*By Alisha Haridasani*
Michelle Wolf will be a strong host for this year’s White House Correspondents dinner, said fellow comedian Jordan Klepper.
“She’s been a pro for years and one of the funniest voices out there,” Klepper told Cheddar Friday. “I’m just excited to sit back and watch her kill it.”
This year, President Trump has decided to again buck tradition and skip the dinner, a move that he will probably keep doing for years to come, said Klepper.
“The ability to have thick skin and play around with people” is not the president’s forte, the host of Comedy Central's "The Opposition" said. “The fact that he’s flying to Michigan [instead] on Saturday kind of proves that it’s going to be a while before he finds his way back into the White House Correspondents Dinner.”
Last year’s dinner was hosted by comedian Hasan Minhaj, who opened his speech by calling the event the [“series finale,”](http://time.com/4761644/hasan-minhaj-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech-transcript/) taking a dig at Trump’s hatred for the media.
The dinner, sometimes called "Nerd Prom", is organized by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), which was founded in 1914 and champions a free, unfettered press. It takes place this Saturday.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-art-of-political-satire-with-comedian-jordan-klepper).
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
