Inflation remains low despite media warnings about tariffs, as the U.S. extends its trade truce with China. The fallout from President Trump&#8217;s federal takeover of the D.C. police intensifies, with the city&#8217;s mayor and the media clashing over the reality of the crime crisis. Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu lays out his post-war plan for Gaza and pushes back on a &#8220;global campaign of lies&#8221; as international pressure mounts.
It’s Wednesday, August 13, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>Trump Economy Holds Strong as Inflation Defies Predictions</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960189" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: New data show U.S. inflation held steady at a lower-than-expected rate in July, defying dire predictions that President Trump’s tariffs would cause prices to skyrocket. 
Despite warnings from many experts and media outlets, inflation held steady at 2.7% in July, below the 2.8% predicted by economists. The new numbers show that prices for key goods are falling, with gasoline down 10% and eggs down 20%, while real wages are up 1.3% compared to last year. While outlets like The New York Times have tried to frame the numbers negatively, even CNN was forced to acknowledge falling energy and grocery prices. 
The good news comes as the U.S. and China agreed to extend their &#8220;trade truce&#8221; for another 90 days, holding tariffs at a reduced rate while negotiations continue. The administration’s massive trade deals with the European Union, U.K., South Korea, and Japan are already paying dividends. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the new tariffs have already brought in over $100 billion and are projected to reach $300 billion by the end of the year. 
<h2>Fallout Intensifies Over Trump’s D.C. Takeover</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960187" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The fallout from President Trump’s decision to federalize the Washington, D.C., police force has intensified, sparking a furious debate between city leaders and the media over the reality of the capital&#8217;s crime crisis. 
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has admitted she has no legal recourse to stop the federal intervention, but claims the crime wave is a fiction, stating that the city is at a &#8220;30-year violent crime low.&#8221; She is using the federal takeover to renew her calls for D.C. statehood. That narrative has been echoed by some in the media, with a New York Times reporter referring to a &#8220;nonexistent crime crisis.&#8221; 
However, journalists on the ground in D.C. tell a different story. An ABC News anchor detailed multiple recent shootings near her downtown office, while a CNN contributor said he witnessed a murder in Union Station just a few months ago. 
The D.C. police union is backing the president&#8217;s move, saying crime is &#8220;out of control.&#8221; The union&#8217;s president blamed a 2020 law that &#8220;handcuffed police officers&#8221; for creating a shortage of over 800 officers and making it impossible to properly police the city. 
<h2>Netanyahu Outlines Gaza Plan, Pushes Back on ‘Lies’</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960185" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.13.25-Wed-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid out a five-point vision for a post-war Gaza and is pushing back against what he calls a &#8220;global campaign of lies&#8221; regarding the humanitarian situation in the territory. 
During a press conference, Netanyahu said Israel&#8217;s goal is to &#8220;free Gaza from Hamas terrorists,&#8221; not to occupy it. His five-point plan includes the defeat of Hamas and the release of all hostages, the demilitarization of Gaza, an established security zone on the border, and a new civilian administration that can live in peace with Israel. 
Netanyahu also pushed back on claims that Israel is causing a humanitarian crisis, stating that his country has allowed nearly two million tons of aid into Gaza. &#8220;Our policy throughout the war has been to prevent a humanitarian crisis, while Hamas’ policy has been to create it,&#8221; he said, noting that Hamas loots nearly 90% of aid trucks. A recent Daily Wire exclusive report from Kassy Akiva supported this, debunking a viral story about a Gazan boy who was allegedly killed by Israeli forces at an aid site. 
The comments come as international pressure on Israel mounts. Several European nations, including France, the U.K., and Canada, have recently moved to recognize a Palestinian state. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the move, saying that by rewarding the Palestinians while Hamas still holds hostages, these countries have &#8220;emboldened&#8221; the terror group and made a ceasefire harder to achieve.

MRN 8.13.25 Wed SH1

Morning Brief: Low Inflation, Tariff Truce w/China, D.C. Takeover Fallout, Plans For Post-War Gaza

Donald Trump

Economy

Gaza

Hamas

Inflation

Israel

Law Enforcement

Muriel Bowser

Washington D.C.

World

To no one&#8217;s surprise, besides the &#8220;experts&#8221; who get paid for their predictions, the consumer price index increased just 0.2% month-over-month in July and remained at a steady year-over-year rate of 2.7%.
The consumer price index (CPI), which is a widely viewed measure of inflation, once again showed a lower year-over-year increase than what economists predicted as more of President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs go into effect, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/12/cpi-inflation-report-july-2025.html">reported</a>. The economic report published Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics marked the second-straight month showing an annual inflation rate of 2.7%.
With another solid inflation report under his belt, Trump is again putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its next meeting, which is scheduled for September 16-17. In a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115016089386029482">post</a> on Tuesday morning, Trump said that &#8220;Jerome &#8216;Too Late&#8217; Powell must NOW lower the rate.&#8221;
&#8220;The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board,&#8221; Trump added.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month and 3.1% for the year. The monthly increase was in line with expectations, while the annual core CPI rise was slightly above what economists predicted, according to CNBC. Most of the CPI increase was driven by a rise in shelter prices, the BLS reported. Energy prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.1% and food prices remained steady. Prices for used cars and trucks jumped 0.5% while transportation and medical care services also saw a rise of 0.8%.
The CPI report showed that Trump&#8217;s tariffs have had little to no effect on prices. Household furnishings and supplies showed a slight increase of 0.7%, but other products that are largely imported, including clothing and canned fruits and vegetables, remained mostly flat.
Former White House economist Jared Bernstein, who worked under former President Joe Biden, even admitted that tariffs are not having a major effect on inflation &#8220;at this point.&#8221;
“The tariffs are in the numbers, but they’re certainly not jumping out hair on fire at this point,” Bernstein told CNBC.
CNN was also <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1955257297514451012">surprised</a> by the low inflation numbers reported on Tuesday.
&#8220;Look at that food. This is where people spend their money, right? &#8230; Food [is] flat, 0%, and actually down at the grocery store by 0.1%.&#8221;
Stocks <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/11/stock-market-today-live-updates-.html">rose</a> Tuesday morning following the lighter-than-expected inflation report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&amp;P 500 jumping 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.8% on the good economic news.
Trump&#8217;s tariffs on over 90 countries finally went into effect last week after he extended the deadline and struck numerous trade deals. Some of the president&#8217;s highest tariff rates include 50% tariffs on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doubles-tariff-on-india-for-fueling-russian-war-machine">India</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extraordinary-threat-trump-unleashes-on-brazil-with-massive-tariff-sanctions-on-extremist-judge">Brazil</a>, while other tariff <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/further-modifying-the-reciprocal-tariff-rates/">rates</a> range from 15% to 40%. On Monday, the president <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/11/trump-china-tariffs-deadline-extended.html">extended</a> the tariff deadline for China for an additional 90 days as his trade officials seek to work out a deal with the communist country.

‘Experts’ Wrong Again: Inflation Remains Steady, Comes In Below Expectations

Tariffs

The official Democratic Party X account yanked down a post on Thursday night after its attempt to pin high grocery prices on President Donald Trump backfired.
The chart posted by the Democrats showed the prices of produce, meat, cheese, dairy, and alcohol hitting record highs in 2025. The Democratic Party captioned its post &#8220;Trump&#8217;s America,&#8221; but X users quickly noticed that the massive spike in grocery prices shown on the chart happened while former President Joe Biden was in office. There has been only a slight increase in prices since Trump stepped back into office in January.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In a now-deleted post, the <a href="https://twitter.com/democrats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Democrats</a> account on X shared “Trump’s America” alongside a chart that read, “U.S. Grocery Prices Reached Highs in 2025.”
They really thought they scored a win. <a href="https://t.co/ofXALkwv9x">pic.twitter.com/ofXALkwv9x</a>
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1948550364006916461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The official &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; X account for the White House <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1948521565454516606">responded</a> to the Democratic Party&#8217;s post, highlighting the spike that occurred when Biden was in the Oval Office.
&#8220;Democrats deleted this tweet after everyone with eyes pointed out it showed grocery prices skyrocketed under Biden,&#8221; Washington Free Beacon Editor Peter Hasson <a href="https://x.com/peterjhasson/status/1948550822649889010">posted</a> on X.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know if there&#8217;s anything more Democratic Party than posting a chart of grocery prices exploding during the Biden administration in an attempt to blame Donald Trump,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/ianmSC/status/1948521575793524775">wrote</a> Outkick writer Ian Miller.
&#8220;This is the breathtakingly moronic tweet deleted by the official X account of the Democratic Party, which shows almost no inflation under Trump, massive inflation under Biden, then almost no inflation under Trump 2,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/rkylesmith/status/1948566240860987456">added</a> Wall Street Journal film critic Kyle Smith.
Under Biden, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm">inflation</a> hit a staggering 9.1% in June of 2022, and the cost of food skyrocketed 22% during Biden&#8217;s one term in office, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/24/us-news/democratic-party-effort-to-highlight-record-high-grocery-prices-completely-backfires/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social">reported</a>. In Trump&#8217;s first six months in office, the average cost of food in U.S. cities has increased around 1%, according to federal <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIUFDSL">data</a>.
Nearly every monthly Consumer Price Index report during Trump&#8217;s second term has defied economists&#8217; predictions, showing lower inflation levels than expected. The most recent report, however, did show a slight increase in year-over-year inflation as food, shelter, and energy prices rose.
The White House maintains that the economic data &#8220;proves that President Trump is stabilizing inflation and the Panicans continue to be wrong about tariffs raising prices.&#8221;

Democratic Party

Democratic Party Deletes Post After Getting Mocked For Trying To Pin High Grocery Prices On Trump

Democrats

grocery prices

Politics

Social Media

In the first six months of President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term, one major theme has defined Trump&#8217;s economic record thus far: success that surprises the people who are paid to predict it.
It hasn&#8217;t been surprising for the president, who is carrying out his promise to revamp American manufacturing and boost American jobs, mainly by imposing unprecedented tariffs on nearly every country in the world. And it comes as economists who predicted large-scale inflation and market downturn over Trump&#8217;s bold economic agenda keep seeing economic metrics come across their desks showing the opposite.
Earlier this year, Americans were told to brace their wallets for rising inflation and prepare for a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-economists-forecast-stagflation-recession-risk/">recession</a> caused by Trump&#8217;s major tariffs, especially those levied on America&#8217;s biggest trading partners, China, Canada, and Mexico. In May, Goldman Sachs analysts said core goods inflation could hit 6.3% by the end of the year while consumer prices would spike 3.7% by early 2026, according to CNN.
The latest numbers on the U.S. economy fly in the face of the naysayers, branded by Trump as &#8220;panicans.&#8221; Late last week, the U.S. Census Bureau <a href="https://www.census.gov/retail/sales.html">reported</a> that June retail sales were up 0.6% from May and up 3.5% from last year. Food service and drinks sales jumped 6.6% from June 2024. Those numbers were, of course, better than what economists had predicted — a phrase that has become a monthly tradition since Trump stepped back into the White House
According to University of Michigan surveys, American consumers expected prices to rise 6.6% this year. But so far, there&#8217;s been no sign of inflation jumping through the roof, and even <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/business/tariff-price-increases-inflation-explained">CNN</a> had to admit last month, &#8220;Love tariffs or hate them, there’s no denying inflation is lower now than when Trump took office.&#8221;
The numbers don&#8217;t lie: inflation under Trump has defied economists&#8217; predictions in nearly every month the president has been in office. In April, year-over-year inflation came in at 2.3%, its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-hits-lowest-point-in-over-4-years-as-april-report-better-than-expected">lowest annual rate</a> in more than four years. The Consumer Price Index <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/great-numbers-report-shows-no-significant-tariff-related-price-jumps-for-3rd-straight-month">rose</a> to just 2.4% in May compared to last year, which again was lower than what the &#8220;experts&#8221; predicted. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index, which measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers, had its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-wholesale-prices-see-biggest-drop-in-5-years-flying-in-the-face-of-economists-predictions">biggest drop</a> in five years in April, falling 0.5%.
As inflation numbers continue to look good for the Trump administration, U.S. job growth also beat expectations in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/america-is-hot-job-growth-again-beats-expectations">May</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/03/jobs-report-june-2025.html#:~:text=Nonfarm%20payrolls%20increased%20a%20seasonally,158%2C000%20following%20an%2011%2C000%20increase.">June</a> while unemployment ticks down.
“During his first six months in office, President Trump has repeatedly embarrassed the panicans who predicted doom and gloom, from inflation to recession. Under President Trump, Americans have seen an end to Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, multiple expectation-beating jobs reports, record tariff revenue collection, bond and stock market rallies, and historic investment commitments worth trillions that will cement America’s dominance in cutting-edge sectors,&#8221; White House Spokesman Kush Desai told The Daily Wire.
Still, many economists continue to warn of a coming inflation crisis due to Trump&#8217;s aggressive tariff policy. It&#8217;s only a matter of time before tariffs cause the inevitable chaos in America&#8217;s economy, they say. That fear, however, isn&#8217;t reflected in the stock market, which recently soared to record highs, or in the minds of consumers and business owners who remain optimistic about the economy.
Even with the latest CPI report showing a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-creeps-up-as-trump-prepares-major-tariff-rollout?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inflation+Creeps+Up+As+Trump+Prepares+Major+Tariff+Rollout">slight increase</a> in inflation, prices remain steady or even down over Trump&#8217;s second term. And with Trump&#8217;s tariffs going into effect, the United States is raking in billions of dollars in revenue. The country has brought in over $100 billion in tariff revenue since Trump took office in January, with tariff collections for the 2025 fiscal year jumping 65% from the previous year, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/30/trump-tariffs-customs-revenue">reported</a> in late June.
Numerous foreign and American companies have also pledged to invest billions of dollars in the United States over the next few years, either to avoid Trump&#8217;s tariffs or to invest in the American energy and manufacturing boom that is quickly taking shape. Just last week, Trump met with executives from Google’s parent company Alphabet, along with officials from Meta, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, and other companies, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-meet-with-tech-and-energy-giants-after-google-announces-huge-investment-in-u-s">pledged $90 billion</a> worth of AI and energy investments in Pennsylvania.
For the &#8220;experts,&#8221; the rapid pace of the administration&#8217;s economic agenda has been shocking. For Trump, this was all a part of his plan.
&#8220;The best is yet to come – as the pro-growth policies of The One Big Beautiful Bill and new trade deals kick in, America’s economic resurgence under President Trump will only accelerate,&#8221; Desai added.

How Trump’s Economy Continues To Defy The ‘Experts’ And Shock The ‘Panicans’

Jobs

The House pulls the plug on NPR and PBS in a late-night funding fight as President Donald Trump&#8217;s plan gets final approval. Another top Biden aide pleads the Fifth in a congressional hearing about the former president’s competency. And we talk to the president of the Chicago Fed about the upcoming interest rate vote and the feud between Trump and Powell.
It’s Friday, July 18, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>Congress Approves Funding Cuts To PBS &amp; NPR</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948759" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: In the early hours of Friday morning, the House gave final approval to President Trump&#8217;s plan to claw back $9 billion in funding to global aid and government-funded media after the Senate narrowly passed a measure early Thursday. It now heads to Trump&#8217;s desk.
In June, the White House formally requested that Congress rescind $1.1 billion in funding that had already been allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. Early Thursday morning, after hours of debate, the Senate voted 51-48 to approve the measure. 
Democrats say NPR and PBS represent America’s commitment to a free press and provide essential services for all people, particularly those in rural communities. They also argue that public broadcasting plays a major role in emergency preparedness and community safety.
“When a flood happens, when a tornado touches down, when a hurricane makes landfall, people need immediate, up-to-date alerts to stay safe,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer(D-NY) argued in a speech on the Senate floor. “All too often, public broadcasting is the only way for people to hear what’s going on. It’s a matter of life and death.&#8221;
Republicans say that’s a ridiculous argument given how many ways people now receive warnings about natural disasters.
“All broadcasters are required to broadcast emergency alerts,” Tim Graham, host of NewsBusters at the Media Research Center told The Daily Wire. “Today, everybody&#8217;s going to get emergency alerts on their cell phone. So the idea that you need NPR to learn of a flash flood alert – I mean, first of all, you have to assume that there&#8217;s a huge number of people listening to NPR at 10 p.m. &#8230; It’s just not true.”
Republicans have argued for decades that NPR and PBS are not balanced news sources and that both organizations lean heavily to the Left. “Recently, we counted labels,” Graham told The Daily Wire. “[The PBS Newshour] used &#8216;far-Right&#8217; labels 42 times as often as they used &#8216;far-Left&#8217; … And the interesting thing here was that Donald Trump got elected with a Republican Congress, they could see the writing on the wall, and PBS and NPR made no attempt to move to the center to try to be fairer, to try to be more balanced. If anything, they have doubled down in 2025. They were basically suggesting they didn&#8217;t care what the Republican opinion was on their product.”
<h2>Biden WH Aide Pleads The Fifth In Congressional Testimony</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948761" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_16.Still002.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Former first lady Jill Biden’s top aide testified to Congress on Wednesday. Anthony Bernal, who has been close to the Biden family since 2008, pleaded the Fifth seven times in response to investigators&#8217; questions.
Bernal, Jill Biden’s chief of staff, refused to answer a slate of questions around former president Biden’s health – instead invoking his Constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination. Bernal was a top trusted aide in the Biden White House – Jill often referred to him as her “work husband.”
When asked by the House Oversight Committee if President Biden was fit to exercise his duties, Bernal said, “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.”
Last week, Biden’s White House doctor Kevin O’Connor refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/doctor-patient_privilege">doctor-patient privilege</a>. Legally, invoking the Fifth is <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/532/17.html">not</a> an admission of guilt, and most criminal lawyers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE">highly discourage</a> their clients from sharing anything with authorities that might conceivably be used against them. Nevertheless, many Republicans are concerned about the concerted coverup of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and want to know who was running the Biden administration if he wasn’t.
In their book, &#8220;Original Sin,&#8221; a deep dive into the Biden White House and his re-election effort, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson described Bernal as “[one of] the Bidens’ eyes and ears, the keepers of the flame, the protectors of the myth. &#8230; As we researched this book, it was difficult to find many Bernal defenders. … He freely trash-talked senior, mid-level and junior aides. … Some described him as the worst person they had ever met.”
Despite their reticence, Bernal and O’Connor could be compelled to testify by Congress – if they were offered immunity for any crimes revealed by their testimony, then the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination would no longer apply, although in O’Connor’s case, doctor-patient privilege could shield him from certain questions.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told Fox News that Bernal could not say that Biden was mentally well without lying under oath, which is why he pleaded the Fifth. Comer also suggested that he would like to see more of Biden’s inner circle testify before his committee, including Jill Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
<h2>Federal Reserve Meeting</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948757" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_05.Still003.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: As President Trump ramps up pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed is preparing for a meeting at the end of the month to decide whether to cut interest rates – as the president is demanding.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), spoke to The Daily Wire shortly before the upcoming July 29-30 meeting and offered his perspective on current economic data.
Goolsbee described the latest inflation data as &#8220;a little bit of a mixed bag,&#8221; noting positive trends in services and housing inflation, but expressing wariness about &#8220;actual physical goods&#8221; where &#8220;tariffs are going to increase the prices a bit.&#8221; Despite this, he remains &#8220;still hopeful that we&#8217;re in a pretty solid place on the economy,&#8221; citing sustained growth and &#8220;close to full employment&#8221; as key strengths, with the primary goal being to keep &#8220;inflation on path back to 2 percent.&#8221;
A public dispute between President Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell has brought the issue of central bank independence into sharp focus. Goolsbee, while unable to speak for the entire Fed, voiced his unease about such arguments. He emphasized that the reason &#8220;all the rich countries of the world have an independent central bank – that&#8217;s independent of political interference – is precisely because if you look at places where they don&#8217;t have central bank independence, inflation is higher, unemployment is higher, growth is worse.&#8221; He underscored the imperative that interest rate decisions &#8220;should be rooted in that dual mandate: stabilizing prices and maximizing employment,&#8221; adding, &#8220;That&#8217;s the critical element, should be economic conditions that drive the decisions.&#8221;
Regarding the immediate outlook for interest rates, Goolsbee maintained his usual cautious stance ahead of the meeting and further data, stating, &#8220;I don&#8217;t like tying our hands before the meetings.&#8221; However, he indicated a general inclination toward lower rates if conditions allow. He noted that his view prior to April 2 was that &#8220;we got pretty close to stable full employment. We got inflation trending down to 2% — and in an environment like that, I think rates can go down a fair bit more than from where they are today.&#8221;

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Morning Brief: Congress Cuts Funding For PBS & NPR, Biden’s Decline Investigated, Fed Meeting

Biden Administration

Congress

Jerome Powell

Jill Biden

Joe Biden

National Public Radio (NPR)

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

President Trump continues his assault on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. With the Big Beautiful Bill signed into law, the House GOP lays out their next set of priorities. And, Trump unveils a $100 billion energy investment in Pennsylvania – which he hopes will spur America&#8217;s tech dominance over China.
It’s Thursday, July 17, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>Trump Threatens To Fire Fed Chair</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948253" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_21.Still001.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: As the Federal Reserve continues to hold interest rates steady, President Trump is once again threatening to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Jerome Powell was first appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve by Donald Trump himself back in 2017, but ever since 2019, he’s drawn the consistent ire of the president. Trump says he was too slow to cut rates during the pandemic, and felt Powell intentionally kept rates high ahead of the 2020 election to try and hurt the economy and his re-election odds.
Now Trump is furious with Powell once again over his hesitation to cut rates despite low inflation and strong labor numbers — for his part, Powell has expressed concerns that Trump’s tariffs will spur inflation, and he doesn’t want to cut rates if the economy is about to slow down.
Trump has repeatedly hinted that he could fire Powell — however, because the Federal Reserve is meant to be independent of Congress and the White House, the president is only allowed to remove its chair with cause. Policy disputes aside, the White House believes they could have cause in the form of a $2.5 billion renovation plan for the Federal Reserve that Powell approved. Trump says Powell has wasted taxpayer money on a “palace” for himself and hinted that the project could constitute fraud.
“I don’t rule out anything,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/BreitbartNews/status/1945520191883948337">said</a> when asked if he would fire Powell, although he noted such a move would be &#8220;highly unlikely.&#8221; “It&#8217;s possible that there&#8217;s fraud involved with the $2.5 billion-$2.7 billion renovation. &#8230; And he didn’t have proper clearance. So there could be something to that.”
On Tuesday night, Trump reportedly floated the idea to his allies in Congress, showing conservative House members a draft letter informing Powell he’d been fired that he was prepared to send. He then polled those 12 members for their thoughts – 11 reportedly advised him to fire Powell. But by Wednesday, the president <a href="https://x.com/Acyn/status/1945513505941241860">seemed</a> to be having second thoughts. “We’re not planning on doing anything. We’re a little concerned.”
<h2>Congressional Round-Up</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948251" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_09.Still002.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: After the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, congressional Republicans are focusing on new legislative priorities.
On Tuesday, the Republican Study Committee hosted a “new media row” on the Hill, an opportunity for outlets like The Daily Wire to speak to their members one-on-one. That includes House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who spoke to Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan about the concerning rise of violent political rhetoric on the Left. Scalise was badly injured at a mass shooting by a left-wing activist at the 2017 Congressional baseball game — he’s particularly sensitive to this issue.
“You&#8217;re seeing people attacking our law enforcement, including ICE agents, and they&#8217;re spurred on by a lot of the rhetoric from the Left,” Scalise told The Daily Wire. “That&#8217;s got to stop.”
Scalise also addressed the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein controversy – he told The Daily Wire he trusts President Trump will &#8220;straighten things out … I haven&#8217;t been privy to those documents, the classified information. Others have, but look, I trust Donald Trump and his judgment. And ultimately, I think he&#8217;s going to get the right answers.”
“The cartels are going to go where the money is, and they&#8217;re going to go where they&#8217;re going to find the most lax state laws where they can take advantage,” said New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, who’s been fighting to keep drugs and criminals from pouring through our northern border. She said she’s particularly worried about the problem in light of recent developments in New York City. “New York City is facing a major crisis, which is going to impact not just the state, but all of us. Obviously, the election of a Marxist antisemite, like Zoran Mamdani … these are the kind of people that are helping, aiding and abetting the criminal cartels that are trafficking children, trafficking women.”
Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack said her biggest priority was imposing background checks for Congress. “We’ve seen situations where individuals who have ties to foreign nations, different organizations that have terrorist funding have made their way in through different offices … I think the American people deserve to know who&#8217;s working on their behalf. It&#8217;s pretty simple, but you would not believe the resistance that we&#8217;re getting.”
Several other lawmakers also spoke at length with The Daily Wire – stay tuned to hear more about protecting kids, women’s sports, the Middle East, the Texas floods, and why Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) never wears a suit jacket.
<h2>Pennsylvania Receives $100 Billion In AI Investments</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-948249" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_02.Still003.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump is directing $100 billion to artificial intelligence infrastructure in Pennsylvania. A summit held at Carnegie Mellon University was billed as a chance to showcase the state’s “potential to power the A.I. revolution.”
AI investment is picking up rapidly in the state of Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, Trump <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1945209947962118191">said</a> that he had received pledges worth over $90 billion for new AI and energy investment in the Keystone state. By Wednesday, that number had risen to more than $100 billion, including an investment from the asset manager Blackstone, which wants to bankroll $25 billion worth of new data centers and energy infrastructure in the state.
Pennsylvania is a key swing state located in the center of the Rust Belt – the old industrial heart of the United States – but electoral concerns aside, many of the same factors that helped the state rise to prominence in the industrial era have become relevant again in the AI age. Old industrial sites generally have ready access to water and electricity, which data centers consume huge amounts of for cooling and power generation – some data centers <a href="https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2024/03/engineers-often-need-a-lot-of-water-to-keep-data-centers-cool">require</a> millions of gallons of water per day and AI is <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/">projected</a> to account for more than 20% of global power consumption by ~2030.
Pennsylvania also sits on top of the Marcellus Shale formation – that means plentiful natural gas ready to be tapped into, and less money spent on pipelines to get it to power plants to fuel the data centers. A deactivated coal plant in Homer City, Pennsylvania, is being rebuilt into the largest natural gas-fired power plant in the world – <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1945515122551566624">according</a> to President Trump – and the nuclear plant at <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/09/26/1104516/three-mile-island-microsoft/">Three Mile Island</a> is being reactivated to exclusively power Microsoft data centers.
The U.S. leads the field in AI research and development, but China has emerged as a major competitor. China is investing heavily in new power stations to build out its already substantial lead over the U.S. In 2023, according to the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-do-china-and-america-think-about-the-energy-transition/#:~:text=China%20is%20very%20reliant%20on,that%20level%20of%20solar%20installations.">Brookings Institution</a>, China had over twice the electricity generation that the United States has and was on track to greatly increase that.

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Morning Brief: Trump Vs Fed Chair, Congressional Chats, $100 Billion Investment In Pennsylvania AI

Artificial Intelligence

Communist China

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is &#8220;not planning on doing anything&#8221; after reportedly writing a letter to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and asking House Republicans on Tuesday night if he should make the move, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/us/politics/trump-powell-firing-letter.html">reported</a>.
During a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump reportedly waved a copy of the letter in front of GOP lawmakers before polling them on what he should do, with some in the room voicing approval for Powell&#8217;s firing, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-asked-gop-lawmakers-if-he-should-fire-jerome-powell-sources/#">CBS News</a>. A White House official told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/16/trump-powell-fed-fire.html">CNBC</a> that Trump would &#8220;likely&#8221; fire Powell &#8220;soon.&#8221;
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) <a href="https://x.com/realannapaulina/status/1945275059670553019">posted</a> on X on Tuesday night, &#8220;Hearing Jerome Powell is getting fired! From a very serious source.&#8221; In a follow-up post, she <a href="https://x.com/realannapaulina/status/1945289134391636471">added</a>, &#8220;I&#8217;m 99% sure firing is imminent.&#8221;
Trump, however, told reporters in the Oval Office that it&#8217;s &#8220;highly unlikely&#8221; that he would fire Powell.
&#8220;Fortunately, we get to make a change in the next eight months or so, and we&#8217;ll pick somebody that&#8217;s good,&#8221; Trump added, appearing to refer to the end of Powell&#8217;s term as Fed Chair in May 2026. &#8220;We want to see lower interest rates. Our country deserves it. We&#8217;re making a lot of money. We&#8217;re doing great as a country. We have no inflation, record stock market, record business, record everything.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on Jerome Powell: &quot;He&#39;s too late — he&#39;s always been too late&#8230; He&#39;s a terrible Fed Chair&#8230; Fortunately, we get to make a change in the next eight months or so.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/H8iRMzGWwH">pic.twitter.com/H8iRMzGWwH</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1945514766874603850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
For months, the president has been pushing the Fed to lower interest rates and blasting Powell. Trump has called Powell, whom he nominated in 2018, a &#8220;dummy&#8221; and one of the &#8220;<a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/trump-versus-powell-how-far-can-he-push-the-fed-chair">most destructive</a>&#8221; people in government. Last week, Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/business/jerome-powell-trump-fire">said</a>, &#8220;I call him every name in the book trying to get him to do something. I do it every way in the book. I&#8217;m nasty. I&#8217;m nice. Nothing works.&#8221;
No president has ever fired the Fed Chair, which is designed to remain independent of political influence. The president does have the authority to fire the chair &#8220;for cause,&#8221; which the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-is-the-federal-reserve-independent-and-what-does-that-mean-in-practice/#:~:text=The%20Federal%20Reserve%20Act%20says,1935%20case%20(Humphrey's%20Executor%20v.">ruled</a> in the 1930s must be over &#8220;inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,&#8221; not just policy disagreements.
The Fed has held off on lowering interest rates despite low inflation numbers, citing concern over Trump&#8217;s tariffs sparking more inflation. Last month, Powell <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jerome-powell-suggests-delaying-rate-cuts-beyond-july-meeting-while-fed-studies-tariff-impact?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Jerome+Powell+Suggests+Delaying+Rate+Cuts+Beyond+July+Meeting+While+Fed+Studies+Tariff+Impact">told</a> Congress that he and many Federal Reserve Board Governors believe that inflation will start rising soon, adding that he was not considering a rate cut at the Fed&#8217;s July meeting, which is set to take place on July 29-30, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-creeps-up-as-trump-prepares-major-tariff-rollout">reported</a> that inflation slightly increased by 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in June. On Wednesday, the BLS reported that wholesale inflation remained <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economists-wrong-again-wholesale-inflation-remained-unchanged-in-june?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Economists+Wrong+Again%3A+Wholesale+Inflation+Remained+Unchanged+In+June" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unchanged</a> last month, defying economists&#8217; predictions.

Jerome Powell/Donald Trump

Trump Drafted Letter To Fire Fed Reserve Chair, But Says ‘We’re Not Planning On Doing It’

Executive

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

The producer price index, which measures wholesale costs in the United States, showed no change last month, defying the expectations of economists who have predicted for months that Americans would soon feel the pain of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The seasonally adjusted producer price index (PPI), released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday, came in at zero while economists were expecting an increase of at least 0.2%, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/07/16/ppi-inflation-report-june-2025.html">reported</a>. Month-over-month core PPI, which strips out food and energy, also remained unchanged after experts expected a 0.2% jump.
“Combined with Tuesday’s consumer price index release, the data suggests that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are indicating only a marginal bite on the U.S. economy and the prices for goods and services,” CNBC reported.
Vice President JD Vance commented on the good economic news, <a href="https://x.com/jdvance/status/1945469193756750065?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q">writing</a> on X, “It’s almost like the economics profession doesn’t fully understand tariffs.”
Year-over-year headline PPI was up 2.3% in June, down from the 2.7% increase in May. The June number was the lowest annual PPI level since September 2024. Core PPI came in at an annual rate of 2.6% in June, which was the lowest gain since July of last year.
Wednesday’s producer price index report came one day after the BLS revealed that inflation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-creeps-up-as-trump-prepares-major-tariff-rollout?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inflation+Creeps+Up+As+Trump+Prepares+Major+Tariff+Rollout">crept up</a> 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in June, coming in slightly above economists’ predictions. On Tuesday, the White House said that inflation remains “on the right track.”
“Every month since President Trump took office, core inflation — the best measure of inflation — has beat[en] or matched expectations. The data proves that President Trump is stabilizing inflation and the Panicans continue to be wrong about tariffs raising prices,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The economic reports come two weeks before tariffs on numerous countries around the world, imposed by President Trump, are set to take effect on August 1. The president is also pointing to the inflation numbers to push the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The Fed is scheduled to meet at the end of the month to discuss interest rates, as reports swirl that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is considering stepping down.
“Fed should cut Rates by 3 Points. Very Low Inflation. One Trillion Dollars a year would be saved!!!” Trump said on Tuesday.

Economists Wrong Again: Wholesale Inflation Remained Unchanged In June

With 2028 in his sights, Gavin Newsom goes on offense – attacking red states and defending his leadership in California. Inflation ticks up fueling President Trump’s calls for an interest rate cut. And, Trump gets the go-ahead for layoffs at the Department of Education.
It’s Wednesday, July 16, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>Newsom Eyes 2028</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-947551" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_04.Still002.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom seems to be ramping up for a presidential run, while his state of California continues to battle a number of crises.
Last week, Governor Newsom visited South Carolina for a two-day tour, meeting with local Democrat leaders and voters. He said he was there to discuss federal health care cuts, but it’s clear this was political &#8212; South Carolina might be a red state, but it will be the first state on the schedule in Democrats’ 2028 presidential primaries.
“[Republicans are] banning speech, in classrooms, but also in the boardrooms,” Newsom told South Carolina voters in what, to an outsider observer, sounded very much like stump speech. “DEI, ESG, CRT – anything with three letters they seem to ban &#8230; what we&#8217;re experiencing is America in reverse; they&#8217;re trying to bring us back to a pre-1960s world, on voting rights, on civil rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights.”
Since 2024, Newsom has launched his own podcast and invited several prominent right-of-center guests on his show, including Trump loyalists Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, in what appears to be an attempt to reach younger voters and appear more moderate. Newsom has also proposed limiting free health care coverage for illegals, and suggested he’s not totally on-board with males who identify as transgender in female sports. More recently, he appeared on &#8220;The Shawn Ryan Podcast&#8221; – which is generally viewed as right-of-center. During the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBq3Q_fHSU"> 4 hour-long episode</a>, Newsom said he was directing an “objective review” of California COVID policies. California had some of the strictest lockdown orders in the nation.
However, Newsom has been a very vocal critic of the Trump administration and has sparred with the president on numerous issues – from disaster response to immigration enforcement to environmental policies. Newsom has also defended the policies of California and other Democratic strongholds, balancing attempts to appeal to centrist voters with the need to defend his progressive record and anti-Trump bonafides.
“[California] provided $83.1 billion more than we received from the federal government,” Newsom told Ryan. “Texas took $71.1 billion. I’m not saying that to bash Texas, but you know what? Pretty <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly80zlk1lyo">proud</a> of my godd*** state.”
California is the most populous state in the country and it has an <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-04-30/californias-economy-is-now-the-4th-largest-in-the-world-or-is-it">economy</a> larger than almost every other nation on Earth – its population is roughly the size of Canada’s and its economy is twice as large. That being said, despite being home to ~12% of the U.S. population, California accounts for <a href="https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/01/hud-pit-count-2024/">~25%</a> of America’s homeless, and has the <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/opportunity/affordability/cost-living">highest cost of living</a> of any state. <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/">Gas prices</a> in particular are the highest in the country – this July, Californians are paying ~$4.52 per gallon compared to the national average of $3.15.
<h2>Inflation Up, Interest Rates &#8230; Down?</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-947549" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_13.Still001.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Inflation ticked up slightly last month, as President Trump continues to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
When President Trump took office, economists offered apocalyptic warnings that his trade policy — specifically tariffs — would cause inflation to spike. Month after month, though, inflation fell significantly below expectations.
But on Tuesday, the latest report showed rates going ever so slightly up. Consumer prices were up 2.7% compared to a year earlier, while core inflation was at 2.9%. The goods most impacted were natural gas, coffee, and beef — all of which were up 10% compared to last year. While gasoline, televisions, and smartphones were all down ~10% on average.
“I would say that in general, the inflation numbers have been absolutely fantastic,” Joe Lavorgna, a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, told The Daily Wire. “They&#8217;ve been much lower than virtually everybody, perhaps outside the administration, had thought. There&#8217;s really been no noticeable impact of tariffs at all.”
Critics say this uptick is just the beginning — they believe companies are trying to hold off on price increases until the president sets his final tariff rates in September, at which point prices could really take off. They argue there’s no way for businesses to pay double digit tariffs for imports without passing at least some of that cost on to consumers. To that point, last month, furniture, toys, and clothing all saw relatively significant price increases — those are all items particularly sensitive to tariffs.
Context: <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/us-inflation-rate-by-president-8546447">Year-over-year inflation</a> hit a 40-year peak under Biden in 2022, and the Biden administration oversaw an average annual rise in prices of ~4.95% per year, compared to the 2.46% average during Trump’s first term.
<h2>Downsizing The Department Of Education</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-947553" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The Supreme Court says President Trump can move forward with mass layoffs at the Education Department.
The court voted 6-3 along ideological lines on Monday to block a lower court’s order — a federal judge in Boston said in May that about 1,400 employees of the Education Department must be allowed to return to work after they were fired in mass layoffs earlier this year. Now the Trump administration will be able to fire them, at least while the rest of the legal challenge plays out.
“The Federal Government has been running our Education System into the ground,” Trump said in a celebratory post to <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114854251111136308">Truth Social</a>. “But we are going to turn it all around by giving the Power back to the PEOPLE. America’s Students will be the best, brightest, and most Highly Educated anywhere in the World.”
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1203_pol1.pdf">blasted</a> the conservative majority, describing their decision as “indefensible.” Sotomayor argued that Trump is trying to illegally shutter the department without congressional approval. During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to shutter the Department of Education, but eliminating the department entirely would require an act of Congress – his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-order-dismantling-department-of-education">executive order</a> dismantles it as much as possible in the meantime. The other two liberal justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan, joined Sotomayor’s dissent.
Critics have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-order-dismantling-department-of-education">pointed</a> out that the Education Department doesn’t do much educating. Though it spends $80 billion in taxpayer dollars each year, it has no say over public school curriculums, which are decided at the state and local levels. Instead, it doles out $18.4 billion annually for Title I, the low-income school district program, and $15.5 billion for special education. It also enforces certain Title IX civil rights laws and sets the rules for colleges to participate in the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program. The Trump administration says other departments are better equipped to manage these programs.
And … under the Trump administration, the Education Department has <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-cuts-over-600-million-divisive-teacher-training-grants">terminated</a> over $600 million in grants for training teachers in “divisive ideologies” including social justice activism, anti-racism, and recruiting teachers based on race.

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Morning Brief: Newsom Eyes 2028, Inflation Data, SCOTUS Okays Education Dept Downsizing

California

Department of Education

Gavin Newsom

Supreme Court

Inflation ticked up last month, coming in slightly above economists&#8217; predictions for the June Consumer Price Index <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">report</a> as President Donald Trump prepares to impose tariffs on countries around the world.
In June, the Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% year-over-year and was up 0.3% from May, according to the monthly report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The June inflation reading was just above economists&#8217; predictions of 2.6% after each of the readings from February through May came in lower than expected, Reuters reported.
The White House <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1945106084575817907">celebrated</a> the report, saying it reflects another month of inflation remaining &#8220;on the right track.&#8221;
&#8220;Since President Trump took office, core inflation has come in below or at economists’ expectations every single month,&#8221; the White House&#8217;s official &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; X account stated.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/PressSec/status/1945126037014081963">added</a>, &#8220;Every month since President Trump took office, core inflation — the best measure of inflation — has beat[en] or matched expectations. The data proves that President Trump is stabilizing inflation and the Panicans continue to be wrong about tariffs raising prices.&#8221;
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday morning that the &#8220;substantial price level rise&#8221; from tariffs that was predicted by experts &#8220;just hasn&#8217;t happened.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: &quot;I think one thing that Wall Street, a lot of economists&#8230; got wrong early on was that tariffs were going to cause a substantial price level rise, which just hasn&#39;t happened.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/zwTCLsPq2l">pic.twitter.com/zwTCLsPq2l</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1945107129968341310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The price index for shelter, which rose 0.2%, was the leading driver &#8220;in the all items monthly increase,&#8221; the BLS report stated. Gas prices rose 1%, and the energy index jumped 0.9% month-over-month. The food index, meanwhile, was up 0.3%.
Economists have been predicting for months that President Trump&#8217;s large-scale tariffs, some of which have already gone into effect on America&#8217;s biggest trading partners — China, Canada, and Mexico — would result in higher inflation levels and likely be felt by Americans over the summer. Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-new-tariffs-on-mexico-european-union-as-trade-deadline-looms">informed</a> many more countries that they will be hit by the president&#8217;s &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs, set to take effect on August 1. Most of the tariffs were initially scheduled to take effect in April, but Trump granted a 90-day pause for further trade negotiations.
Tuesday&#8217;s inflation report comes two weeks before the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet again to discuss interest rates. President Trump has been pressuring Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, citing the better-than-expected inflation reports as justification for reducing borrowing costs. Last week, amid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-cheers-reports-that-jerome-powell-considering-resigning">reports</a> that Powell was considering resigning, the Trump administration said that a resignation from Powell would &#8220;be the right decision for America, and the economy will boom.&#8221;
After the inflation report was released, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114857639804190832">wrote</a> on Truth Social, &#8220;Fed should cut Rates by 3 Points. Very Low Inflation. One Trillion Dollars a year would be saved!!!&#8221;
The Fed is expected to leave its benchmark overnight interest rate between 4.25% and 4.50% at the July meeting, as inflation hovers above the Fed&#8217;s 2% target.

Inflation Creeps Up As Trump Prepares Major Tariff Rollout

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Higher tariffs could begin raising inflation this summer, a period that will be key to Federal Reserve consideration of possible rate cuts, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told members of Congress on Tuesday.
Pressed by Republican members of the House Financial Services committee about why the Fed isn&#8217;t cutting rates, as President Donald Trump has demanded, Powell said he and many at the Fed expect inflation to start rising soon, and that the central bank was in no rush to ease borrowing costs in the meantime.
Powell particularly said he would not open the door to a rate cut at the Fed&#8217;s July meeting, as two of his colleagues recently suggested, or at any other session for that matter.
&#8220;I do not want to point to a particular meeting. I don&#8217;t think we need to be in any rush,&#8221; given a still-strong labor market and so much uncertainty about the impact of the still-unresolved tariff debate, Powell said.
Referring to expected tariff-driven price increases, Powell said &#8220;we should start to see this over the summer, in the June number and the July number. &#8230; If we don&#8217;t we are perfectly open to the idea that the pass-through (to consumers) will be less than we think, and if we do that will matter for policy.&#8221;
“I think if it turns out that inflation pressures remain contained we will get to a place where we cut rates sooner than later,&#8221; he said.
With the central bank largely sidelined waiting for the outcome of the Trump administration&#8217;s tariff negotiations, Powell was quizzed repeatedly about why the central bank seemed preoccupied with that issue and isn&#8217;t cutting rates given that inflation so far has been modest.
Powell said that Fed policy isn&#8217;t meant to endorse or criticize the Trump administration&#8217;s approach to trade, only to deal with an inflation impact that the Fed and forecasts more broadly expect to gather momentum over the rest of the year.
&#8220;We aren&#8217;t commenting on tariffs,&#8221; Powell said. &#8220;Our job is keeping inflation under control, and when policies have short- and medium-term, meaningful, implications, then inflation becomes our job.&#8221;
&#8220;All professional forecasters I know of&#8230;expect a meaningful increase in inflation over the course of this year,&#8221; Powell said, elaborating on the Fed&#8217;s reluctance to cut rates while major aspects of Trump&#8217;s trade policy remain unresolved.
<h3>PARING BETS</h3>
In prepared testimony to the House panel, Powell noted that those effects &#8220;could be short-lived, reflecting a one-time shift in the price level. It is also possible that the inflationary effects could instead be more persistent. &#8230; For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.&#8221;
Following the release of Powell&#8217;s testimony, investors pared bets that the central bank might cut its policy interest rate as soon as the central bank&#8217;s July meeting, and increased the perceived odds for a rate reduction in September, with another to follow later in the year.
Powell&#8217;s testimony, as is usually the case with his semiannual congressional appearances, largely tracks the central bank&#8217;s most recent policy statement, approved last week. Fed officials voted unanimously at that meeting to hold the benchmark interest rate steady in the current 4.25% to 4.5% range, and gave no indication rate cuts were imminent.
New economic projections released at the time showed officials at the median expect two quarter-point rate cuts by the end of the year, in line with current market pricing.
In recent days, two Fed governors, both Trump appointees, have said rates could fall as soon as the July meeting, given inflation has not yet risen in response to tariffs, while three reserve bank presidents said they still worry inflation will intensify over the rest of the year.
Trump, who appointed Powell as chair in his first term but is expected to replace him when his term ends next spring, has repeatedly called for steep rate cuts.
&#8220;We should be at least two to three points lower,&#8221; he said in a social media post ahead of the hearing, adding in reference to Powell that he hoped &#8220;Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over.&#8221;
(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference in Washington

Jerome Powell Suggests Delaying Rate Cuts Beyond July Meeting While Fed Studies Tariff Impact

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked on Thursday that a &#8220;new version of TDS&#8221; seems to have emerged, specifically targeting President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff policies, and reminded Democrats that they lost the presidential election last year while defending the sitting administration&#8217;s economic policies.
Shorthand for &#8220;Trump Derangement Syndrome,&#8221; TDS refers to a phenomenon characterized by intense negative reactions to Trump, his actions, or his supporters. Republican lawmakers recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-searches-patient-zero-trump-derangement-syndrome-new-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a bill in the House to begin a study of its origins and identify potential solutions.
During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) <a href="https://x.com/RichSementa/status/1933185612636463228" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Bessent on whether American consumers are paying the tariffs amid Trump&#8217;s trade war with other countries after pointing out that the secretary himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bessent-speaks-to-walmart-ceo-dismisses-draconian-forecast-on-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> nearly a month ago that retail giant Walmart could pass on price increases to consumers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;There seems to be a new version of TDS, which I would call Tariff Derangement Syndrome,&#8221; says <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>.
&#8220;Many on your side seem disappointed that there is no inflation &#8230; We saw the best inflation numbers since 2020, so there has been nothing passed on. There has been… <a href="https://t.co/KpYCPlUoA3">pic.twitter.com/KpYCPlUoA3</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933174639531901157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bessent accused the Democrat of &#8220;cherry-picking&#8221; to suit a narrative. &#8220;Walmart makes decisions based on their customers&#8221; while he said two other large retailers, Amazon and Home Depot, have chosen not to pass along the cost of tariffs.
&#8220;There seems to be a new version of TDS, which I would call Tariff Derangement Syndrome, and many on your side seem disappointed that there is no inflation today,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933174639531901157" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continued</a>. &#8220;As a matter of fact, we saw the best inflation numbers since 2020, so there has been nothing passed on. There has been no tariff recession. So no inflation, no recession due to tariffs.&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats are so out of touch and partisan that they refuse to acknowledge the President’s inflation wins and would actually prefer to see numbers rise,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1933183375227171099">wrote</a> in a post on X with a clip of his back-and-forth with Wyden.
At another point during the hearing, Bessent chided Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) during an exchange in which the Democrat lawmaker was loudly talking about tax cuts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a> nukes <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBennet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorBennet</a> on President Trump&#8217;s tax cuts: &#8220;We had a referendum on November 5th on our economic policies. Your side lost.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/MLQ3AbZ36P">pic.twitter.com/MLQ3AbZ36P</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933175478455611657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Sir, we had a referendum on November 5th on &#8230; economic policies. Your side lost,&#8221; Bessent said.
The secretary kept going, but Bennet started to speak over him.
&#8220;I agree with that, and I&#8217;m a rare Democrat who doesn&#8217;t blame Donald Trump for winning,&#8221; Bennet exclaimed. &#8220;I&#8217;m sad he won.&#8221;
Bessent shot back, &#8220;A higher decibel level does not give your statements more veracity.&#8221;

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Testifies To Senate Finance Committee On Treasury Dept’s Budget

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