2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren stumped in the shadow of the famous Washington Square Arch Monday night as a crowd of thousands — 20,000 according to her campaign — largely cheered her on. The presidential hopeful presented her plan to fight corruption in Washington, a message that included a cautionary warning about multiple layers of impropriety in the United States.
"Corruption has put our planet at risk. Corruption has broken our economy. And corruption is breaking our democracy," the Senator told a cheering crowd of supporters. "I know what's broken. I've got a plan to fix it."
Warren released her plan to take on corrupt institutions on Monday. Ingrained in the plan is the need to "end lobbying as we know it," which includes banning former members of Congress and White House officials from entering the sector after their service is done. She also plans to stop those who lobby for foreign entities and corporate lobbyists from working for the federal government.
Warren took a swing at President Trump during her New York event as she called on all presidential candidates to release their tax returns to the public. Trump has famously refused to do that, eschewing a long tradition of presidents who have voluntarily shared that information.
"Donald Trump is corruption in the flesh," Warren exclaimed.
The Massachusetts progressive has said this plan will be her first priority if elected president, built off of her Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, which she introduced on the Senate floor prior to her announcement of running for president.
Warren's rally was held just feet away from the location of the former Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, site of the infamous 1911 fire where 146 workers died, many of them immigrant women, because bosses had locked doors and provided few options to escape in an emergency. The outcry drew attention to the fight for better working conditions.
To that end, Warren said, "We're not here today because of famous arches or famous men. In fact. We're not here because of men at all. We're here because of hard-working women."
And in front of a massive crowd of diverse supporters from New York City, Warren added that it is not just corruption in Washington that is preventable, but in many facets of public life: healthcare, housing, and criminal justice, to name a few.
Warren was joined by 14 New York lawmakers who gave their endorsement for her White House bid.
Answering the question if Warren's anti-corruption plan is similar to Trump's 2016 campaign promise to drain the swamp, New York State Sen. Gustavo Rivera told Cheddar, "The main difference between the two, is that, unlike Trump, she actually means it when she says that she would cleanse the federal government. So, I would say that the main difference is, this guy only wants to do things for himself, and his own cronies. In the case of Elizabeth … she has demonstrated that she cares about making sure that we have a transparent government that responds to the needs of actual citizens."
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The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labor market. The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate unchanged this year as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the economy. The only dissenter was Stephen Miran, the recent Trump-appointee.
After a late-night vote and last-minute ruling, the Federal Reserve began a key meeting on interest rate policy Tuesday with both a new Trump administration appointee and an official the White House has targeted for removal.
The Trump administration has issued its first warnings to online services that offer unofficial versions of popular drugs like the blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
