Washington has been completely focused on stimulus negotiations but with the bill signed and sealed, will it be delivered to the American people? Plus, what is up next for the Biden administration now that it has clocked its first major legislative win? This is your Washington Week Ahead.
ROAD TRIP: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are hitting the road for a victory lap around the country, touting the major wins in the American Rescue Plan. They will travel separately and then join up to promote all the benefits that Americans will receive directly, including $1,400 stimulus payments for many families and individuals and an expanded child tax credit that should pay out monthly.
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK: There's a bit of a joke in Washington anytime there is an "infrastructure week": a policy-focused period to discuss the incredibly vague idea of infrastructure. Everyone will laugh and brush it off — we've all been here before and nothing has changed. But the Biden team wants to change that trend by selling Congress on its Build Back Better plan, including $1+ trillion in spending on roads, bridges, green technology, and rural broadband expansion. But a reluctant Republican Party isn't likely to get on board, which may mean we'll see another infrastructure week that builds exactly nothing.
BORDER CRISIS?: If Republicans had their way, the only topic in Washington right now would be a crisis at the border. Whether there even is a crisis is pretty subjective at this point — the Biden White House refutes the characterization while Republican leadership cannot repeat it enough. But one thing is certain: this administration wants to do a big immigration deal with a Congress that has no interest in bipartisan deals, especially on controversial issues like immigration. Biden and congressional allies aren't giving up that easily though. They've released the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 as their starting point for negotiation.
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.
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.
