President Joe Biden touted the administration's economic achievements in a Virginia speech, while bashing Republicans for their handling of the nation's debt ceiling.
The Thursday speech followed the release of the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers showing the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.9 percent annual pace in the last quarter, from October to December, slightly better than expected.
"I'm not sure the news could have been better. Economic growth is up, stronger than experts expected," Biden said of the report. "Jobs are the highest in American history. And wages are up, and they're going faster than inflation."
"Over the past six months, inflation has gone down every month, and God willing, we'll continue to do that," Biden said.
The President also took the opportunity to criticize the opposition party for its position on the debt ceiling. Republicans have said they would be willing to raise the nation's debt limit in exchange for spending cuts. But Democrats led by President Biden have maintained they would not make this sort of concession.
"I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip," President Biden said in his speech."I'm not going to get into the reckless threats that take the economy hostage in order to force an agenda that's going to only limit American workers and weaken us internationally."
"I won't let that happen," Biden added.
The Treasury Department implemented extraordinary measures after the U.S. hit its debt limit last Thursday. Those measures are expected to last only until June, at which point Congress will have had to act to avoid a default.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
