Congressman Reed: Raising Interest Rates Could Have 'Devastating Consequences'
*By Amanda Weston*
If the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates, the country may be in for "debt crisis," something "we've been warning about for years," said GOP Congressman Tom Reed.
"The problem we face is, with this growing economy, this huge economy that is just booming across the country, I don't know how the Fed can continue to raise interest rates," Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) told Cheddar Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down almost 300 points [Thursday afternoon](https://cheddar.com/videos/selloff-spreads) after dropping more than 800 points Wednesday. The S&P was also down for its sixth straight day.
The continued sell-off came after President Trump sharply criticized the Fed on Wednesday night, [saying it's "going wild"](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-fed/trump-calls-loco-federal-reserve-too-aggressive-fox-interview-idUSKCN1ML1TA) with interest rates.
Reed praised the president for his "disruptive style, a unique style."
"I appreciate that," Reed said.
"But I think what I'd focus on, and what people should focus on, is what policy do we have to worry about with the actions of the Fed?" he asked. "And the policy that I'm very concerned about is, how do they control inflation when they cannot raise interest rates like they have historically? And that is the problem because the Fed can't raise these interest rates that much higher without igniting a debt crisis going off, and they know it."
The market's sell-off coincides with another shake-up in the countryー the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who officially took his seat on the Supreme Court this week. After dramatic testimony from the Justice and one of his accusers, Prof. Christine Blasey Ford ー who alleged Kavanaugh assaulted her when the two were in high school ーan FBI investigation, and a tense 50-48 vote, Kavanaugh was sworn-in, still shrouded by controversy.
Reed said Kavanaugh will carry his existing history on the bench to his new role as Supreme Court Justice.
"The last few weeks, in my humble opinion, has been very sad for the entire country on both sides ー from Dr. Ford's perspective, from Brett Kavanaugh's perspective," Reed said. "To see now, in my opinion, the weaponization of sexual assault for political purposes, it's just a place I never thought we would go as a country."
This echoes Trump's [previous comments](https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/politics/trump-scary-time-for-young-men-metoo/index.html) expressing concern for men who might be falsely accused of assault in the future.
Reed added "the Kavanaugh situation" may have motivated voters who had previously planned to opt out of the midterms, potentially allowing Republicans to maintain their control of the House.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-reed-talks-trump-haley-kavanaugh-and-hurricane-michael).
The school shooting in Texas that left 19 children and 2 teachers dead has reignited the debate over gun control.
The tragedy in Uvalde is the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade and marks the latest in a string of mass shootings in the country. Jared Moskowitz, Broward County Commissioner and candidate for Congress in FL-23, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why gun control measures are stalled in the Senate, and where legislation can move forward from here.
Police and detectives are still investigating the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two adults. Cheddar News was joined by Kirk Burkhalter, professor at New York Law School and former NYPD detective to gain some insight on what investigators are looking for and what comes next.
Texas authorities say the gunman who massacred 21 people at an elementary school was in the building for over an hour before he was killed by law enforcement officers.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines for Thursday, May 26 including updates on the Texas school shooting, President Joe Biden's executive order on police reform, and a recount in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary.
Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia rebuked words from the FDA commissioner that could have been construed as blaming parents for stockpiling baby formula exacerbating the shortage.
Cheddar News reporter Megan Pratz brings the latest from the scene of yesterday's horrific school shooting at a Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Now the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history with 19 children and two adults killed, Pratz goes into comments by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, details about the deceased shooter, and reactions from members of the community.
The Robb Elementary School mass shooting killing 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas pm Tuesday was the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and came just 10 days after the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, New York. Nelson Vergara, the founder and CEO of 360 Protective Solutions, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss. "Right now what law enforcement is concentrating on is trying to trace his steps as to what motivated the gunman to act the way he did. What it boils down to just trying to figure out what led to his motivation to do such a horrific act.”
An recently conducted AP-NORC poll found that majorities of the Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. still find themselves either somewhat worried or extremely worried over the pandemic, while more than half of white Americans responded with either being not too worried or not worried at all. Dr. Chris Pernell, the chief strategic integration and health equity officer at University Hospital, joined Cheddar News to talk about how perceptions of COVID-19 differ between groups of Americans. "We’re still seeing people get infected, and because of the toll of the disproportionate impact, we have concerns among the Black and brown community about whether or not they have an increased risk of exposure because of where they work, because of the use of public transportation, because they live in homes that they may not be able to safely quarantine and or isolate in, and because they have at baseline chronic health conditions that may make coronavirus more severe in those persons," she said.
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the EPA and the president of Beyond Plastics, joined Cheddar News to talk about the role of plastics in the climate crisis and California's investigation of ExxonMobil and other oil companies for misleading the public on the ability to recycle plastics. "The reason why petrochemical companies like Exxon have gotten away with selling more and more plastic is that they've lied to the public and told us don't worry about all those negative upstream impacts and downstream impacts of plastics. Just be sure to recycle it. Well, guess what? Plastics largely are not recycled," Enck said.
