Domestic Politics: United States Archives

United States: The Big, Beautiful Bond Drop

21May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

United States: The Big, Beautiful Bond Drop

Trump Budget Plan Prompts Rating Drop And Loss of Confidence in Treasuries May 21, 2025—The bond markets for long-term U.S. Treasuries spoke clearly on Wednesday, and it wasn’t pretty. The 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.096 percent as bond dealers sold off U.S. long-term debt holdings. The bond markets underpin a country's economic stability. Volatility in government bonds can impact politics, as it did in the United Kingdom under the short-term leadership stint of Liz Truss. Now, President Trump is testing the limits as he pushes forward a multitrillion-dollar budget plan for the next 10 years. Trump and House Republicans call it the tax cut and budget plan the “big, beautiful bill,” but today, the bond markets signaled their displeasure. Furthermore, the Financial Times warned...

Senate Stablecoin Bill Would Give Crypto Some Credentials

20May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Brief

Senate Stablecoin Bill Would Give Crypto Some Credentials

JP Morgan To Add Bitcoin Buying Options May 20, 2025—The Senate is debating a bill to regulate the stablecoins—a token used to purchase cryptocurrencies. Passage of the bill would mark a significant legislative victory for the cryptocurrency industry. Crypto is now quickly emerging from its reputation as a volatile and speculative venture into one that carries legitimacy. The GENIUS Act S. 1582, the GENIUS Act, would establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for the industry. It would provide some consumer protection and regulatory clarity. Specifically, it would: Require stablecoin issuers to maintain reserves in U.S. dollars, demand deposits, or short-term Treasury securities. Provide a federal regulatory framework in place that includes the Federal Reserve a...

Trade Wars: Lawsuit Against Trump Tariffs Gathers Support

28Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Global Trade, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief

Trade Wars: Lawsuit Against Trump Tariffs Gathers Support

The Case Challenges Executive Authority to Effectively ‘Tax’ Consumers The U.S. Court of International Trade may not be the most high-profile court in the United States, but it is getting more attention and cases this year under the Trump Administration’s tariff regime. In one case, filed this month on behalf of five business relying on imports, the Liberty Justice Center is arguing that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by imposing duties on imports. Now, a broad coalition of former senators, judges, lawyers, and attorneys general agrees and is joining the lawsuit. Tariff Update: Since he announced a wave of tariffs against U.S. trading partners, Trump has postponed most hikes while raising the U.S. tariff on goods from China to 145 percent. M...

DOGE Whistleblower Cites Breach of Sensitive U.S. Business Data

16Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics: United States, Types of News: Brief

DOGE Whistleblower Cites Breach of Sensitive U.S. Business Data

NLRB Breach Impacts Labor Cases, Proprietary Information April 16, 2025—A U.S. federal worker came forward this week as a whistleblower against the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, the broad-reaching initiative President Trump created with an executive order on his first day of office. The whistleblower, Daniel Berulis, is an IT worker at the National Labor Relations Board. NLRB is a small, independent government agency tasked with ensuring that private-sector workers have rights such as collective bargaining in their workplaces. Berulis asserts that DOGE employees not only overrode standard security procedures to protect sensitive data, but they also made the system vulnerable to disclosure to a foreign adversary. A federal IT worker Daniel Berulis has informed Congr...

Trump Scales Back Elon Musk’s Overarching Authority

7Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Trump Scales Back Elon Musk’s Overarching Authority

DOGE Seeks $1 Trillion In Government Cuts File photo from Trump's first Cabinet meeting Feb. 2025 March 7, 2025--In a fiery White House meeting on Thursday that pitted Elon Musk against Cabinet officials, President Trump signaled that the appointed secretaries would have the lead role over their various departments. It's notable because up until now Musk has seemingly upstaged Cabinet officials over decisions on federal employment decisions. Uncertainty over the U.S. government overhaul impacts citizens, employees, and investors. Today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed would wait for greater clarity before deciding what direction to take. Powell added that changes in trade, regulation, fiscal policy, and immigration would impact the economy. Who's In Charge? ...

Private Prison Firms Eye Profit in Trump Mass Detentions

18Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Types of News: Brief

Private Prison Firms Eye Profit in Trump Mass Detentions

February 18, 2025--President Trump, who ran on a campaign of law-and-order and promises to focus on detaining immigrants who came to the country illegally, is already making big changes to the detention system. He reversed a Biden-administration executive order that blocked the Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service from signing new contracts with private detention companies. Private prison companies are taking notice and making capital investments in the expectation of winning federal contracts for detaining people. "The new year is just underway, and the landscape is already changing in ways that are likely to positively impact our business," said Damon Hininger, chief executive officer of CoreCivic. "As the new administration modifies immigration policy and enacts new legisl...

DOGE: Trump Administration Fires Federal FAA Employees

17Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

DOGE: Trump Administration Fires Federal FAA Employees

"air traffic control tower" by Sean MacEntee is licensed under CC BY 2.0. February 17, 2025-No agency is left untouched in the Trump Administration's government overhaul. Several hundred employees from the Federal Aviation Administration received emails over the weekend informing them they have been fired. According to the Associated Press, the firings impact support staff for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, and one air traffic controller. This comes just weeks after a fatal plane and helicopter crash in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The Impact The FAA has roughly 50,000 employees. The layoff primarily impacts staff that was newly hired or promoted in the last year. According to USA Today, the layoff affects 400 workers. The USAT article, which cited Da...

Top PAC Recipients in the U.S. House 2023-2024

6Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Top PAC Recipients in the U.S. House 2023-2024

Eye on Politics March 6, 2024-As the U.S. political cycle kicks into higher gear, it's time to take a closer look at who is running with what resources. Political action committees, known as PACs, play a significant role in U.S. elections. Below is a list of House members receiving the most PAC money, according to data from Open Secrets. The top receiver, Jason Smith, Republican from Missouri, is chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. The top five contributors to Rep. Smith in the 2023-2024 cycle are the National Association of Realtors, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Apollo Global Management, Herzog Contracting, and the Alliantgroup.

Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gun Makers Moves Forward

25Jan

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Arms Sales, Military Industry, Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics: United States, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Analysis

Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gun Makers Moves Forward

Appeals Court Decision Comes As U.S.-Mexico Meet On Root Causes Of Migration January 25, 2024—As President Biden faces pressure at home to stop the flow of irregular migration to the United States at the southern border, Mexico is drawing attention to one of the root causes: U.S.-made weapons in the hands of cartels. Mexico's Defense Department said this week drug cartels are armed with U.S.-made weapons intended for military use, such as grenade and rocket launchers and fully automatic machine guns. Mexico wants the weapons trafficking to stop. Furthermore, the government is demanding answers from the Biden administration. "It is very urgent that an investigation into this be carried out," Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said on Monday. Mexico has the third...

GUEST POST: Congress, Ukraine Is Still Germane

17Jan

By Guest WriterNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Foreign Aid, International Development, Geopolitics, Type of News: Guest Post, Types of News: Analysis

GUEST POST: Congress, Ukraine Is Still Germane

Don't Renege On Our Promise To Ukraine Editor's Note: The U.S. Senate is currently considering a $100 billion supplemental spending bill, S.Amdt.1371 to H.R. 815. It would provide $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and Taiwan, and include $14 billion for U.S. border security. As much of the world's attention has shifted to the Middle East, support for Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression is waning in some countries, including the United States. Ukrainian President Zelenskky addressed top officials from United States, the European Union, China, the Middle East have gathered for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 16, 2024. Op-Ed by William Slomanson Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Thomas Jefferson School of Law. William Slo...