced that President Trump’s trade wars and Boris Johnson’s Brexit campaign created great uncertainty, hammered down investment and were root causes of slow growth.

Even though small business owners tilt more Republican than Democratic or Independent, they are closely divided in whom they would support in the general election. A new survey indicates small business owners prefer Joe Biden on the Democratic side, but would vote Michael Bloomberg by a bigger margin over President Donald Trump.

Who will occupy the White House in 2021? The upcoming election is sure to hinge on the economy, pundits agree.

Budget cuts to food stamps, farm subsidies, Medicaid and student loans couldn’t pass when Republicans controlled Congress, much less now with liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., setting the agenda. Trump’s budget would also shred last year’s hard-won budget deal between the White House and Pelosi.

WASHINGTON– U.S. hiring jumped last month, and many more people were encouraged to look for work, showing that the economy remains robust despite threats from China's viral outbreak, an ongoing trade war and struggles at Boeing. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a robust 225,000 jobs in January. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have built…

The U.S. Capitol.

The Democratic-controlled House has approved a bill that would make it easier for workers to form unions and bargain for higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions. But a leading insurance world trade association says the bill would harm those offering financial security products.

Feb. 7– Bill Weld, fighting to survive in his Republican bid for president, says the Democrats could be in real trouble against President Trump if they continue down the path of picking Bernie Sanders as the nominee. “That's why the centrist Democrats are going nuts.” Weld said Democrats need to put forward a centrist to win.

Consumers are feeling very good about the economy.

With China’s viral outbreak disrupting trade and Boeing’s troubles weighing on American factories, the January U.S. jobs report on Friday may provide timely evidence of the U.S. economy’s enduring health. The closely watched jobs report comes in the same week that President Donald Trump boasted of his economic record in his State of the Union address.

Feb. 6– SOMERSWORTH, N.H.– Joe Biden is on the ropes in New Hampshire after a “gut punch” of a likely fourth-place finish in Iowa, lashing out at his leading rivals while attempting to allay voters' fears of a repeat performance in the first-in-the-nation primary. “I am not going to sugarcoat it: We took a gut punch in Iowa. The former vice president trailed Pete Buttigieg…

Gretchen Whitmer used Democrats' response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to swivel from impeachment to working-class voters' worries, saying her party is focusing on easing health care costs and other pocket-book concerns. Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away,” Whitmer said from Michigan's East Lansing High School,…

Feb. 5– Ford said Tuesday that its U.S. factory workers will receive $6,600 in profit-sharing checks, down $1,000 from the year before– reflecting the company's lower profits in 2019.. A year ago, profit sharing for Ford workers averaged $7,600, which was up from $7,500 in 2017. Ford awards its UAW employees $1,000 in profit sharing for every $1 billion in North…

President Trump's third State of the Union address Tuesday night will feature the high partisan drama of the president facing down the 229 House Democrats who impeached him and speaking to the nation on the eve of his acquittal in the Senate. Looking over his shoulder on the House rostrum will be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of what Mr. Trump called on Monday “…

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has rolled out a tax plan that would raise $5 trillion over 10 years from the United States' wealthiest citizens, but would not impose a “wealth tax.” The former New York City mayor unveiled the plan over the weekend. Bloomberg's plan would also impose a 5 percent surcharge on incomes above $5 million a year and…

The U.S. Capitol.

During their annual visit to Washington, Health Agents for America looked to lawmakers to help their clients save money on health care while being able to choose the right products for their needs.

Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.— who will be just eight months shy of his 80th birthday on Inauguration Day 2021— has surged in no small part because of the support of he is receiving from people under the age of 35, with whom he has a sizable double-digit lead in some polls. But consider a less-discussed flip side to that: Sanders is struggling to win over Democrats closer to his…

The state added 8,000 jobs last year, with metropolitan Manchester picking up 1,400 of them, outpacing Nashua and the Seacoast, which both lost jobs. During his lunchtime talk Thursday to the Greater Manchester Chamber, Thibeault used the latest edition of the chamber's annual magazine as a prop, borrowing its headline to send home his message about Manchester: “…

U.S. farm bankruptcies rose nearly 20 percent last year amid the trade war with China, trailing only 2010, the year following the Great Recession when such bankruptcies rose 33 percent. President Donald Trump said at the AFBF Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, he authorized $28 billion in aid to farmers, which was stretched out…

The program — labeled “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — will allow states to ask permission to end their traditional, open-ended Medicaid program and put hard caps on how much money states and the federal government will spend on the poor and disabled.

—The U.S. economy expanded at a moderate 2.1% annual rate in the final three months of 2019, capping a year when a weak global landscape and a sharp pullback in business investment resulting from President Donald Trump's trade fights combined to slow growth. Global risks— including potentially severe economic damage from China's viral outbreak— will continue…

Jan. 30– President Trump has grown stronger with Pennsylvania voters despite ongoing impeachment proceedings, a poll finds. A majority of the 628 registered Pennsylvania voters who responded to a Jan. 20-26 Franklin& Marshall Poll said it is time for a change in the White House. Still, 38% of them said President Trump is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president.

The facade of the Federal Reserve Bank.

WASHINGTON- The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged at a low level Wednesday amid an economy that looks solid but faces potential global threats, including from China's viral outbreak. The Fed sketched a mostly bright picture of the U.S. economy in a statement it released after its latest policy meeting.

What would you rather have – free universal health care or total student loan forgiveness? LendEDU surveyed 1,000 Americans and found 60% opted for the free health care as opposed to 40% who want to see the nation’s $1.61 trillion in student loan debt erased.

–The Concord Coalition said today that new Congressional Budget Office projections showing federal deficits and debt steadily rising over the next 10 years and leaping to historic highs over the longer term are an alarming signal that action is required to put the budget on a more sustainable path. “Today's update from CBO provides a sobering reality check on…

Consumers are feeling very good about the economy.

Americans should understand that there will be a significant, long-term economic cost to our polarized politics and dysfunctional government, which has now reached the point of near-total breakdown of comity and cooperation between the parties, between the houses of Congress and among the various branches of government.

Mr. Sanders and other Democrats running for the 2020 presidential nomination say new taxes on the rich would go a long way toward funding their costly policy proposals. Mr. Sanders and his allies have been unapologetic in advocating for his pricey policy agenda, which estimates have pegged at costing anywhere between $60 trillion and $100 trillion over 10…

Jan. 27– MARION– Dotti Loscabio thought she might give Joe Biden some good luck if she shook his after he spoke in Marion Monday afternoon. Maybe it will give Biden good luck, “Loscabio, 75, of Marion, said as she sat in the Prairie Hill Pavilion Banquet Hall, 5680 Kacena Ave. in Marion. While Loscabio is planning to caucus for Pete Buttigieg next week, she was open to Biden…

The New York Stock Exchange in Lower Manhattan.

A healthy stock market signifies a healthy U.S. economy and vice versa- correct? With the Dow Jones Industrial Average setting a series of record highs in recent weeks and seemingly on course to surpass the 30,000 mark, the historic surge is being pointed out as a sign- if not the sign- of U.S. economic might.

Presidential candidates can promise all they want, but Congress often has more input.

President Donald Trump reassured his Twitter followers that he would keep Social Security benefits safe from any possible cuts after an interview in which he implied he would be open to cuts in entitlement programs including Medicare.

Bolton writes in the forthcoming book that Trump told him that he wanted to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid from Ukraine until it helped him with politically charged investigations, including into Democratic rival Joe Biden. The account immediately gave Democrats new fuel in their pursuit of sworn testimony from Bolton and other…

While issues such as climate change and health care reform are important, the No. 1 challenge facing Democrats in this election cycle is defeating President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. During an interview with the Ames Tribune following her speech, the senator from…

Pressure is on the Federal Reserve to act on interest rates.

There are two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. President Donald Trump has nominated monetary policy experts Judy Shelton and Christopher Waller to fill them, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. There has been no FOMC meeting in which more than one governor dissented since 1993.

LAWRENCE, Kansas, Jan. 24– The University of Kansas issued the following news:. Jeff Goldblum's character in “Jurassic Park” famously popularized the concept of chaos theory as it relates to science. But one University of Kansas professor is applying that theory to the economy.

Presidential candidates can promise all they want, but Congress often has more input.

The president suggested he would be willing to consider cuts to programs such as Medicare to reduce the federal deficit if he wins a second term. Spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is expected to cost the federal government more than $30 trillion through 2029, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Jan. 23– House Democrats kicked off opening arguments in President Trump's impeachment trial Wednesday by invoking the Framers and urging the Senate to remove the president from office over his “cold-blooded” Ukraine scheme– as Republicans all but ignored their impassioned pleas. They quoted Alexander Hamilton and other Founding Fathers in lengthy…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will raise concerns over Britain's potential use of Huawei technology in next-generation ultrafast mobile networks when he visits London to meet his counterpart this weekend. Mnuchin said Thursday at the World Economic Forum that he will discuss the issue, alongside other matters such as trade, when he meets…

—The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:. President Donald Trump says U.S. economic growth is the buzz at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, but reporters are focused on the impeachment trial underway back in Washington. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum in Davos that“ there is no point in…

—The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum in Davos that“ there is no point in only reducing greenhouse gas emissions at home, if we increase the import of CO2 from abroad. A French government official says that France agreed to delay implementation of its tech tax until…

President Donald Trump is tweeting about how he saved the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people who have pre-existing conditions, even as he is backing a court challenge to the law that would overturn the ACA and eliminate those protections.

—The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has slammed U.S. President Donald Trump’ s speech at the World Economic Forum for misrepresenting the economy and for failing to tackle climate issues. Stiglitz on Tuesday also voiced his frustration at Trump’ s failure to address head on the climate…

By then, both sides will have submitted briefs and four Democratic presidential candidates will have been forced back to Washington from the early nominating states to join every other senator in silence, sans phones, on the Senate floor. From the White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear that Trump committed no crime, the impeachment articles are…

President Trump enjoys a historically strong job market, decent economic growth, relatively low gas prices, a surging stock market, fewer combat deaths of U.S. troops and fewer inmates in federal prisons. Yet as he enters his fourth year in office— a reelection year— his approval ratings trail those of Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at this point, and…

Who will occupy the White House in 2021? The upcoming election is sure to hinge on the economy, pundits agree.

Mother Jones, a liberal news website, reports that it has copies of internal memorandums circulated by Barclays, a powerful London-based bank and financial services firm. In one such memo, the bank warns that a Warren presidency “would directly impact corporate earnings.”

The facade of the Federal Reserve Bank.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he intends to nominate two people to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, an institution he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting rates deeply enough.

The trading, prosecutors said, enabled Cameron Collins and friends to dodge $800,000 in losses. Collins, one of President Donald Trump's earliest supporters, had represented western New York since his election to the 27th Congressional District of New York in 2012.. They noted that he learned that Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd., whose board he sat on, had…

The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the Trump White House broke the law by holding up military assistance money to Ukraine— a revelation that Democrats say bolsters their impeachment case against President Trump. Republicans, though, said the revelations are more evidence that Democrats went off half-cocked, and produced a flawed…

Since President Trump's election, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit 127 record closings–more than any other president's first three years since 1952. But wealth gains under the Trump Administration extend far beyond the stock market, and–in contrast to past periods of economic expansion–recent growth is not only concentrated among the…