The back and forth between Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and President Donald Trump’s new economic adviser Larry Kudlow over sanctions on Russia Tuesday underscores the urgent need for the White House to overcome vast policy differences within the administration, says Jon Miller, White House correspondent for the conservative-leaning CRTV.
“They need to figure out how to get a singular message out there,” he told Cheddar Wednesday.
Haley said on Sunday the administration was set to impose sanctions on Russia for its role in Syria’s seven-year-long civil war. Days later, Kudlow denied that sanctions were on the table, saying on Fox News that Haley was just [“momentarily confused.”](https://twitter.com/GeoffRBennett/status/986285214803644423) The former South Carolina Governor hit back, reportedly saying in a statement, [“With all due respect, I don't get confused.”](https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/17/politics/nikki-haley-russia-sanctions/index.html) The tensions eased after Kudlow apologized to Haley hours later.
“I’m going to say that she’s the one who knows what she’s talking about in this instance,” said Miller. “She’s the one who’s calling the shots, and people seem to be coming behind her.”
Haley’s positions on a range of foreign policy issues have often clashed with the White House. She outwardly and persistently criticized the Kremlin on topics from the Syrian conflict, to Ukraine, to the 2016 presidential election, a sharp juxtaposition to Trump’s more demure approach to Russia.
“She’s a little more hawkish on issues in terms of foreign policy,” explained Miller. “She’s a little more outspoken. I think Trump has people around him who are trying to rein him in a bit.”
Kudlow’s attempt to undermine Haley may be a microcosm of an administration in perpetual chaos, with staffers often seeming to operate on completely different wavelengths. And that might be something that the president encourages, Miller said.
“The president has said he likes conflicting ideas. He says, ‘I like the conflict in my White House, I like different ideas happening.’”
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/gorsuchs-controversial-vote-haley-vs-trump-administration).
Peter Zalzal, associate vice president for clean air strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, joined Cheddar to discuss the Biden Administration's unveiling of stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new automobiles. "The administration estimated that these rules will reduce about 2.5 billion tons of climate pollution by 2050, and using less fuel also means that we have to go to the gas pump less often. And so it means we save money, thousands of dollars in avoided fuel costs each year for consumers," he noted.
The relatively robust March jobs report showed that despite the low unemployment rate, Black, Hispanic, and women job seekers are still having difficulty finding work. William M. Rodgers III, the vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis noted that participation rates in the labor force ticked up for minorities, adding to other positive signs of growth. He also spoke to Cheddar News to discuss further the jobs figures, the state of the labor market, and rising inflation.
U.S. markets opened higher to kick off the second quarter, despite a miss on the March Jobs Report. The economy added $431,000 in the month, slightly lower than the $490,000 analysts had expected. The unemployment rate also ticked down to 3.6% from 3.8%. Kevin Simpson, Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Capital Wealth Planning joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden is going after billionaires in his 2023 budget request to congress. The proposal would establish a 20% minimum tax rate on all households worth more than $100 million, as well as raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Rhett Buttle, Small Business for America's Future Senior Advisor, Business Policy Expert & Biden Campaign Business Advisor, breaks down the proposal, what it aims to accomplish, and how small businesses might feel about it.
The Biden administration has announced the U.S. will accept up to 100,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine and provide more than 1 billion dollars in new funding for the growing humanitarian crisis. The move comes as President Biden meets with his western counterparts in Europe to demonstrate a united front against Russia and show support for Ukraine. Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Immigration Attorney for Outerbridge Law, explains how this is going to work.
The DOJ has endorsed an antitrust bill targeting tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google. The legislation would ban the companies from favoring their own products and services over their competitor's, making it more difficult them to dominate the marketplace. Greg Day, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Georgia, breaks down the bill and its potential impact on anti-competition in the tech sector.
Catching you up with what you need to know on Apr 1, 2022, with Ukrainians hoping to flee the besieged city of Mariupol with a ceasefire is in place, President Biden orders the release of oil from U.S.reserves, LGBT activists suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the "Don't Say Gay" Law, U.S. passports offering an "x" option for gender, and more.
America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic and the highest inflation in 40 years.
