House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy became the latest Republican to say he’s leaving politics.
Cenk Uygur, the CEO of The Young Turks, called the recent trend “unprecedented.”
"That means their poll numbers are disastrous. They think 2018 is going to be a landslide and a complete wipeout," Uygur told Cheddar.
Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina, said in a tweet Wednesday that he wouldn’t run for re-election in the 2018 midterms and would instead return to the justice system.
His decision carries even more importance considering his position on the Oversight Committee, which has not yet completed its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The previous Chair, Jason Chaffetz, stepped down in June.
"It would be shocking if it was a coincidence that everybody in Oversight is now saying, ‘I gotta get the hell out of there,’" Uygur said.
The loss of Gowdy comes as the GOP is increasingly at odds over how to work with the Trump administration. Some Republicans in Congress are trying to rein him in while others are standing behind him. Uygur speculates this sentiment has motivated Republicans to step down.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/young-turks-founder-cenk-uygur-weighs-in-on-rep-trey-gowdys-retirement).
For President Donald Trump, tariffs — or the threat of them — can bend nations to his will.
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.
