House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy became the latest Republican to say he’s leaving politics.
Cenk Uygur, the CEO of The Young Turks, called the recent trend “unprecedented.”
"That means their poll numbers are disastrous. They think 2018 is going to be a landslide and a complete wipeout," Uygur told Cheddar.
Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina, said in a tweet Wednesday that he wouldn’t run for re-election in the 2018 midterms and would instead return to the justice system.
His decision carries even more importance considering his position on the Oversight Committee, which has not yet completed its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The previous Chair, Jason Chaffetz, stepped down in June.
"It would be shocking if it was a coincidence that everybody in Oversight is now saying, ‘I gotta get the hell out of there,’" Uygur said.
The loss of Gowdy comes as the GOP is increasingly at odds over how to work with the Trump administration. Some Republicans in Congress are trying to rein him in while others are standing behind him. Uygur speculates this sentiment has motivated Republicans to step down.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/young-turks-founder-cenk-uygur-weighs-in-on-rep-trey-gowdys-retirement).
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.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
