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Ex-Adviser Reportedly Hurt Embassy Aide Kuwait Airport Incident Disputed Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, November 12, 2004; Page A06 Robert D. Blackwill, who resigned last week as the White House's top official on Iraq policy, was recently scolded by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told her that Blackwill appeared to have verbally abused and physically hurt a female embassy staffer during a visit to Kuwait in September, administration officials said. The incident took place as Blackwill was rushing to return home after a visit to Baghdad to join a campaign swing planned by...

Is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman trying to sabotage Joe Biden’s reelection bid? It’s quite possible. The Saudi leader, known as MBS, has made clear his disdain for President Biden, and his fury over insults lobbed at him by this White House. He is a powerful force behind the current surge in oil prices, which could — if sustained — contribute to Biden’s defeat. Oil prices are soaring — up 19 percent since the start of the year. Since they lag behind crude oil, gasoline prices have only jumped 14 percent so far. But, unless oil markets take a...

As RedState reported earlier, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) did an interview on "Meet the Press" Sunday, where he dropped facts on Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on the issue of whether suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March, had been afforded due process."In my judgment, [Van Hollen] is utterly and gloriously wrong," Kennedy told host Kristen Welker. "I mean, most of this gauzy rhetoric is just rage bait. Unless you’re next-level obtuse, you know that Mr. Garcia is never coming back to the United States ever," he also remarked."The other point I...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term leading the U.S. central bank ends next year. “None whatsoever,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked to clarify that he did not seek Powell’s removal. “Never did.” The comment represents a dramatic shift for Trump, who has recently ramped up his rhetoric against Powell and declined to rule out the possibility of taking the unprecedented step of firing him. U.S. stock futures rose sharply across major indexes following Trump’s latest remarks. Trump, who has heaped pressure on the...

“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary suggested Monday that President Trump will not oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has heavily criticized in recent days after the central bank decided to hold interest rates steady last month. “You don’t want to whack the Fed. That’s a really bad idea,” O’Leary said on NewsNation’s “The Hill” in an interview Monday night. “You want the Fed and the executive to be working together. You know, that’s the markets want an independent fed.” “The whole world wants an independent Fed. The Fed maintains the debt market too,” he continued. “You gotta...

The Dow plunged more than 1,100 points as President Trump intensified his attacks on the Federal Reserve’s independence — calling chairman Jerome Powell “a major loser” for not lowering interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently off 1,084.93 points, or 2.8%, at 38,057.30 in midday trades after plunging losing 1,406 points during the previous holiday-shortened week. US markets were closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday. The S&P 500 on Monday fell 2.9% and the Nasdaq slipped 3.1%. In a fiery Truth Social rant on Monday, Trump once again called for the Federal Reserve to slash interest...

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose Monday as investors weighed concerns over tariffs and comments by President Donald Trump criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 8 basis points higher at 4.401%. The 2-year Treasury yield was 1 basis point lower to 3.788%. One basis point is equal to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. The moves come after Trump on Friday levied another salvo at Powell for not lowering interest rates. The president vocalized his discontent with the Fed chair’s economic policy leadership during a question-and-answer session with reporters....

President Trump’s tariff war isn’t going well, with market ructions and evidence of a slowing economy. So it was probably inevitable that Mr. Trump would demand that the Federal Reserve ride to his rescue by cutting interest rates. The President took to social media Thursday morning to blast Fed Chairman Jerome Powell with his familiar nuance. “Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Too...

President Donald Trump continued lambasting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell while demanding interest rate cuts on Thursday. Trump nominated Powell to serve as chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System during his first term in office, and then-President Joe Biden later nominated Powell for a second term. However, Trump has soured on Powell and wants him out of the job. In a fiery Truth Social post on Thursday morning, the president declared, "The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank is working to separate “the signal from the noise” in order to formulate its monetary policy amid a flurry of new initiatives and policy announcements from the Trump administration during its first weeks in office. “The new administration is in the process of implementing significant policy changes,” Powell said. “We are focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves. We do not need to be in a hurry.” Powell added, “Uncertainty around the changes and their likely effects remains high.” The Trump administration has issued...

A while back somebody over at Ace of Spades mentioned that with 2 or 3 exceptions, every member of Dubya's administration turned into a Democrat. My first thought was "that can't be right", and then I got thinking. And it wasn't pretty. So I decided I'd go through and get the backup behind Ace's assertion. After going back and editing, this post feels like Apocalypse Now's Captain Willard and his trip up the river that starts out OK and slowly but surely becomes a nightmare. I report; you decide: Press SecretaryAri Fleisher - Not as bad as most of this...

U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day in over four months after the Federal Reserve decided to lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points but reduced its forecast for further rate cuts in 2025. The Dow fell 1,123.03 points, or 2.6%, to end at 42,326.87. The blue-chip index fell for a 10th straight session, logging its longest losing streak since October 1974, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 was off 178.45 points, or nearly 3%, to finish at 5,872.16. The large-cap index suffered its largest one-day...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank deeper into the history books on Wednesday, with the storied index on track for its 10th straight losing day following a disappointing rate outlook by the Federal Reserve. The Dow lost 624 points, or 1.4%, on track for its worst losing streak since an 11-day slide in 1974. The 30-stock average posted a nine-day losing streak on Tuesday, its longest since 1978. The S&P 500 lost 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.9%. The central bank reduced its overnight borrowing rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, as...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a clear, direct response when asked during a press conference Thursday if he would step down if asked to do so by President-elect Trump. “No,” said Powell, whose term as chair ends in 2026. Powell also said in 2019 that he would not resign if asked by Trump. President Biden reappointed Powell in 2021 — despite objections from progressives who have criticized the chair — saying he has burdened the average American by keeping rates too high for too long. Trump suggested earlier this year that Powell, a lifelong Republican, was “political” and would...

President Joe Biden on Thursday appeared to forget meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as recently as two years ago. “I’ve never once spoken to the chairman of the Fed since I became president,” Biden said, falsely, in a speech at the Economic Club of Washington. Biden met with Powell as recently as May 2022 in the Oval Office. This was Powell’s third in-person meeting with President Biden, according to Bloomberg. Biden nominated Powell to a second term as chair of the Fed in November 2021. Biden’s false statement was meant to contrast his approach to the Fed with...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the nation’s unemployment rate is being raised by Alejandro Mayorkas’ huge inflow of migrants. The statement acknowledges the extraordinary political power accumulated by the Cuban-born Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas’ ability to raise and lower the migration rate makes him the nation’s de facto “Labor Czar” and gives him extraordinary influence over Americans’ employment rates, wages and housing, and even their interest rates. Mayorkas insists he has the legal power to set blue-collar and white-collar immigration rates as he sees fit, regardless of migration numbers set by Congress in 1990, or the wishes of...

Inflation edged higher in July, according to a measure favored by the Federal Reserve as the central bank prepares to enact its first interest rate reduction in more than four years. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% on the month and was up 2.5% from the same period a year ago, exactly in line with the Dow Jones consensus estimates. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PCE also increased 0.2% for the month but was up 2.6% from a year ago. The 12-month figure was slightly softer than the 2.7% estimate....

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Friday that interest rate cuts are coming soon. "The time has come for policy to adjust," Powell said in his speech during the Kansas City Fed's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks." "Inflation is now much closer to our objective, with prices having risen 2.5% over the past 12 months," he said. "After a pause earlier this year, progress toward our 2% objective has resumed. My confidence has...

Bank officials signal readiness to start interest rate-cutting cycle to ease pressure on households and businesses After a rollercoaster month in financial markets amid fears of a potential US recession, a majority of economists polled by Reuters said they did not expect a downturn to materialise, and that the Fed would cut borrowing costs by 0.25 percentage points at each of its remaining meetings in 2024. It comes after the heads of three regional Federal Reserve banks signalled growing readiness for the start of a rate-cutting cycle to help ease pressure on households and businesses from high borrowing costs. The...

The latest inflation report says we’re still 50% over the Fed’s target. Is that really close enough? Will inflation disappear by itself? Why is Jerome Powell so close to giving up the inflation fight? Morgan Stanley thinks the Federal Reserve could start cutting rates as early as September, based on the idea that “inflation is finally under control.” The Federal effective funding rate has been held at 5% or higher since May 2023, as you can see on the graph below: (You can also see how the rate was left over 6% – at one point a mind-boggling 19% –...