Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

[phkrause]

US makes ‘substantial progress’ in China tariff talks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says

GENEVA (AP) — The lead U.S. negotiator in trade talks with China cited “a great deal of productivity” in resolving differences between the world’s two leading economic powers after officials wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs and Beijing’s retaliation.

https://apnews.com/article/china-us-switzerland-tariffs-negotiations-20f32dd4f11b66bfd73bd105b7acad5a?

Authorities arrest over 100 people on Tennessee roads in support of Trump’s deportation plan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than 100 people have been taken into custody by federal immigration officials in a joint operation with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, leaving many in Nashville’s immigrant community uncertain and worried.

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arrests-nashville-ice-tennessee-0fe523bc9d0ed143e105da0e96ad0c6c?

Trump is bringing white South Africans to the US as refugees, but what persecution are they facing?

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The Trump administration is bringing a small number of white South Africans to the United States as refugees next week in what it says is the start of a larger relocation effort for a minority group who are being persecuted by their Black-led government because of their race.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-africa-refugees-afrikaners-white-9d6f87ae9b09ac21ba6ae2a2197b11d3?

ps:Of course he is!!!!!

Trump announces he’ll sign executive order that aims to cut drug prices

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to resurrect a controversial policy from his first term that aims to reduce drug costs by basing payments for certain medicines on their prices in other countries.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/11/politics/trump-prescription-drug-prices?

[phkrause]

US and China agree to drastically roll back tariffs in major trade breakthrough

Hong Kong CNN  — 

The United States and China agreed Monday to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period, in a surprise breakthrough that has de-escalated a punishing trade war and buoyed global markets.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/business/us-china-trade-deal-announcement-intl-hnk?

?? Breaking: U.S. slashes tariffs in China thaw

The U.S. and China will slash their tariffs on each other for 90 days, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in Switzerland at 3 a.m. ET.

• Why it matters: It's the relief global businesses and investors hoped for, after the trade war brought commerce to a near-halt and sent economies hurtling toward recession, Axios managing editor for business Ben Berkowitz writes.

? How it works: The U.S. will lower tariffs to 30% during the pause, while China will cut its tariffs to 10%, Bessent said in Geneva at a news conference with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, following a weekend of talks.

• Both sides agreed to a 115% cut, though the U.S. rate was higher to begin with.

? What's next: Experts warn a likely coming surge in orders could stretch supply chains almost as badly as the tariffs choking them off did.

• Stocks soared, with S&P 500 futures up more than 3% on the news.

Get the latest.

[phkrause]

Trump's trillion-dollar trip

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

President Trump leaves for the Middle East today and is aiming to return home with $1 trillion worth of deals and investment pledges, U.S. and Arab officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid, Alison Snyder and Marc Caputo. Why it matters: Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE this week is almost all about money. "His regional agenda is business, business and business," one Arab official said. The geopolitical agenda is secondary. While Trump had made clear he wants a Saudi-Israel normalization deal, the president and his aides know it's currently not in the cards, mainly due to the ongoing war in Gaza. ?️ The big picture: Trump made Saudi Arabia the first foreign trip of his first term, and would have again if not for Pope Francis' funeral. One reason: Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) pledged $600 billion in investments in the U.S. over the next four years right after Trump took office. President Trump and Saudi King Salman sign agreements during Trump's 2017 visit. Photo: Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Council via Getty Images ? Breaking it down: The Qataris are also expected to announce $200 billion-300 billion in deals and investments, including a huge commercial aircraft deal with Boeing and a $2 billion deal to purchase MQ-9 Reaper drones, a source with knowledge of the issue said. Qatar is also considering giving Trump a gift: A 747 jumbo jet to serve temporarily as Air Force One. The UAE already declared in March that it would invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade. Between the lines: Trump clearly sees the Gulf as a place where there's big money to be made, for the U.S. and for businesses like his. The Trump Organization announced a new luxury real estate deal in Qatar just two weeks before the trip, and has projects in Jeddah, Dubai and Oman. ? Zoom in: A particular focus of the trip will be investments in AI and tech. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will travel to the Gulf during Trump's trip. A host of tech leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, are slated to speak tomorrow at a Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh. ps:This is all these people are interested in: Money, and more money!! What's that old saying about greed or how about that bible verse "The love of Money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:10 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

[phkrause]

? MAHA's messy marriage

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

RFK Jr.'s short time leading America's health agencies has already destabilized the uneasy alliance that vaulted him into President Trump's Cabinet, Axios' Zachary Basu and Caitlin Owens write. Why it matters: The "Make America Healthy Again" movement — a loose umbrella of vaccine skeptics, wellness influencers, and anti-pharma crusaders — was envisioned as a revolution against the medical establishment. ? The big picture: The anti-establishment takeover of HHS has become one of the most chaotic experiments of Trump's second term. Trump has already been forced to pull two major health nominations — former Rep. Dave Weldon for CDC director, and Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general. The FDA's top vaccine regulator, Peter Marks, abruptly resigned in March in protest of Kennedy's "misinformation and lies" about vaccines. As a measles outbreak spread in Texas, the White House became so frustrated by the lack of clear and fast communications by HHS that it set up a parallel press shop.

[phkrause]

Habeas corpus

The White House has been considering the suspension of habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detentions in court. The discussions, which were confirmed by Trump aide Stephen Miller, are in response to the nationwide injunctions against the president’s actions on deportations, which eschew due process protections. But the Constitution only allows habeas corpus to be suspended when “in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” “The Constitution makes clear that suspension of habeas corpus is to be reserved for actual rebellion or invasion posing the most dire threats to public safety,” CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said. Although such a move would surely be fought in court, suspending habeas corpus would essentially allow the administration to detain people without justification. Air Force One President Trump said he plans to accept a multimillion-dollar jet from the Qatari royal family and have the Boeing 747-8 retrofitted so it can be used as the next Air Force One. Such a move raises major ethical and legal questions. A Qatari official described the gift as more of a government-to-government transaction than a present for Trump. Democrats said accepting a luxury aircraft from a foreign government could be construed as a bribe, particularly since the plane will eventually be donated to Trump’s presidential library so that he can continue to use it after he leaves office. Government watchdog groups said accepting the jet would violate the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans foreign payments to a sitting US president without congressional consent. Even far-right provocateur Laura Loomer, one of Trump’s staunchest allies, criticized the move, saying accepting the plane would be a “stain” on the administration.

[phkrause]

Democrats Woke Up to Trump’s Crypto Grift. Will They Stop Other Scammers?

Cryptocurrency legislation once seemed to be the rare issue that could draw bipartisan support in Donald Trump’s Washington, thanks to the industry’s prolific donations on both sides of the aisle.

https://theintercept.com/2025/05/08/democrats-trump-crypto-stablecoin-maxine-waters/?

Trump Army Appointee Should Sell His Anduril Stock, Sen. Warren Demands

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for President Trump’s pick for Under Secretary of the Army to sell his stock in a defense contractor that experts say would pose a clear conflict of interest.

https://theintercept.com/2025/05/08/mike-obadal-army-trump-anduril-stock-elizabeth-warren/?

“I Don’t Know.” Trump’s Go-To Response to All Sorts of Questions

President Donald Trump keeps saying he doesn’t know what his own administration is up to. 

https://theintercept.com/2025/05/09/i-dont-know-president-donald-trump-response-to-questions/?

ps:Always has been, why is anyone surprised?????

[phkrause]

Deputy attorney general who defended Trump in hush money trial named acting librarian of Congress

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial, has been appointed acting librarian of Congress, the Justice Department said Monday. Blanche replaces Carla Hayden, the longtime librarian whom the White House fired last week amid criticism from some conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda. Read More.

Trump signs executive order setting 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower prescription drug costs

President Donald Trump on Monday signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. or face new limits down the road over what the government will pay. Read More.

Pope Leo XIV urges release of imprisoned journalists, affirms gift of free speech and press

Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press” in an audience with some of the 6,000 journalists who descended on Rome to cover his election as the first American pontiff. Read More.

[phkrause]

✈️ All Trump's roads lead to the Gulf

On everything from international diplomacy to personal business, hostage negotiations to investment deals, Gulf countries are President Trump's partners of first resort, Axios' Dave Lawler, Barak Ravid and Zachary Basu write.

• Why it matters: Trump, who arrived in Saudi Arabia early this morning, is spurning traditional democratic allies in favor of Gulf monarchies — drawn by their wealth, deal-making and growing global clout.

Behind the scenes: Officials from all three countries he's visiting — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE — have an unusual level of access in Washington, where Gulf money has long bankrolled an army of lobbyists, influencers and think tanks.

• The Qatari prime minister and the Emirati national security adviser were both granted dinners with Trump on recent visits despite not being heads of state.

?️ The big picture: Trump has been looking to the Gulf states for more than just their checkbooks.

• Trump turned to Saudi Arabia to host U.S.-Russia talks, and later U.S.-Ukraine talks. Trump was also interested in meeting Vladimir Putin in Riyadh, along with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
• While that meeting hasn't happened, Trump has now floated the idea of a summit in Istanbul.

Keep reading.

? Plane draws rare MAGA backlash

Top MAGA influencers Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer and Mark Levin broke sharply with President Trump over his decision to accept a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government, Axios' Tal Axelrod and Zachary Basu write.

• Why it matters: The revolt marks one of the few times since Trump's return to power that key voices in his base have publicly questioned his judgment — revealing cracks in a MAGA coalition built on unwavering loyalty.

Trump, who will visit Qatar as part of his Middle East trip this week, has scoffed at criticism of the royal family's extraordinary gift, saying it would be "stupid" to turn down a new Air Force One.

• But for pro-Israel Republicans, Trump's coziness with Qatar — which they see as a chief sponsor of Hamas — crosses a red line.

? Zoom in: "I love President Trump," tweeted Loomer, an influential MAGA conspiracy theorist who played a key role in ousting national security adviser Mike Waltz. "I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits."

• Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro, two of the most prominent pro-Israel voices on the MAGA right, have expressed deep alarm at Trump's growing ties with Qatar — a U.S. ally that denies accusations that it finances terrorist groups.
• "Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest, that's not America First," Shapiro said on his top-rated podcast.

?️ Shapiro also warned that the Trump family's crypto ventures are inviting "influence peddling" allegations that could damage the MAGA agenda.

• "I think if we switch the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we'd all be freaking out on the right," Shapiro said. "If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop."

ps:I guess they still don't get it? He doesn't care one iota about anyone but himself!!!!!

[phkrause]

Trump starts his foreign trip with a crush of problems — and outsized certainty he has the answers President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday, a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new investment into the United States. But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises. Read more.

Why this matters: The president was brimming with an overabundance of confidence about some of the world’s most intractable problems, from tensions in South Asia to the future of sanctions in Syria to the war in Ukraine. But behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed will be looking to get a read on how Trump intends to push ahead on resolving the war in Gaza, dealing with Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program and addressing India-Pakistan tensions.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s plan to accept free Air Force One replacement from Qatar raises ethical and security worries   What is the Emoluments Clause? And how might it apply to Qatar giving Trump a plane?   Judge refuses to block IRS from sharing tax data to identify and deport people illegally in U.S.   Civil rights agency moves to fire judge fighting Trump directives   House Republicans reveal Trump’s tax breaks for tips, overtime and car loans, but costs run high   Missouri Republican warns colleagues against Medicaid cuts   House Republicans target clean energy tax credits and pollution rules in budget proposal   As Biden-era “junk fee” rule takes effect, Ticketmaster says it will display fees more clearly   WATCH: Trump defends admitting white South Africans as refugees after halting resettlement for most others   Homeland Security revokes temporary status for thousands of Afghans   Budget airline begins deportation flights for ICE with start of Arizona operations   Mexico says US suspension of beef imports because of screwworm is unfair   White House correspondents protest lack of wire reporters on Air Force One   Illinois governor is first in US to block federal access to personal data on autism   Sen. Cornyn of Texas says federal probe started into Muslim-centered community near Dallas   Gov. Gavin Newsom urges California cities and counties to ban homeless encampments

[phkrause]

Saudi Arabia

President Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, overnight on his first visit to the region during his second term. Administration officials said the president hopes to spend the trip making deals with the Saudis, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates that will enhance their investments in America. The US has already announced a $1.4 billion weapons sale to the UAE that includes Chinook helicopters as well as parts and support for F-16 fighter jets. Today, Trump is attending a more formal arrival ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; eating lunch with the CEOs of Amazon, NVIDIA, Google, Boeing and Tesla; attending bilateral meetings; and then taking part in an agreement signing of the Royal Court. Despite what the White House is calling a “historic return to the Middle East,” a visit to Israel is not on the itinerary.   South Africa Dozens of White South Africans who were granted refugee status by the Trump administration for alleged discrimination arrived in the US on Monday. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who met the 59 Afrikaners at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, claimed they had been “subject to very serious, egregious and targeted threats" and likened them to “quality seeds” that would hopefully “bloom” in America. However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he told President Trump that the persecution of the White minority group was not true. “They are leaving ostensibly because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution,” Ramaphosa said. While the administration has expedited the processing of Afrikaners as refugees, it has suspended all other refugee resettlement, including for people fleeing war and famine.   Drug prices President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that he said will lower drug prices in the US by basing the cost of certain medicines on their prices in other countries. Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to come up with price targets within 30 days and ordered drugmakers to start offering US patients the lowest price paid for a drug in a peer country. If drug manufacturers do not lower prices, the executive order outlined some potential ramifications, including allowing more drug imports and having the FDA modify or revoke approvals granted for drugs that may be “unsafe, ineffective, or improperly marketed.” It’s unclear what authority Trump has to demand certain prices, particularly in the private market. It’s also unknown when — or if — Americans will see lower prices.

[phkrause]

A $75 million reward for bad behavior? Federal regulators are seeking a softer punishment against cryptocurrency platform Ripple Labs after the company gave a generous $5 million gift to Trump’s 2025 inaugural fund. Enforcers at the Securities and Exchange Commission originally charged Ripple in 2020 after accusing the company of running an illegal $1.3 billion unregistered securities exchange, levying more than $125 million in potential fines — though that suit was originally shut down by a federal judge in 2023. Now, under Trump, the SEC is asking to settle the case for just $50 million.

Money pays. Ripple’s CEO is MAGA insider Brad Garlinghouse, who has been cheerleading the SEC’s crypto-friendly pivot after the agency previously cracked down on crypto during Biden’s tenure. His good grace with the president has already paid off: Ripple owns nearly half of the XRP cryptocurrency tokens in the world, and Trump has created a special carveout for the token. (XRP was created by three people who went on to cofound Ripple Labs.) 

Lobbying plays. In March, Trump said that he would include Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency in a Treasury Department-run crypto stockpile that would allegedly establish the U.S. as “the Crypto Capital of the world.” Garlinghouse said at the time that he was surprised that Trump included XRP in the stockpile — but new reporting by Politico found that a lobbyist with Ballard Partners, a firm that previously employed Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles and attorney general Pam Bondi, helped Trump craft the strategy with XRP in mind. (Ripple is a client of Ballard Partners.) 

Crypto’s holiday. Crypto interests spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars this past election cycle to help elect industry-friendly lawmakers — and consequently have scored huge wins since Trump took office. The SEC has been systematically rolling back enforcement actions, gutting crypto oversight, and turning a blind eye to obvious scams. What’s more, Trump has been pushing his own cryptocurrency for people to buy access to him. Anyone have $20 million we can borrow?

Trump says he will ease sanctions on Syria, moves to restore relations with new leader

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will move to normalize relations and lift sanctions on Syria’s new government to give the country “a chance at peace.” Read More.

[phkrause]

? Trump's tough investment math

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump loves nothing more than flashy investment promises. Saudi Arabia yesterday obliged to the tune of $600 billion, Axios' Dan Primack writes. Why it matters: This is an optics win for a White House cognizant of America's rising economic anxieties, even if some of the money never flows. The Saudis agreed to buy nearly $142 billion in military equipment and services from U.S. defense contractors — nearly double the Kingdom's entire 2025 defense budget. Saudi Arabia also agreed to purchase gas turbines from GE Vernova, planes from Boeing, and to invest in U.S. companies via new private equity funds. By the end of his trip to the Gulf, which includes stops in Qatar and the UAE, Trump is hoping to obtain more than $1 trillion worth of deals and economic commitments. ? By the numbers: An itemized list provided by the White House doesn't come close to $600 billion. It works out to $282.8 billion — nearly 30% of which involves private-sector tech investments "in both countries." The remainder seems to fall under the unenumerated umbrella of "many other deals," which may include Nvidia's new agreement to sell chips to Saudi Arabia. Reality check: Even if all $600 billion were accounted for (which it isn't), that doesn't necessarily mean there will be $600 billion in investment. Trump secured $450 billion via a similar Saudi pledge in 2017, but it didn't all materialize. The same goes for some other high-profile investment promises during Trump's first term, such as $10 billion from China's Foxconn to build a factory in Wisconsin. To date, less than $1 billion has been invested in that project.

[phkrause]

✈️ Keep scrolling! Trump's pricey plane gift

Data: Federal Register, House Oversight Committee. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The $400 million jumbo jet President Trump plans to accept from Qatar is worth 100 times more than every other presidential gift from a foreign nation combined since 2001, Axios' Sareen Habeshian and Noah Bressner write. Why it matters: The prospect of the lavish gift raised major ethics concerns and sparked rare backlash from a set of influential MAGA media stars. ? By the numbers: Presidents reported a mere $3.8 million worth of gifts from foreign countries between George W. Bush's inauguration and the start of Trump's second term, according to an Axios analysis of State Department data. Until now, the biggest gift has been a "hand-made and specially commissioned bronze sculpture depicting two horses" given to President Obama from Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth about $500,000. ? In a mid-flight interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Air Force One, airing last night, Trump said the current Air Force One plane is "much smaller" and "much less impressive" than Qatar's 747-8 offering. The president argued the plane would be a gift to the U.S., not him personally: "I get nothing. I get to fly it like any other president would."

[phkrause]

Trump’s Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region Before President Donald Trump began this week’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks, drumming up business for The Trump Organization, which they run in their father’s stead while he’s in the White House. Read more.

Why this matters: The travels included Eric Trump announcing plans for an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE’s largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump’s do-everything envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.   His family business aside, the president wasn’t shy about saying he’d shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo. Trump’s first stop was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The president is also stopping in the United Arab Emirates, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and in Qatar, where Trump says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump tells Gulf leaders Iran must cease support of proxy groups as part of any nuclear deal   WATCH: Golden swords and Arabian horses: Saudi Arabia's crown prince gives Trump a lavish royal welcome   British banking analyst sentenced to a decade in Saudi prison, apparently over a tweet

[phkrause]

A Potential Trump Power Grab, Brought To You By Democrats

Amid ever-worsening climate disasters, Silicon Valley-backed Democrats are pushing a bill that could hand control of California’s energy markets to the fossil fuel-happy Trump administration. Tech companies supporting the legislation say it’s needed to meet rising energy demands (fueled in part by artificial intelligence data centers), but expert analyses suggest the bill could increase emissions across the West and jeopardize the state’s trailblazing clean energy laws.

https://www.levernews.com/a-potential-trump-power-grab-brought-to-you-by-democrats/?

US drug overdose deaths saw an unprecedented drop in 2024, but federal cuts could threaten momentum

Drug overdose deaths in the United States made an unprecedented drop to the lowest they’ve been in five years, according to a new federal government estimate released Wednesday.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/health/drug-overdose-deaths-decline-us-2024?

Trump is enabling Musk and DOGE to flout conflicts of interest

What is the potential cost to U.S. families?

https://www.epi.org/publication/trump-is-enabling-musk-and-doge-to-flout-conflicts-of-interest-what-is-the-potential-cost-to-u-s-families/?

ps:Exactly!!!!!

100 ways Trump has hurt workers in his first 100 days

The first 100 days of Trump’s second term have been chaotic. Trump along with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have engaged in a near-daily onslaught of actions to dismantle the federal government and eliminate services and benefits that working families rely upon. Some of Trump’s actions were rolled back days after being announced and others are tied up in legal challenges, making it difficult to determine the full impact of Trump’s policies at this time. But even amid the chaos, these policies still caused pain to working people and the economy: He reduced workers’ wages, made workplaces less safe, threatened workers’ retirement savings by destabilizing the global economy, and gutted government offices that administer fundamental programs covering millions of people in the United States like Social Security and Medicare.

https://www.epi.org/publication/100-days-100-ways-trump-hurt-workers/?

Immigrants and the economy

Immigration is among the most important economic and political issues and a main topic of discourse and debate among policymakers and the public. But misperceptions persist about many fundamental aspects of this crucial topic, such as:

https://www.epi.org/publication/immigrants-and-the-economy/?

[phkrause]

? A mass-shooting subsidy. Republicans’ upcoming social services-slashing budget bill includes a tax cut on the purchases of gun silencers, eliminating a $200 federal transfer tax. Silencers, which reduce the muzzle flash and sound made when using a firearm, have grown exponentially popular in recent years: The number of legally registered silencers in the U.S. increased 1,600 percent between 2010 and 2024. These tactical devices, which the gun lobby and industry-friendly lawmakers have justified as “vital [tools] for hearing protection,” have been linked to mass shootings and other high-profile gun crimes.

? The FBI’s new era. Building off the Biden administration’s legacy, the Trump Department of Justice and FBI are deprioritizing white-collar crime enforcement — letting would-be corporate criminals off the hook — so they can redirect resources toward tracking and detaining migrants, Reuters reports. This comes as the new head of the DOJ’s criminal division, Matthew Galeotti, recently told financial leaders at an industry conference that previous administrations' efforts to prosecute corporate crime came at “too high” a cost to “business and American enterprise,” and that the DOJ is turning “a new page” on white-collar crime enforcement. “We are here to work with you,” he said.

? Trump country is bearing the brunt of the tariff fallout. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause Americans’ incomes to shrink by a full 1 percent by the time he leaves office in 2028, new Federal Reserve research finds, with some states faring worse than others. Notably, several red and purple states that went for Trump last election could see average incomes shrink by as much as 3 percent, including Michigan, Georgia, and Texas.

? We’re laughing to keep from crying. Months into the Department of Government Efficiency’s hostile takeover of the federal government, a DOGE-installed deregulator admits that the agency he’s trying to gut is “not as inefficient as [he] was expecting.” Sahil Lavingia — who founded e-commerce tech startup Gumroad, and was hired to bring automation to the Veterans Administration — said he was surprised to find VA employees “love their jobs.” 

• “That makes the DOGE agenda a little bit more complicated, because if half the government took [a buyout offer], then we wouldn’t have to do much more” to replace government workers with software, Lavingia said. “But that’s not what’s happening.”

[phkrause]

EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some so-called forever chemicals in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones. Read More.

Trump administration rescinds curbs on AI chip exports to foreign markets

Responding to complaints from the tech industry and other countries, the U.S. Department of Commerce has rescinded a Biden-era rule due to take effect Thursday that placed limits on the number of artificial intelligence chips that could be exported to certain international markets without federal approval. Read More.

Live updates: Trump’s meeting with Syria’s new president could mark a turning point for the Mideast

President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for the region as Syria struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation. Read More.

[phkrause]

⚖️ Big Supreme Court showdown

Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

The Trump administration will be fighting an uphill battle today as it tries to persuade the Supreme Court to let more of President Trump's agenda take effect, Axios' Sam Baker writes. While this morning's oral arguments are focused on how courts have handled birthright citizenship, the Justice Department has urged the justices to impose a broader crackdown on nationwide injunctions. ⚖️ Federal district courts have issued roughly 30 orders blocking the Trump administration from implementing major parts of its agenda. Three district courts have blocked Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship from taking effect. All three said their rulings applied not only to the specific cases before them, but to the entire policy, nationwide. Why it matters: Nationwide injunctions from lower courts have become increasingly common since the Obama administration, and have exploded under Trump. There's a good-faith, non-ideological argument that courts are handing down too many of them. There are more than 600 district court judges in the U.S. — when all of them have the power to freeze a presidential policy, lawsuits can grind the presidency to a halt more easily than ever before. ? What we're watching: Four of the court's conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas — have called for a crackdown on nationwide injunctions. But birthright citizenship presents different legal questions, and the procedural history of these cases is different. Today's arguments should provide some indication of whether those four would still be united — and, if so, whether they'd be able to persuade one more justice to join their cause. Keep reading.

[phkrause]

✈️ Trump trade winner: Boeing

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Count Boeing as a big winner of the Trump administration's trade policy —despite a sometimes frosty relationship with the president, Axios' Nathan Bomey writes. Why it matters: It's a decisive turn for a company slammed by business and regulatory disasters caused by quality troubles, legal problems, labor issues and — most recently — trade walls. In just the last week, the company has picked up big sales deals in the U.K. and the Middle East and avoided a potentially crushing Chinese ban on plane deliveries. Boeing scored the biggest aircraft sale in its history in a deal announced yesterday by President Trump. Qatar Airways is buying up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft, all made in the U.S. with GE Aerospace engines, the White House announced. A Saudi company ordered up to 30 new single-aisle Boeing jets. Boeing reportedly nailed a deal to sell 30 of its 787 Dreamliners to British Airways parent IAG. The intrigue: The president has repeatedly torched Boeing since retaking the White House over its long-delayed program to build two new Air Force One jets — a contract Trump originally signed early in his first term. The company now plans to deliver the two new jets in 2027, before Trump leaves office. Keep reading. ps:Why wouldn't Boeing be the big winner of all the airlines??

[phkrause]

Drinking water

In an effort to support President Trump’s agenda of having fewer regulations on businesses, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday that it plans to scrap limits on three types of so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water. Last year, the Biden administration set the first federal drinking water limits on substances known as PFAS, which are human-made and don’t easily break down in nature. While PFAS are useful in many applications, they build up in the body and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and low birth-weight babies. Health advocates praised the new limits, which would require water utilities to reduce PFAS to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. But the utilities complained about the new rules, saying treatment systems were expensive to install, and sued the EPA.    National Weather Service Since the start of President Trump’s second term, the National Weather Service has lost more than 550 people due to early retirements, the Department of Government Efficiency’s firings of probationary workers and its offers to leave government service. With so much institutional knowledge gone, experts are worried that the nation’s forecasting agency will be unable to provide accurate forecasts and timely life-saving warnings. As hurricane season is about to begin, the NWS is now offering voluntary reassignment opportunities to the remaining employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fill 155 positions in offices around the country. The NWS cannot fill these “critical holes” in staffing with candidates from the private sector because it is still under a federal hiring freeze.   Child care As the White House considers offering financial incentives to encourage American women to give birth, the annual price of child care continues to rise. According to a new report, child care costs increased by 29% from 2020 and 2024. Last year, the national average price of child care was $13,128. It would take 35% of a single parent’s median household income to afford that. On average, placing two children in child care would cost at least 19% more than the typical rent in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia. That same tab also exceeds the typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus Washington, DC.

[phkrause]

The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.

In early February, Sharon Cromer, U.S. ambassador to Gambia, went to visit one of the country’s Cabinet ministers at his agency’s headquarters, above a partially abandoned strip mall off a dirt road. It had been two weeks since President Donald Trump took office, and Cromer had pressing business to discuss. She needed the minister to fall in line to help Elon Musk.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-musk-starlink-state-department-gambia-africa-pressure?

U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs

Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled bruising new tariffs that caused the stock market to plummet, according to records obtained Wednesday by ProPublica.

https://www.propublica.org/article/pam-bondi-trump-media-stock-tariffs?

How the Trump Administration Is Weakening the Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws

Kennell Staten saw Walker Courts as his best path out of homelessness, he said. The complex had some of the only subsidized apartments he knew of in his adopted hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, so he applied to live there again and again. But while other people seemed to sail through the leasing process, his applications went nowhere. Staten thought he knew why: He is gay. The property manager had made her feelings about that clear to him, he said. “She said I was too flamboyant,” he remembered, “that it’s a whole bunch of older people staying there and they would feel uncomfortable seeing me coming outside with a dress or skirt on.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-hud-weakening-enforcement-fair-housing-laws?

[phkrause]

Republicans Aim To Enshrine Rental Price-Fixing

Republicans’ massive artificial intelligence giveaway in their must-pass budget reconciliation bill could kill crackdowns on real estate management company RealPage for raising rents and contributing to the country’s housing crisis. The language inserted into the legislation follows RealPage drastically scaling up its lobbying efforts in Washington — and after a flood of campaign cash from company executives.

https://www.levernews.com/republicans-aim-to-enshrine-rental-price_fixing/?

[phkrause]

⛽ The GOP really wants Big Oil to bribe them. Republicans slipped a provision into the budget reconciliation bill this week that would create a legalized system of bribery where oil and gas giants can write a check to federal officials in exchange for favorable regulatory treatment. Those bribes could even presumably be paid in Trump’s official meme coin as an additional way to curry favor with the administration, according to an exchange during a markup meeting this week. 

• If the bill becomes law, liquefied natural gas facilities seeking approval could be designated in the “public interest” — thus bypassing certain regulatory steps — for a small one-time fee of $1 million paid to the Department of Energy. Other oil and gas projects can also get in on the action by cutting a check for $10 million to expedite their permitting process — pennies to an industry worth more than $4 trillion.

? Migrant stop and searches rarely lead to drugs. President Donald Trump has justified his massive crackdown on immigration by claiming migrants are mass trafficking deadly illegal drugs into the country, specifically fentanyl. But new research from the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight reveals that of the 5.8 million migrants intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol between 2022 and 2024, just 249 stops resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs. Of these stops, half found marijuana, while just 11 found fentanyl. Statistically, the odds of dying from a bee sting were greater than finding a non-marijuana drug in a Border Patrol stop during this time.

? Sorry, your personal data just got sold. The Trump administration is withdrawing a Biden-era consumer-protection rule limiting data brokers’ ability to sell your sensitive data to private buyers. Now, personal information like your home address and your smartphone’s app usage data are all fair game for brokers to sell, even though that data could easily end up in the hands of targeted advertisers and fraudsters. As The Lever previously reported, financial technology industry groups have spent $4.7 million pushing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to keep letting them buy and sell data, among other issues, since 2023.

• “Another of endless Trump giveaways to Big Tech, threatening U.S. consumers’ financial security and their privacy,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of consumer advocacy group Center for Digital Democracy. “Americans who can’t donate a jet or buy cryptocurrency don’t stand a chance in the Trump era.”

[phkrause]

The fake war on drug prices. Trump recently signed an executive order asking drug manufacturers to reduce the price of key medicines. The order is vague and toothless, offering no clear legal authority to demand lower drug prices, with the New York Times noting the order is “something of a win for the pharmaceutical industry.” Moreover, it ignores a critical loophole in the Affordable Care Act that forces patients to bear the out-of-pocket burden for essential high-cost drugs that rarely have generic alternatives.

CHART OF THE DAY

 

Ninety percent of prescriptions sold in the U.S. are generic, but 87 percent of spending goes to brand-name drugs. (Source: Steven Rattner/ Association for Accessible Medicines)

Nonessentializing the essentials. The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes 10 categories of health services, known as “essential health benefits,” that health insurance plans must cover under the law. These include hospitalizations, maternity and newborn care, mental health treatment, and prescription drugs. However, many insurers and pharmaceutical middlemen designate certain medications as “nonessential,” thereby exempting them from the ACA’s coverage requirements. This means patients can’t count these prescriptions toward their deductible, copay, or out-of-pocket maximum.  

Profits at the expense of patients. Many of the drugs deemed nonessential are expensive specialty medications that come with pharmaceutical manufacturers’ copay assistance programs — coupons, discount cards, and vouchers offered by the drugmaker to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs. However, by categorizing the drugs as nonessential, insurance companies and pharmacy middlemen can pocket these copay assistance funds without counting individuals’ payments toward their out-of-pocket costs, padding the company’s bottom line while burdening chronically ill patients with huge medical bills. 

• This isn’t unusual — a 2024 study by the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, a group that advocates for patients with chronic health conditions, found that more than 100 large employers, from Target to Bank of America to Brown University, were using prescription drug vendors that classified some covered drugs as “nonessential.” 

Promises made, promises not kept. While a 2024 ruling by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid stopped individual and small group employer health insurance plans from designating certain drugs as nonessential, the ruling did not extend to self-insured or large group employer plans — plans used by organizations with 51 or more employees, which cover the majority of working Americans.

• Trump has been a critic of the pharmaceutical industry’s price-gouging: “They’re getting away with murder, Pharma. Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists, a lot of power,” Trump said of drug pricing reform in 2017. And on the 2024 campaign trail, Trump again pledged to lower prescription drug costs. But this April, 80 patient advocacy groups, including the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, urged Trump to issue a federal rule that would close the nonessential-drug loophole for good… and he has yet to act. 

Reporting contributed by Helen Santoro.

[phkrause]

Who is Theo Von? The ‘manosphere’ podcaster with Trump in Qatar

Podcaster Theo Von performed a set for U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday where he joked joked about doing drugs off of a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy, and compared the Qatari hosts’ attire to Klansman robes. His appearance preceded President Donald Trump’s visit to the Al-Udeid Air Base. Read More.   “Intense Culture of Fear”: Behind the Scenes as Trump Destroys the EPA From Within Staffers said Trump is “lobotomizing our agency” by forcing thousands into buyouts and politicizing notions like environmental justice. https://theintercept.com/2025/05/13/trump-epa-staff-cuts-environmental-justice/? ps:That's all they've been doing to all the agencies!!!!!   Republicans Sneak Nonprofit Killer Bill Into the Tail End of Trump’s 389-Page Tax Plan It would give the Trump administration the power to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems a “terrorist-supporting organization.” https://theintercept.com/2025/05/12/trump-nonprofit-killer-tax-cuts/?