Taking Stock of Trump’s 100 Days
President Donald Trump is preparing for his 100-days-in-office victory lap in Michigan, where auto companies were hard hit by his tariffs because so many car and truck parts are imported from other countries, especially Canada.
By the time he heads out this afternoon, Trump will be able to tell the folks in Michigan that he’s backing off from the problem he caused by lifting some levies on foreign parts for vehicles made inside the US. That move comes as GM joins a growing list of US companies pulling earnings projections as they grapple with tariffs, retailiation from America’s trading partners, or both. Read More
Using the presidential pen to impose tariffs — upending markets all over the world and reducing the value of retirement savings that millions of Americans have in 401(k) plans — was among the dramatic flexes of presidental power in the first weeks of Trump 2.0.
Trump also attacked law firms in a way that threatened their livelihoods. To avoid the loss of security clearances and other punitive sanctions, major law firms committed $940 million in legal services. On the eve of Day 100, Trump revealed how he plans to use at least some of that free help: by giving it to police officers accused of wrongdoing, Chris Opfer reports. Read More
Immigration, of course, was a big 2024 campaign theme, and Trump moved that topic to the front of newscasts yesterday by signing an order directing his administration to compile a list of “sanctuary cities” that don’t cooperate with federal efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 175 of Trump’s early directives focused on immigration as of last week, and at least 50 multi-plaintiff suits challenged those measures. Andrew Kreighbaum and Ellen M. Gilmer report that in response to the immigration litigation, judges set limits on Trump’s ability to use wartime powers for enforcement, paused his bid to end birthright citizenship, and preserved temporary status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
“Federal courts across the country are trying to be a bulwark against the worst excesses of the administration in the immigration context,” Columbia Law School professor Elora Mukherjee said. Read More
Ian Kullgren reports on the campaign promises that Trump couldn’t make good on in his first 100 days. Those included ending taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security, and ending the war in Ukraine. You might remember the candidate saying at campaign events that he would end that war within 24 hours. In an interview with Time, Trump said his promise to end the war in one day was made in “jest.” Read More
Michael Rapoport reports on how business groups are telling the Trump administration which tax regulations they would like to see scrapped. Read More
And then there’s the thing that created Trump’s entertainment following — firing reality-show contestants on network TV. His second presidential term has included a lot of firing sprees, including at agencies set up to be independent and immune from political pressure.
Robert Iafolla reports on the fallout at hollowed-out agencies including the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The US Supreme Court is all-but guaranteed to weigh in on Trump’s firing authority. Legal challenges are pending on the high court’s emergency docket. Read More
See Also:
- NOAA Risks Loss of Data Network as Contract Lapses
- All Authors Working on Flagship U.S. Climate Report Are Dismissed — New York Times
Tracking Reconciliation
Three pieces of the future tax-and-spending-cut package are primed for committee markups today. We’ll be watching the reconciliation debate in the House Armed Services, Education and Workforce, and Homeland Security committees.
For big changes, watch the Ed-Workforce markup, since that panel was tasked with squeezing out at least $330 billion in cost-saving offsets.
Because of the rules governing budget reconciliation, Republicans can run the board if they stick together — the minority party’s votes only matter if the GOP is divided. With their influence thus limited, Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are delivering the receipts on what’s already been done this year without any congressional approval.
They released a list of 114 instances in which the Trump administration froze federal spending, totaling $436.9 billion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Energy Department, and the Transportation Department were hit the hardest, according to their tally.
Read More from Jack Fitzpatrick, who also explains in this video that the spending-cut prognosis is full of question marks.
Also Read: Republicans Push to Levy Fees on Immigrants to Fund Trump Agenda
Subscribers, you have additional details in today’s Congress Tracker and Budget Brief.
Eye on the Economy: How to Skirt Tariffs
Here’s a little insight into how tariffs get calculated. New airplanes are subject to levies but once they’re flown for any reason other than testing and delivery, they’re considered used rather than new and then tariffs usually don’t apply.
So Delta Air Lines is dusting off a playbook that worked for the company in 2019, flying its next new Airbus from the factory in France direct to Tokyo, according to data from FlightAware, an online tracking service. CEO Ed Bastian said earlier this month he told Airbus he’d defer any planes carrying a tariff. Read More
Tariff Politics
Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada a US state were a big factor in yesterday’s national elections in Canada. Mark Carney, whose party’s victory will give him a mandate as prime minister, framed himself as the best person to stand up to Trump. Read More
Also on the tariff front:
- Porsche Cuts Profit Outlook Over US Tariffs, EV Slowdown
- Israel Offers US Trade Concession in Effort to Avoid Tariff Pain
Watch This Number
A number that economists and stock traders will be paying attention to today comes from The Conference Board, which is updating its consumer confidence figures.
The board tracks how optimistic US households are about their finances keeping up with prices. It’s an ongoing gauge of sentiment that helps tip companies to what to expect from their customers — are they closing their checkbooks or feeling OK about purchases.
Last month the outlook was down:
Before You Go
One more scheduling item that’s interesting because lawmakers have had such struggles over whether to change Daylight Saving Time: The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee plans to mark up a bill to mandate out-in-space standard time. The logic behind the bill (H.R. 2313): official celestial time would come in handy to support operations on the moon and other locations in space.
And a few more stories to dig into as the Washington workday begins:
- Dank Memes, Coachella, TikTok: New Ways Senators Seek to Connect
- Medicare Enrollment Proposals Would Speed Shift to Private Care
- ‘Tale of Two Petes': Fired Aide Describes Pentagon Chief
- F-35 Inventory Flaws Are a Big Issue in Pentagon’s Failed Audit
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