President Trump Says He's Not Firing Robert Mueller
Despite reports to the contrary, President Trump told reporters he is not firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Independent Journal Review's Jason Howerton joins Cheddar to consider the investigation's future. The President went on the record after Democrats in congress began to suggest that Mueller's days were numbered.
Howerton says he thinks the increased criticism from the Trump administration will help speed up the investigation. The president's lawyers claim the special counsel used illegal tactics to acquire transition documents. Howerton is skeptical about whether these claims put the probe in true jeopardy.
We also look ahead to the homestretch for the GOP tax plan. Lawmakers hope to put the bill to a vote early this week, clearing the way for a budget resolution by week's end to avoid a government shutdown. Howerton stresses the magnitude of the potential victory to the Republican party.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
