Political developments with market and economic implications.
Coverage of political events, elections, legislation, and regulatory changes that influence markets and economic policy. Focuses on political risk, fiscal decisions, and policy uncertainty relevant to investors.
165 total articles
President Donald Trump told officials he was not asleep but merely bored during a December cabinet meeting in which he closed his eyes for extended periods. Speaking in the White House Cabinet Room, Trump said he shut his eyes to shorten the meeting and denied sleeping, repeating that he does not sleep much. The remarks come amid ongoing scrutiny o…
Senator Ron Wyden has asked the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office to explain why U.S. tariffs on imports from Switzerland were cut to 15% from 39% soon after a meeting where Swiss business executives presented lavish gifts to the U.S. president. Wyden set a February 11 deadline for answers about who set the original tariff, who recommended the cut…
U.S. President Donald Trump told officials that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to suspend strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian towns for one week. Trump said he made a personal request for the pause during a Cabinet meeting and attributed the decision to unusually severe cold in the region. He also said the outcome exceeded expectations…
Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar formally launched her bid for governor of Minnesota after filing paperwork a week earlier, tying her campaign to rising state tensions over a federal immigration enforcement operation that preceded a series of recent killings and shootings. She positioned herself against the federal approach and pledged to addr…
Federal immigration agents in Minneapolis are operating under revised internal guidance that limits engagement with protesters and focuses enforcement on immigrants with criminal records, a shift coming as senior administration messaging has been inconsistent and a federal judge sharply criticized the agency for widespread violations of court order…
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced he will not run for elective office again, saying he will concentrate on responding to a fraud crisis in the state's welfare system that has become a focal point of federal criticism and political attacks. Walz, who will complete his second term in early 2027 and had already said he will not seek a third term, …
President Donald Trump publicly admonished Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after Frey said city authorities would not assist federal immigration agencies in enforcing immigration laws. The exchange came as federal immigration activity in Minneapolis appeared to alternate between more targeted operations and broader patrols, following two fatal shootin…
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer questions about the Trump administration's operation in Venezuela and its broader policy toward the country. The hearing follows a contentious period in which senators nearly passed a resolution to restrict presidential military action in Venezue…
President Trump’s hardline immigration campaign, which helped secure his 2024 victory, is showing growing signs of political cost. A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds approval of his immigration approach at its lowest point since inauguration, and intense enforcement operations in Minneapolis have provoked national controversy after two protest-related fata…
A Tazewell County judge blocked Virginia Democrats’ effort to place a constitutional amendment before voters that would allow the legislature to redraw congressional districts. The decision, citing procedural timing issues tied to last November’s election, pauses a maneuver that Democrats said could net as many as four additional U.S. House seats a…
President Donald Trump said the man fatally shot by a federal agent during an immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis should not have been carrying a firearm or fully loaded magazines, comments that drew criticism from gun rights organizations and some Republicans. The shooting, which has been captured on bystander video, prompted a White Hou…
Federal statements issued after a series of violent encounters involving U.S. immigration officers - including two fatal shootings in Minneapolis this month - were repeatedly at odds with video recordings, court filings and medical examiner findings, a Reuters review found. The discrepancies span six cases in Minneapolis, Chicago and Texas, and inc…
House Democratic leaders have issued an ultimatum to remove Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following recent shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that killed two U.S. citizens with no criminal records. Democrats say they will open impeachment proceedings if Noem is not dismissed immediately, but with Republicans controlli…
Eleanor Holmes Norton, a veteran civil rights attorney who has represented Washington, D.C. in Congress as a non-voting delegate since 1990, announced she will retire next year. Norton, 88, framed her decision around a responsibility to hand leadership to a new generation amid questions about her fitness and effectiveness as the House's oldest memb…
Federal suspension of financing for a $17.2 billion Hudson River tunnel project means crews will halt work on Feb. 6 unless the Trump administration reverses its decision, a New Jersey congressman said. The tunnel, a replacement for infrastructure damaged in 2012, links New York City and New Jersey and serves a region responsible for 10% of U.S. ec…
Gregory Bovino has been taken out of his assignment as the U.S. Border Patrol's "commander at large" and will go back to his former position in California, with reports indicating he is expected to retire soon. The move was reported by The Atlantic, which cited a Department of Homeland Security official and two individuals with knowledge of the cha…
A sharp dispute at a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm erupted after a partner defended the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old man by immigration agents in Minneapolis. The episode has heightened tensions inside the tech industry as executives, employees and investors respond to a month of deadly federal immigration enforcement actions.
A recent nationwide online poll finds American approval of the president's immigration policy at 39%, its lowest since his return to office, while 53% disapprove. The survey, taken around a fatal confrontation involving immigration officers in Minneapolis, also shows a large plurality saying immigration enforcement has gone "too far." Overall presi…
On Jan. 26, attorney Chris Madel withdrew from the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, condemning what he called retaliatory federal action in the state after confrontations over intensified immigration enforcement that resulted in two fatal shootings. Madel said the scope of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis e…
The White House said President Donald Trump does not want people harmed on U.S. streets but will continue efforts to deport what it describes as 'violent criminal illegal aliens' in Minnesota, after federal officers fatally shot 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti. Video from the scene contradicts the administration's initial account of events, and Minne…
Wolfe Research warns that a partial U.S. government shutdown is increasingly probable after Jan. 30 as Senate Democrats coalesce against current Department of Homeland Security funding language and a major snowstorm reduces available legislative days. The stalled six-bill minibus spans six appropriations subcommittees and accounts for more than 75%…
Raymond James analysts say geopolitical risk is still high despite a temporary calming of the Greenland dispute. In a Monday note, the firm highlights five themes likely to influence markets: the Greenland episode, Iran-related military buildup, Japan's surprise snap election and resulting government-debt moves, new U.S. seabed-mining policy and a …
An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel declined to grant the Justice Department's request to authorize arrest warrants for five more people tied to a Minnesota church demonstration, underscoring judicial resistance to the administration's aggressive prosecutorial push. A magistrate judge earlier approved charges against three alleged organizers…
The current administration resisted broadening body-worn camera use by immigration officers and sharply reduced staffing for internal oversight units as it redeployed agents to Minneapolis and other cities. By-stander video from two fatal shootings has highlighted the role of cameras in scrutinizing official accounts. The administration sought stee…
Two fatal shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis have intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration's large-scale immigration enforcement operation, prompting partisan clashes in Congress, unease among some Republicans and gun-rights advocates, and renewed calls from Democrats to block funding for agencies that oversee ICE ahead of a loomi…
