The life of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is going from bad to worse. Trump is furious that Powell is raising interest rates quickly and even called the Fed the "biggest threat" to a booming economy.
What's happening: According to a source familiar with Trump's thinking, the president feels the only way to get his message to Powell is by bashing him in the media. And I've heard nothing to suggest Trump will back off these attacks.
Details: Many of the migrants who made it to Mexico illegally crossed the Suchiate River while others in the caravan decided to return to Honduras or legally apply for asylum in Mexico. The caravan is set to camp in the Mexican city of Tapachula to decide if it will try to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump has been vocal about the caravan on Twitter, blaming the "onslaught of illegal aliens" on Democrats in a series of Sunday afternoon tweets.
The death of Jamal Khashoggi provides an opportunity for Congress to increase its oversight of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, particularly regarding Saudi Arabia. Though it has provided mutual economic and counterterrorism benefits over the decades, the U.S.–Saudi relationship has now become one-sided, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to manipulation when a crisis like the current one emerges.
The big picture: Congressional pressure — especially from GOP leaders like Senators Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul — can help get to the truth and compel Saudi Arabia to account meaningfully for its behavior.
The most recent U.S. government fiscal year just ended. The budget deficit grew by 17% from the previous year, thanks to Trump's tax cuts.
By the numbers: If you look at the breakdown of Treasury receipts in fiscal 2018, almost every category went up, year-on-year. Individual income tax receipts, for instance, rose by 6%, or $96 billion.
The Arizona Republic’s editorial board on Sunday endorsed Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema over Republican Martha McSally, marking the first time the publication has endorsed a Democrat for the Senate since at least 2000.
Details: Instead of pointing to their policy proposals, the editorial board examined how the candidates conducted themselves on the trail, noting that "there is too much 'us and them' in D.C., and it hurts how we are governed."
President Trump and top Republicans, concerned about huge House losses this fall, are tossing out new ideas by the day in hopes of saving their majority.
What they're saying: Trump told reporters in Nevada yesterday that he and House Republican leaders are working "around the clock" on "a very major tax cut for middle-income people. And if we do that, it'll be sometime just prior, I would say, to November." But Republicans on the Hill seemed to know nothing about it, and both chambers are out until after midterms.
Making an audacious pre-midterm promise, President Trump told reporters in Nevada on Saturday that he is working with Republican congressional leaders on "a very major tax cut for middle-income people," to be announced in early November or just before.
The big picture: Trump has been promising major tax cuts since his presidential campaign. Axios' Jonathan Swan explains that although Congress could technically pass a tax cut in the lame duck session, Trump's proposal has no chance of passing any time soon. He can only announce such a move ahead of the midterms as Congress will remain out of session until after the election, which is just 16 days away.
After speaking at a rally in Elko, Nevada, President Trump told reporters that he will pull the United States out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia that was created by the Reagan administration in 1986.
The details: "We're the ones that have stayed in the agreement, and we've honored the agreement, but Russia has not, unfortunately, honored the agreement, so we're going to terminate the agreement," he said. The Trump administration has been planning to pull out, citing Moscow has been violating it since 2014, per The New York Times. The decision to leave is reportedly motivated by the U.S.' ability to counter a Chinese arms buildup in the Pacific.
Washington Post CEO and Publisher Fred Ryan issued a statement Saturday calling on Congress and President Trump to demand "verifiable evidence" from Saudi officials that columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who worked for the publication, was killed in a fight following a discussion in the Saudi consulate.
"This is not an explanation; it is a coverup. President Trump, Congress and leaders of the civilized world should demand to see verifiable evidence. The Saudis cannot be allowed to fabricate a face-saving solution to an atrocity that appears to have been directed by the highest levels of their government."
The details: Police officers unleashed pepper spray and tear gas just after a group of about 50 migrants advanced into Mexico, causing the rest of the caravan to retreat, the AP reports.
With just 17 days left until the election, President Trump is going all in on immigration as a way to help Republicans keep the House. “Democrats want to throw your borders wide open to deadly drugs and endless gangs,” he said at an Arizona rally last night.
Why it matters: Republicans have a 16% chance of keeping the House, according to FiveThirtyEight. That certainly worries Trump — who's already said it won't be his fault if that happens — so he's making the 2018 midterms all about the base.
A well-wired Republican texts me the reason President Trump is buying the Saudis' story: "Constraining Iran is the priority and Saudi is a critical ally in that effort. That 'trumps' the horrible human rights violation."
Here's how the Saudis last night began trying to defuse the international crisis: "The Saudi government acknowledged early Saturday that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, saying he died during a fistfight," the WashPost reports from Riyadh.
The details: "It’s a big step. It’s a lot of people involved," he said. Trump also told reporters that Saudi Arabia has been a great ally, and the death of Khashoggi was a “horrible event” that has not gone “unnoticed.” He said he plans on talking to the Saudi officials and praised them for a speedy investigation.
