In a surprise announcement on his Twitter account, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) announced that he would not seek re-election this November. "It's remarkable," Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) says. He notes that Gowdy likely would have survived the "wave" of Democrat wins in the 2018 midterms.
Congressman Beyer also shares his reaction to President Trump's State of the Union address. He says the president has proven on numerous occasions that you can't believe the words he reads off of a teleprompter.
Immigration was one of the focal points of President Trump's speech. Rep. Beyer invited Jessica Chilin-Hernandez as his guest. She came to the U.S. from El Salvador with temporary protected status in 2001, but her status was revoked just a few weeks ago by President Trump. Rep. Beyer says that decision was "arbitrary" and needs to be fixed.
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.
