Congressman Darren Soto, who represents Florida’s 9th district, applauded news Monday that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is stepping down from his post, calling him a “distraction” to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“We just need to make sure we keep this investigation with integrity and with accuracy, because we want to have the right results,” Soto told Cheddar in an interview. “I think that it’s a positive step that he’s no longer going to be involved and no longer will be an excuse.”
The news follows an Axios report last week that FBI Director Christopher Wray was pressured by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump to fire his second in command. Trump and other Republicans claimed that McCabe, whose wife ran for office in Virginia as a Democrat and received donations from Hillary Clinton, had a conflict of interests in the Russian investigation.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the White House had no involvement in McCabe’s decision. But the New York Times reported that Wray had suggested the move after months of pressure from the administration.
McCabe’s resignation is effective immediately, but he will remain on the payroll until March, when he was already expected to retire with full benefits.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-darren-soto-shares-his-expectations-for-president-trumps-first-state-of-the-union-address).
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.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
