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Good afternoon,
As the chaos and disorder in Washington grows, world leaders have begun to take action. French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting of European leaders to discuss Trump's participation in Ukraine-Russia peace talks. At home, the mass firing extravaganza caused another grave mistake, with the USDA accidentally firing employees working on the government's response to the bird flu outbreak. They are now trying to rescind those firings.
Here are a few important updates...
FARMERS LEFT IN THE DUST
The Trump Administration has been quickly working to push its agenda, freezing funding, starting trade wars, and dismantling federal agencies. Farmers and rural Americans, two of the most reliable GOP voting blocs, have been harmed on multiple fronts by the administration's policies. The decision to pause and review federal funding has caused an extensive amount of chaos for farmers. Many farmers recently installed solar panels in an effort to reduce energy costs and increase sustainability, paying up front with guarantees that they would receive reimbursements from the government. With these reimbursements cut off, the financial burden falls on individual farmers, pushing some into bankruptcy.
Farmers have also been impacted by the shutdown of USAID, which buys almost $2 billion of products from American farmers. Dismantling USAID doesn't just hurt populations abroad, it hurts farmers here at home who depend on USAID to purchase their goods. Farmers produce far more goods than Americans can consume, and the administration's actions will disrupt market prices and create additional stress for food producers. The Trump Administration's policies have hit farmers hard, and we can expect their struggles to ripple out into rural communities. Trump and his party have relied on rural Americans as a voting group, yet they appear uninterested in rewarding that political support.
TRUMP'S (SECOND) FIRST MONTH
Today marks one month since President Trump took office, and the consistent theme of his (second) first month is the challenging of norms, laws, and the balance of power. Just a month in, his presidency has been vastly different from all presidencies we have seen throughout our country's history, including Trump's own first term. Trump installed unelected co-president Elon Musk to lead "doge," giving him seemingly unchecked power to fire federal workers and execute mass cuts in federal spending. Then his administration argued in court that Musk was not even an official part of "doge." He nominated several controversial cabinet picks, none of which have faced resistance from the Republican-led Senate. He has also been skeptical of longstanding international organizations and alliances, pulling out of the World Health Organization and withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Trump is attempting to reset the balance of power in the government and put himself above the law. In his latest executive order, Trump sought to expand his authority over independent agencies, requiring them to submit proposed regulations to the White House for review. The EO also requires Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, to review all spending to ensure it aligns with Trump's priorities. This is an extremely authoritative move that will likely bring along legal challenges. Trump and has also taken to social media with authoritative language stating "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law." If that wasn't a clear enough statement that Trump views himself as a king, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post "LONG LIVE THE KING." The White House's official Instagram account accompanied this post with an image of a crowned Trump. It's been a damaging first month of this Trump presidency with little sign of slowing down. The last time America was ruled by a king in mental decline we fought a war to establish our nation. We don't need a king in mental decline now.
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WORD OF THE WEEK
Reciprocal-Tariff—A major foreign economic policy tool through which the U.S. can impose levies on imported goods to match the import duties a country imposes on their imported goods from the U.S. While straightforward in theory, it is complicated in practice, as countries often charge different tariffs on different goods. Many countries also impose a border adjustment tax, a flat percentage charged on the value of an imported good. This was a policy that Trump supported in the past but now complains about other countries using. Now Trump is touting reciprocal tariffs, claiming it is a matter of "fairness." Economists warn that reciprocal tariffs will cause a 0.5% annual increase in inflation.
- The Senate Committee hearings for Deputy nominations for the Department of Homelands Security, Office of Management and Budget and Secretary of Defense will be held early next week.
- The Senate will begin a "vote-a-rama" tonight as part of the push to setup the $4.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, to be paid for by over $3 trillion in cuts to social programs like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, Social Security, and many others.
WHAT WE'RE READING
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