Federal Reserve keeps interest rate unchanged, sees slower growth, slightly higher inflation ahead
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it still expects to cut rates twice this year, though more policymakers forecast fewer cuts. The Fed also now expects the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it did three months ago, according to a […]
Judge rules DOGE’s USAID dismantling likely violates the Constitution
WASHINGTON (AP) — The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution, a federal judge ruled Tuesday as he indefinitely blocked DOGE from making further cuts to the agency. The order requires the Trump administration to restore email and computer access to all employees of USAID[...]
Pentagon is cutting up to 60,000 civilian jobs. About a third of those took voluntary resignations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday. To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in a civilian workforce of more […]
Trump probes lumber, timber imports for potential tariffs; names furniture as derivative product
WASHINGTON – Does the U.S.’ reliance on imported lumber and timber constitute a threat to national security? That’s what the Trump Administration aims to find out through a new executive order. “The wood products industry – composed of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (such as paper products, furniture, and cabinetry) – is a critical manufacturing […]
FTC reverses its request for a delay in an Amazon trial, says it has resources to litigate the case
A lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission has walked back his comments about a lack of resources and staff turnover interfering with the agency’s preparations for a trial involving Amazon’s Prime program. FTC lawyer Jonathan Cohen asked a federal judge during a hearing on Wednesday to delay the September trial and relax deadlines in the […]
More than 50 universities face federal investigations as part of Trump’s anti-DEI campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 50 universities are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination as part of President Donald Trump‘s campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs that his officials say exclude white and Asian American students. The Education Department announced the new investigations Friday, one month after issuing a memo warning America’s schools[...]
Wall Street tumbles after Trump escalates his trade war
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street‘s sell-off hit a new low Thursday after President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war dragged the S&P 500 more than 10% below its record, which was set just last month. A 10% drop is a big enough deal that professional investors have a name for it — a “correction” — and the S&P 500’s 1.4% slide on […]
Judge orders Trump to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco ordered President Donald Trump‘s administration to rehire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies, blasting their tactics Thursday as he slowed the new president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that [&hell[...]
Feds to consider ‘compelling offers’ for real estate
The Trump administration’s push to sell federal office buildings across the nation appears to be far from dead. A revised version of the “non-core” federal properties list is being prepared, a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, the federal property management agency, stated on Monday. “We anticipate the list will be republished in the near […]
Trump family business sues Capital One for closing accounts in 2021
Just after Capital One escaped a federal watchdog lawsuit that was suddenly dropped last month, it’s back in legal hot water, this time courtesy of President Donald Trump‘s family business. On March 7, multiple entities connected with the Trump Organization sued the McLean-based bank for terminating more than 300 Trump Organization bank accounts following the Jan. […]
Trump 2.0 could impact state business climate
For millennials and hipper Gen X-ers, here’s a question: Are you feeling like the “This is fine” dog in the burning kitchen? And for the Boomers, can we offer you the image of a frog sitting in a pot of quickly heating water? Even if neither image makes sense, this much is clear: There’s a […]
Our View: Making Virginia grate again
For the state where the United States was born and the roots of the American Revolution were planted (see editor’s note below), it’s an ironic fact that Virginia is heavily dependent on the largesse of the federal government. The state’s so-called “Golden Crescent” — the prosperous corridor running roughly along interstates 95 and 64 from […]