Today in Politics, Bulletin 114. 4/17/25

… Fed Chair Jerome Powell infuriated Trump by announcing he was not going to lower interest rates because of the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs: “The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”

… Trump responded with a post referencing Europe’s central bank: “The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete “mess!” Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

… Powell addressed threats by Trump to fire him: “Our independence is a matter of law. Congress has, in our statute, we’re not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms. So it’s protected in the law. So you know, Congress could change that law, but I don’t think there’s any danger of that. Fed independence is very widely understood and supported in Congress. We will only make our decisions based on our best thinking, based on our best analysis of the data about what is the way to serve to achieve our dual mandate goals as we can to best serve the American people.”

… He then received loud applause from the audience when he closed with this: “That’s the only thing we’re ever going to do. We’re never going to be influenced by any political pressure. People can say whatever they want. That’s fine. That’s not a problem. But we will do what we do - strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors.”

… Politico reported that behind the scenes, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned Trump repeatedly if he fires Powell it would destabilize the markets even worse.

… There was another mass shooting on a school campus today, this time Florida State University, which left at least two dead and several others wounded in serious condition. The 20-year old suspect in custody Phoenix Ikner is the son of a local sheriff’s deputy and reportedly used her gun.

… Trump was asked to comment after being told the number of victims: “I‘m a big advocate of the Second Amendment, I have been from the beginning, I protected it. These things are terrible. But the gun doesn‘t do the shooting, the people do.”

… Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went on Fox to beg China’s President Xi to call Trump as he waits by the phone: “The entire world knows they need to do business with the US, and China knows that too. The ball is in China’s court. They need to do business with the US.”

… Bloomberg reported that China is furious about JD Vance’s comments calling Chinese workers “peasants”, and will not engage in trade talks until Vance publicly apologizes for the remark: "China wants to see a number of steps from President Trump’s administration before it will agree to trade talks, including showing more respect by reining in disparaging remarks by members of his cabinet.”

… WaPo’s Robyn Dixon: “That JD Vance comment about ‘Chinese peasants’ was taken in China as deeply offensive, and it is now a hurdle to trade talks. Trump administration’s approach appears tone deaf on this.”

… MSNBC’s Catherine Rampell: “This is the problem with electing an administration of too-online edgelords instead of people who actually want to govern. You can’t just ‘shitpost’ your way to a deal with China.”

… Bloomberg reported that Chinese refineries have slashed US oil imports by 90% and are now purchasing record volumes of Canadian crude.

… Shaun Rein, with China Market Research Group: “China is not buying American oil but is now buying Canadian oil. China is not buying American soybeans but buying Brazilian soybeans. China is not buying American Boeings but buying France's Airbuses. China is not buying American beef but buying Australian. China has decided basically not to buy anything from America and, aside from semiconductors, can easily replace American made products.”

.. “America, on the other hand, had to exempt iPhones and computers from tariffs. America can't buy antibiotics and rare earth anywhere else. Things are not going to go the way Trump wants. Bessent, Navarro, Lutnick should be fired. Can there be a more arrogant yet unsophisticated triumvirate in American economic history?”

… European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “The West as we knew it no longer exists. Everyone is asking for more trade with Europe - and it's not just about economic ties. It is also about establishing common rules and it is about predictability. Europe is known for its predictability and reliability, which is once again starting to be seen as something very valuable. We don't have bros or oligarchs making the rules. We don't invade our neighbors and we don't punish them.”

… Fox Business host Charles Payne on the Trump Admin’s claims that they would make 90 new deals in 90 days with countries after tariffs were announced: “The hope was 90 deals in 90 days. So far no deals have been announced. Right now, we're just hoping for some and it's down to 83 days. The more this clock ticks down, the more economic uncertainty will continue to tick higher.”

… Derek Thompson with the Atlantic: “We really did it. We took a growing US manufacturing economy, declared it broken, started a trade war, and ... broke US manufacturing. In last 48 hours: Philly Fed Survey: ‘New orders fell sharply, from 8.7 in March to -34.2, its lowest reading since April 2020’. NY Fed Survey: ‘Expected orders and shipments plunging’. Again, this is supposed to be a policy to revive US manufacturing?”

… Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal: “Only three times has the Philly Fed Manufacturing Survey plunged more in a month. Twice in spring 2020, and once in October 2008.”

… The Dow was down 327.16 today, and US housing starts fell 11.4% in March.

… The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump Admin appeal to block Judge Xinis’ order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia: “We shall not micromanage the efforts of a fine district judge attempting to implement the Supreme Court’s recent decision. It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all. The govt is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process.”

… KSL News (Utah): “BYU PhD student Suguru Onda just had his student visa revoked without notice. He’s being told to go back to Japan within 15 days because of his alleged criminal history. But he only has two speeding tickets and a fishing citation from 2019 that was dismissed. Onda's attorney says he has little to no footprint on social media, doesn't speak out about politics, and, to our knowledge, was not involved in any protests on college campuses. He is married with 5 kids, two of which were born in the US.”

… “Onda's attorney also claims, through what's he's seen in court documents, the government is using AI to find any criminal activity amongst student visa holders and canceling their visas without human cross-reference.”

… FCC Chair Brendan Carr is now threatening to go after Comcast, the parent company for MSNBC, and CNN over what he says is biased coverage over the Kilmar Garcia story: “Comcast outlets spent days misleading the American public—implying that Abrego Garcia was merely a law abiding US citizen, just a regular ‘Maryland man’. When the truth comes out, they ignore it. Comcast knows that fed law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it.”

… Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “I know Brendan Carr from my days on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I never in my life would have imagined that this guy who I thought was a good man, would turn out to be the composer of state approved talking points and media. This is truly sad and disgraceful.”

… Ryan Grim, DropSite News: “The hypocrisy of MAGA doesn’t shock me anymore, though this one takes it to new levels. To be pro-free speech but also want the FCC to edit and shape news coverage with vulgar threats is absurdly authoritarian. If this movement is not smashed and thoroughly discredited it’s the end of the US as even a marginally free country.”

… NYT reported that several of the big law firms who surrendered to Trump are already regretting selling out: “Could the deals between Trump and the law firms be unraveling? There's a widening gap between what the firms believe they committed to and what Trump and the White House think their pro bono legal work can be used for: tariffs, helping the coal industry, repping Trump and his allies if they become ensnared in investigations.”

… Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told nonprofit leaders in AK that there are many Republicans in Congress who disagree with what Trump is doing but won’t speak out: “We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement, but we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

… The Trump Admin is attacking Harvard in several different areas in their attempt to take over and dramatically reshape elite American universities. They froze $2.2B in grant money, canceled a research contract worth over $100 million, are threatening to revoke their tax exempt status, and now DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is demanding records on foreign students and said if the school doesn’t comply by April 30 she will revoke all student visas.

… 27% of the Harvard student body is foreign students. The Trump admin’s other demands include dramatic changes in the university’s governance, hiring practices, admissions, teaching, and research programs.

… Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes on Trump threatening to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status: “If Trump has the power to do this, then any president, of either party, can destroy any private institution in the country if it defies him. This would include nonprofits, churches, foundations, and charities all would exist only at the whim of the executive. Republicans should be careful what they wish for.”

… Billy Long, Trump’s nominee to run the IRS, just had his campaign debt from 2022 paid off by several people who have current tax issues pending before the IRS. From The New Republic: “Long reported in campaign finance disclosures that he loaned $130,000 to his unsuccessful 2022 campaign for the US Senate, with the dormant campaign committee raising $36,000 in the past two years. This meant that Long would have been personally on the hook for more than $100,000.”

… “Shortly after Trump announced Long as his pick to head the IRS, the committee was suddenly flush, taking in $137,000 in under three weeks in January, and Long used that to reimburse himself. Two-thirds of those donations were for $2,900, the maximum amount allowed by law, and one-third of them came from donors in the tax consultant industry or people with tax-related legal issues.”

… Michael Beckel, of campaign finance watchdog group Issue One, to Lever News: “Making political contributions to aid Billy Long seems like a surefire way to ingratiate yourself with the man poised to lead the IRS, especially when we’re talking about contributions to help repay campaign debt that is just loans to the candidate himself and contributions to his leadership PAC. People often criticize campaign contributions for being legalized bribery, but in this case, we’re truly talking about money being given to Long to repay himself.”

We had a great show yesterday on my podcast Uncovered doing a deeper dive into the biggest stories of the week. Link to the show is here.

I am also coming out of a long 5-month winter hibernation here in Maine, and I have 3 weekend trips over the next two months. Except my weekends are going to be FRI-SAT since I work on Sunday and do the Weekend Bulletin. Tomorrow is the first trip, and we are going to some historic towns in CT - Simsbury, Granby, Wethersfield, with stop in Hartford to visit the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe houses.

So no Bulletin tomorrow and I will see you Sunday!

… WSJ wrote a story detailing the sick, creepy and depraved way Elon Musk has been procreating with random women he meets online in order to create a “legion” of offspring. MAGA social media influencer Ashley St. Clair became the 7th woman to have one of his 14 children so far: “Musk offered St. Clair $15 million and $100,000 a month in support in exchange for her silence about the child, whom they named