ASX set to slip, Wall Street hits record; US-EU reach trade deal
The trade deal announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled for talks with US President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line, which will see a 15 per cent US import tariff imposed on most EU goods.
'I think this is the biggest deal ever made,' Trump told reporters after an hour-long meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15 per cent tariff applied 'across the board'.
'We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,' she said.
The deal, that also includes $US600 billion ($914 billion) of EU investments in the United States and significant EU purchases of US energy and military equipment, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies.
However, the baseline tariff of 15 per cent will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30 per cent rate.
The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to set an all-time high, the fifth time it did so this week. The Dow Jones climbed 208 points, or 0.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2 per cent to its own record set the day before. A closely watched gauge of equity volatility – the VIX – closed below 15.
The Australian sharemarket is set to slip, with futures, set before the US-EU trade deal was announced, pointing to a slide of 5 points, or 0.1 per cent, at the open.
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The Advertiser
26 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
'Not right': Australia urged to wind back tax breaks
Australian workers could be locked out of home ownership unless property concessions are reined in, but any reform would require careful manoeuvring from the government. As the federal government seeks ways to reinvigorate the nation's languishing productivity, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged it to reform the tax system and make housing affordable. Tax concessions like negative gearing, which allows investors to claim deductions on losses, and the capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, have incentivised property investment and tied up capital that could otherwise be invested more productively, according to the union. "Working people can no longer afford to live near where they work and young people are locked out of the housing market and locked into high rents," ACTU secretary Sally McManus said. "It's just not right and has to change." The union has proposed limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts to a single investment property, though those tax breaks would be grandfathered for five years on properties that already benefit, giving investors time to adjust. Independent economist Saul Eslake, who has spent decades advocating for the abolition of negative gearing and the capital gains discount, said the ACTU's proposal was "good policy". "One of the things about our tax system is it provides enormous incentives for people to invest in residential property - not so much in building more of it but in speculating that its price will go up," he told AAP. But reforms to property tax concessions have historically been political kryptonite for Labor. A previous proposal to limit negative gearing contributed to the party's narrow defeat at the 2019 election, which may not come as a surprise given about one in five taxpayers have at least one investment property and about half of them are negatively geared, Australian Taxation Office statistics have found. While Labor won the May election in a landslide victory, Australian political orthodoxy would suggest the government may not do much with its margin and instead seek to argue for an expansive mandate at the 2028 contest when it will be prepared to take some flack. "There's a lot of votes at risk," Mr Eslake said. "But what's the point of having political capital, if you're not prepared to spend it?" Treasurer Jim Chalmers appears keen to break from the political orthodoxy in pursuit of major tax reforms. However, this will come at a cost, Mr Eslake said. Australia's last big tax reform - the introduction of the GST - came during a time when the Howard government had maintained a significant surplus that could be drawn down on to ensure everyone was better off. The current government is staring down a decade of deficit, which means some people will have to be worse off. "(But) the government can afford to alienate people who would never vote for it in the first place," Mr Eslake said. He says this is the implicit attitude behind such Labor policies as its proposal to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, which will impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Dr Chalmers will convene a roundtable later in August that will focus on lifting living standards by improving productivity, building resilience and strengthening the budget. The union has also urged the government to implement a minimum 25 per cent tax rate for individuals who earn more than $1 million and a cap on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme for big business to ensure companies cannot claim more than $20 million in those credits. But the Business Council of Australia has hit back, calling the proposals "ad hoc tax grabs". "You don't fix Australia's lagging productivity and investment by taxing businesses more and making Australia less competitive," chief executive Bran Black said. Australian workers could be locked out of home ownership unless property concessions are reined in, but any reform would require careful manoeuvring from the government. As the federal government seeks ways to reinvigorate the nation's languishing productivity, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged it to reform the tax system and make housing affordable. Tax concessions like negative gearing, which allows investors to claim deductions on losses, and the capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, have incentivised property investment and tied up capital that could otherwise be invested more productively, according to the union. "Working people can no longer afford to live near where they work and young people are locked out of the housing market and locked into high rents," ACTU secretary Sally McManus said. "It's just not right and has to change." The union has proposed limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts to a single investment property, though those tax breaks would be grandfathered for five years on properties that already benefit, giving investors time to adjust. Independent economist Saul Eslake, who has spent decades advocating for the abolition of negative gearing and the capital gains discount, said the ACTU's proposal was "good policy". "One of the things about our tax system is it provides enormous incentives for people to invest in residential property - not so much in building more of it but in speculating that its price will go up," he told AAP. But reforms to property tax concessions have historically been political kryptonite for Labor. A previous proposal to limit negative gearing contributed to the party's narrow defeat at the 2019 election, which may not come as a surprise given about one in five taxpayers have at least one investment property and about half of them are negatively geared, Australian Taxation Office statistics have found. While Labor won the May election in a landslide victory, Australian political orthodoxy would suggest the government may not do much with its margin and instead seek to argue for an expansive mandate at the 2028 contest when it will be prepared to take some flack. "There's a lot of votes at risk," Mr Eslake said. "But what's the point of having political capital, if you're not prepared to spend it?" Treasurer Jim Chalmers appears keen to break from the political orthodoxy in pursuit of major tax reforms. However, this will come at a cost, Mr Eslake said. Australia's last big tax reform - the introduction of the GST - came during a time when the Howard government had maintained a significant surplus that could be drawn down on to ensure everyone was better off. The current government is staring down a decade of deficit, which means some people will have to be worse off. "(But) the government can afford to alienate people who would never vote for it in the first place," Mr Eslake said. He says this is the implicit attitude behind such Labor policies as its proposal to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, which will impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Dr Chalmers will convene a roundtable later in August that will focus on lifting living standards by improving productivity, building resilience and strengthening the budget. The union has also urged the government to implement a minimum 25 per cent tax rate for individuals who earn more than $1 million and a cap on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme for big business to ensure companies cannot claim more than $20 million in those credits. But the Business Council of Australia has hit back, calling the proposals "ad hoc tax grabs". "You don't fix Australia's lagging productivity and investment by taxing businesses more and making Australia less competitive," chief executive Bran Black said. Australian workers could be locked out of home ownership unless property concessions are reined in, but any reform would require careful manoeuvring from the government. As the federal government seeks ways to reinvigorate the nation's languishing productivity, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged it to reform the tax system and make housing affordable. Tax concessions like negative gearing, which allows investors to claim deductions on losses, and the capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, have incentivised property investment and tied up capital that could otherwise be invested more productively, according to the union. "Working people can no longer afford to live near where they work and young people are locked out of the housing market and locked into high rents," ACTU secretary Sally McManus said. "It's just not right and has to change." The union has proposed limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts to a single investment property, though those tax breaks would be grandfathered for five years on properties that already benefit, giving investors time to adjust. Independent economist Saul Eslake, who has spent decades advocating for the abolition of negative gearing and the capital gains discount, said the ACTU's proposal was "good policy". "One of the things about our tax system is it provides enormous incentives for people to invest in residential property - not so much in building more of it but in speculating that its price will go up," he told AAP. But reforms to property tax concessions have historically been political kryptonite for Labor. A previous proposal to limit negative gearing contributed to the party's narrow defeat at the 2019 election, which may not come as a surprise given about one in five taxpayers have at least one investment property and about half of them are negatively geared, Australian Taxation Office statistics have found. While Labor won the May election in a landslide victory, Australian political orthodoxy would suggest the government may not do much with its margin and instead seek to argue for an expansive mandate at the 2028 contest when it will be prepared to take some flack. "There's a lot of votes at risk," Mr Eslake said. "But what's the point of having political capital, if you're not prepared to spend it?" Treasurer Jim Chalmers appears keen to break from the political orthodoxy in pursuit of major tax reforms. However, this will come at a cost, Mr Eslake said. Australia's last big tax reform - the introduction of the GST - came during a time when the Howard government had maintained a significant surplus that could be drawn down on to ensure everyone was better off. The current government is staring down a decade of deficit, which means some people will have to be worse off. "(But) the government can afford to alienate people who would never vote for it in the first place," Mr Eslake said. He says this is the implicit attitude behind such Labor policies as its proposal to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, which will impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Dr Chalmers will convene a roundtable later in August that will focus on lifting living standards by improving productivity, building resilience and strengthening the budget. The union has also urged the government to implement a minimum 25 per cent tax rate for individuals who earn more than $1 million and a cap on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme for big business to ensure companies cannot claim more than $20 million in those credits. But the Business Council of Australia has hit back, calling the proposals "ad hoc tax grabs". "You don't fix Australia's lagging productivity and investment by taxing businesses more and making Australia less competitive," chief executive Bran Black said. Australian workers could be locked out of home ownership unless property concessions are reined in, but any reform would require careful manoeuvring from the government. As the federal government seeks ways to reinvigorate the nation's languishing productivity, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged it to reform the tax system and make housing affordable. Tax concessions like negative gearing, which allows investors to claim deductions on losses, and the capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, have incentivised property investment and tied up capital that could otherwise be invested more productively, according to the union. "Working people can no longer afford to live near where they work and young people are locked out of the housing market and locked into high rents," ACTU secretary Sally McManus said. "It's just not right and has to change." The union has proposed limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts to a single investment property, though those tax breaks would be grandfathered for five years on properties that already benefit, giving investors time to adjust. Independent economist Saul Eslake, who has spent decades advocating for the abolition of negative gearing and the capital gains discount, said the ACTU's proposal was "good policy". "One of the things about our tax system is it provides enormous incentives for people to invest in residential property - not so much in building more of it but in speculating that its price will go up," he told AAP. But reforms to property tax concessions have historically been political kryptonite for Labor. A previous proposal to limit negative gearing contributed to the party's narrow defeat at the 2019 election, which may not come as a surprise given about one in five taxpayers have at least one investment property and about half of them are negatively geared, Australian Taxation Office statistics have found. While Labor won the May election in a landslide victory, Australian political orthodoxy would suggest the government may not do much with its margin and instead seek to argue for an expansive mandate at the 2028 contest when it will be prepared to take some flack. "There's a lot of votes at risk," Mr Eslake said. "But what's the point of having political capital, if you're not prepared to spend it?" Treasurer Jim Chalmers appears keen to break from the political orthodoxy in pursuit of major tax reforms. However, this will come at a cost, Mr Eslake said. Australia's last big tax reform - the introduction of the GST - came during a time when the Howard government had maintained a significant surplus that could be drawn down on to ensure everyone was better off. The current government is staring down a decade of deficit, which means some people will have to be worse off. "(But) the government can afford to alienate people who would never vote for it in the first place," Mr Eslake said. He says this is the implicit attitude behind such Labor policies as its proposal to lift taxes on super balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, which will impact about 0.5 per cent of savers. Dr Chalmers will convene a roundtable later in August that will focus on lifting living standards by improving productivity, building resilience and strengthening the budget. The union has also urged the government to implement a minimum 25 per cent tax rate for individuals who earn more than $1 million and a cap on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme for big business to ensure companies cannot claim more than $20 million in those credits. But the Business Council of Australia has hit back, calling the proposals "ad hoc tax grabs". "You don't fix Australia's lagging productivity and investment by taxing businesses more and making Australia less competitive," chief executive Bran Black said.
The Advertiser
26 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Big Bird sad: US funding cuts hit public broadcasting
America's Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for hundreds of local radio and television stations as well as programs like Sesame Street, is closing after the US government withdrew funding. CPB told employees on Friday most staff positions will end on September. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorised its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fuelling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. President Donald Trump signed a bill on July 24 cancelling about $US1.1 billion ($A1.7 billion) that had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense and conservatives have particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for some local public stations in their state, warning some stations will have to close. Congress passed legislation creating the body in 1967, several years after then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described commercial television a "vast wasteland" and called for programming in the public interest. The corporation doesn't produce programming and it doesn't own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations. The corporation, PBS, NPR are independent of each other as are local public television and radio stations. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it's likely some won't survive. NPR's president estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children's programming. In Kodiak, Alaska, KMXT estimated the cuts would slice 22 per cent from its budget. Public radio stations in the sprawling, heavily rural state often provide not just news but alerts about natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. The first episode of Sesame Street aired in 1969 and over the decades, characters from Big Bird to Cookie Monster and Elmo have become household favourites. Sesame Street was designed by education professionals and child psychologists to help low-income and minority students aged two to five overcome some of the deficiencies they had when entering school. Sesame Street said in May it would also get some help from a Netflix streaming deal. Grant money from the nonprofit has also funded lesser-known food, history, music and other shows created by stations across the country. America's Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for hundreds of local radio and television stations as well as programs like Sesame Street, is closing after the US government withdrew funding. CPB told employees on Friday most staff positions will end on September. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorised its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fuelling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. President Donald Trump signed a bill on July 24 cancelling about $US1.1 billion ($A1.7 billion) that had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense and conservatives have particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for some local public stations in their state, warning some stations will have to close. Congress passed legislation creating the body in 1967, several years after then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described commercial television a "vast wasteland" and called for programming in the public interest. The corporation doesn't produce programming and it doesn't own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations. The corporation, PBS, NPR are independent of each other as are local public television and radio stations. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it's likely some won't survive. NPR's president estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children's programming. In Kodiak, Alaska, KMXT estimated the cuts would slice 22 per cent from its budget. Public radio stations in the sprawling, heavily rural state often provide not just news but alerts about natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. The first episode of Sesame Street aired in 1969 and over the decades, characters from Big Bird to Cookie Monster and Elmo have become household favourites. Sesame Street was designed by education professionals and child psychologists to help low-income and minority students aged two to five overcome some of the deficiencies they had when entering school. Sesame Street said in May it would also get some help from a Netflix streaming deal. Grant money from the nonprofit has also funded lesser-known food, history, music and other shows created by stations across the country. America's Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for hundreds of local radio and television stations as well as programs like Sesame Street, is closing after the US government withdrew funding. CPB told employees on Friday most staff positions will end on September. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorised its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fuelling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. President Donald Trump signed a bill on July 24 cancelling about $US1.1 billion ($A1.7 billion) that had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense and conservatives have particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for some local public stations in their state, warning some stations will have to close. Congress passed legislation creating the body in 1967, several years after then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described commercial television a "vast wasteland" and called for programming in the public interest. The corporation doesn't produce programming and it doesn't own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations. The corporation, PBS, NPR are independent of each other as are local public television and radio stations. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it's likely some won't survive. NPR's president estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children's programming. In Kodiak, Alaska, KMXT estimated the cuts would slice 22 per cent from its budget. Public radio stations in the sprawling, heavily rural state often provide not just news but alerts about natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. The first episode of Sesame Street aired in 1969 and over the decades, characters from Big Bird to Cookie Monster and Elmo have become household favourites. Sesame Street was designed by education professionals and child psychologists to help low-income and minority students aged two to five overcome some of the deficiencies they had when entering school. Sesame Street said in May it would also get some help from a Netflix streaming deal. Grant money from the nonprofit has also funded lesser-known food, history, music and other shows created by stations across the country. America's Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for hundreds of local radio and television stations as well as programs like Sesame Street, is closing after the US government withdrew funding. CPB told employees on Friday most staff positions will end on September. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorised its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fuelling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. President Donald Trump signed a bill on July 24 cancelling about $US1.1 billion ($A1.7 billion) that had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense and conservatives have particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for some local public stations in their state, warning some stations will have to close. Congress passed legislation creating the body in 1967, several years after then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described commercial television a "vast wasteland" and called for programming in the public interest. The corporation doesn't produce programming and it doesn't own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations. The corporation, PBS, NPR are independent of each other as are local public television and radio stations. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it's likely some won't survive. NPR's president estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children's programming. In Kodiak, Alaska, KMXT estimated the cuts would slice 22 per cent from its budget. Public radio stations in the sprawling, heavily rural state often provide not just news but alerts about natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. The first episode of Sesame Street aired in 1969 and over the decades, characters from Big Bird to Cookie Monster and Elmo have become household favourites. Sesame Street was designed by education professionals and child psychologists to help low-income and minority students aged two to five overcome some of the deficiencies they had when entering school. Sesame Street said in May it would also get some help from a Netflix streaming deal. Grant money from the nonprofit has also funded lesser-known food, history, music and other shows created by stations across the country.
The Advertiser
26 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment references
The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump.
