Jack Hunter, editor of Rare Politics. and Jarad Geldner, senior adviser for the Democratic Coalition, discuss Washington's busy week. They cover everything from what could be a government shutdown on Friday, to the RNC's endorsement of Roy Moore, to the Senate's recent passing of tax reform.
We dig into the rescheduling of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's meeting with the President. The two top democrats will argue for a fix for both CHIP and DACA in the budget. Jarad discusses the overall feeling in Washington as tense ahead of Friday's spending deadline.
Jack weighs in on the RNC's recent embrace of Roy Moore, alleged child sex offender and Alabama candidate for Senate. Hunter notes that the alleged behavior is deplorable, and no one should be dismissing it. Jack also discusses why some Senate Republicans, like John McCain, suddenly jumped on board tax reform. He points out that the number one concern of the Republican party has always been taxes, which is why they were able to pass it as easily as they did.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
