Friday, August 28 | By Steff Danielle Thomas and Colin Meyn
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It’s Friday. Leaf your worries behind — fall is almost here (or so my allergies believe).
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Programming note: Hello! We are Steff Danielle Thomas and Colin Meyn filling in for Cate. Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to sthomas@thehill.com or cmeyn@thehill.com.
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Warsh gives rate cut hopes a reality check:
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The Associated Press | Mark Schiefelbein
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Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh used his closely watched speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., to send a pretty clear message: Inflation is still too high, and the Fed isn’t ruling out doing more about it.
Warsh said the central bank needs to see inflation moving “clearly and at sufficient speed” toward its 2 percent target — otherwise, “we have work to do.” He also said responsibility for controlling inflation “sits squarely” with the Fed.
Translation: Interest rate hikes could be on the horizon. While he did not commit to a move or timeline — keeping with his aversion to giving markets “forward guidance” — Warsh suggested current rates may not be doing much to slow the economy.
The Trump factor: President Trump has spent most of his second term pushing the Fed to lower borrowing costs — a pressure campaign that began under former Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The new chair’s Friday message cuts against that push.
The Fed panel in charge of rate decisions will meet Sept. 15-16. While rates may remain steady at that meeting, the chances of a hike this year appear to be rising.
📰 Read more here from The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro.
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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🌊The US-Canada trade war is making waves beyond tariffs: |
Trump signed an executive order Thursday to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” following through on an idea he floated earlier in the week as tensions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney escalated.
Canada says, not so fast: Carney responded with a little history lesson, noting that Lake Ontario’s name comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io and has been used for more than 400 years — longer than either Canada or the United States has existed as a country.
“We know that America is changing … Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” he wrote online.
Meanwhile, Ottawa is preparing tariffs as high as 50 percent on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. imports beginning Sept. 8, matching Trump’s tariffs “dollar for dollar, rate for rate.”
The Trump administration isn’t exactly shrugging that off, either. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned earlier this week that Washington won’t “just sit down and take” further retaliation from Canada.
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Trump is trying to give Americans a break on ground beef prices — but farmers and ranchers are really angry about it. The plan to temporarily allow more imported beef at lower tariff rates is also a rare move from the president that has drawn almost unanimous pushback in his party.
On Friday, he turned his attention to meat processors, announcing plans to give farmers and ranchers more freedom to process and sell their own products.
But will it be enough to ease their frustration?
🐄 Take a look at where our beef comes from
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Let’s see where things stand six months into this war: |
The hard-line Iranian regime that Trump hoped to overthrow is still firmly in place and showing no signs of folding on its nuclear program. But it’s not all bad news.
The U.S. Navy appears to have facilitated fairly steady traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
How much? Last week’s ship traffic was up 50 percent from the week before, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The Trump administration has said 9 million barrels are passing through the strait each day, while some analysts suggest the number is closer to 2 million to 6 million barrels each day. It was closer to 15 million barrels a day before the war.
Gas prices are holding steady around $4 a gallon, high enough to cause midterm headaches for Republicans but not as high as some had feared.
This Guardian story is worth a read: Trump’s war on Iran is rapidly draining US navy budget, documents and interviews reveal
So, what next? Iran and Oman are still negotiating a bilateral agreement on shared control of the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries.
The U.S. isn’t directly involved, but Iran wants America’s naval blockade lifted as part of any agreement. Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan are trying to get Washington and Tehran back to the table.
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➤ FOX NEWS DRAWS LIVE FIRE:
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The president lashed out at Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt over a report that U.S. leaders are set to meet with Group of 20 leaders to increase pressure on Iran.
Trump seemed to interpret the report as saying the U.S. was anxious to meet with Iran, writing, “I don’t want to meet, they do. In fact, they are begging to make a deal. Bret Baier should straighten out his flunkies, for a change!”
Baier responded to the president before the show ended.
“First of all, Jonathan is not a flunky. He is a great reporter,” the anchor said. “Second of all, Mr. President, we didn’t say you wanted to meet.”
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The mail-in ballot plot thickens: |
The Trump administration’s new mail-in voting restrictions are on hold again after a dizzying week of legal back-and-forth.
What’s new: A federal judge in Boston late Thursday temporarily blocked a new U.S. Postal Service rule requiring mail ballots to meet specific design standards, including a unique logo and barcode with an embedded ZIP code. The order lasts 14 days — extending beyond when some states will begin sending absentee and overseas ballots.
Legal whiplash: The Supreme Court on Monday lifted an earlier block, ruling that states had sued too soon because the Postal Service hadn’t finalized its rule. When the rule hit the federal register on Wednesday, Democratic-led states essentially said “game on” and headed straight back to court. By Thursday night, the restrictions were paused again.
All of this legal ping-pong comes with the midterms just more than two months away. The ball is quickly heading back to the Supreme Court.
👓 Read more on the latest ruling from The Hill’s Sophie Brams.
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— 💻 A pro-Trump influencer with nearly 1 million followers says the “Deep State” tried to set her up to commit a crime. The saga is now raising questions about the Pentagon’s cozy relationship with MAGA influencers. More from The Hill’s Filip Timotija.
— 🏗️ A group of Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), is pushing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull the plug on a long-stalled West Bank housing project. It says the development could effectively divide the Palestinian territory and further dim hopes for a two-state solution.
— 🌕 The Trump administration has its sights set on a moon base by 2030. But first, House and Senate Republicans need to get on the same planet over a stalled NASA bill.
— 📣 Thousands traveled to Washington on Friday for a voting rights march marking 63 years since Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march and “I Have a Dream” speech. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are among those taking part.
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The New York Times: Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms
Axios: The housing market's fragile place
Washington Post: Americans have turned against police cameras that track license plates, new survey shows
Wall Street Journal: Blue-Collar Jobs Are the New Flashpoint in Data-Center Fight
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Houston. (All times EDT)
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NOON: Trump makes a call to the International Space Station
LATER FRIDAY: The president returns to Washington
SATURDAY: Trump heads to Sterling, Va., where he will participate in a string of MAGA Inc. events.
SUNDAY: The president, back in Washington, holds executive time.
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🍷Celebrate: Today is National Red Wine Day. How fitting for a Friday! Cozy up with a good book (and a glass) or make a toast with some friends (and a steak) that another week is through.
🎤 Jelly Roll in a jam: The country star’s Trump jokes on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” have set off a MAGA backlash — with Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) even declaring him “100% not welcomed” in the Florida Panhandle. He has largely brushed off the criticism.
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