Shutdown’s Next Phase
The financial impacts of the government shutdown are set to escalate this week, though Senate Republicans and Democrats show no signs of breaking their stalemate.
President Donald Trump said troops will get their paychecks Wednesday despite the shutdown. Still, some questions remain. The administration is taking $8 billion from the Pentagon’s research and development accounts to make that payroll. Money in those accounts is good for two years—and therefore isn’t subject to the current lapse in annual appropriations. However, annual spending laws require Congress to greenlight moving the funds, Roxana Tiron and Amanda H. Allen report.
Using tariff and tax revenues was also floated, but without action by Congress, it’s unclear how the administration can do so.
Separately, Republicans are under increased pressure to negotiate on extending tax credits that lower health-care premiums for more than 22 million people enrolled on Obamacare exchanges, a key Democratic demand. Insurance companies are sending out notices to customers this month, reflecting large increases to premiums for next year. Read More
Staff Struggles Hit National Parks
As the shutdown enters its third week, neglect to national parks due to staffing shortages is worrying Democrats and park groups, particularly after witnessing damages the last time around Kellie Lunney reports.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum decided to keep most parks open for as long as possible when the shutdown started. But the NPS furloughed more than 9,000 employees—and that’s on top of shedding roughly 24% of NPS staff over the last eight months through buyouts and early retirements.
Potentially compounding the problem, the federal government began sending layoff notices to workers Friday. However, the Interior Department was not included in a document that listed eight federal agencies and the more than 4,000 estimated employees who could receive layoff notices. Read More
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Eye on the Economy
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks today to the National Association for Business Economics.
It’s a chance to hear how his view of the economy — and need for further interest rate reductions — may have evolved since the policy makers’ September meeting.
Anna Paulson, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, spoke yesterday during the event.
In her comments, she signaled she favors two more quarter-point interest-rate cuts this year, as monetary policy should look through the impact of tariffs in consumer price increases.
Fed officials will meet twice more in 2025, including a gathering slated for Oct. 28-29 in Washington. Read More
Ex-Rep.'s Advice to Potential K Streeters
Ex-Congressman Tom Davis says there are two types of lobbyists in Washington—those with information and those with knowledge. To stay relevant in your job, you must be able to collaborate, access information, defer to others, and learn a new way to make a difference. Read More
Before You Go
Trump, Xi Tit-for-Tat: Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s are engaged in strategic posturing, with the clock ticking toward another escalation in import tariffs. Read More
Moving Fast: Not a year into his second term, Trump and his lieutenants are struggling to manage the torrent of tariffs, deportations, lawsuits, countersuits, hirings, firings, troop deployments and emergency declarations they’ve unleashed. Read More
GOP Eyes Key Races: Republicans are optimistic about their chances to win governor’s mansions in New Jersey and Virginia next month. The elections will offer clues about next year and could foreshadow Republicans’ ability to hang onto control of Congress. Read More
New Trump Tower Tenant: Banker Kyle Wool of Dominari Holdings has helped Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump make more than half a billion dollars. Read More
Partisanship in the Court: Former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said the high court is harmed by “too much partisanship,” which he blames on presidents and a confirmation process that increasingly focuses on politics over temperament. Read More
Work Remains in Mideast: Trump took a victory lap after the success of US-led mediation efforts to end the fighting in Gaza. Now comes the even harder part. Read More
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