Thai Cabinet Names New Central Bank Chief
Vitai is set to take the reins of the Bank of Thailand on Oct. 1, according to a statement from the prime minister's office on Tuesday. Pending a final approval, Vitai will succeed BOT Gov. Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, whose five-year term ends Sept. 30.
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kansas governor candidate Cindy Holscher objects to alleged pressure campaign by Kelly's staff
Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Johnson County Democrat seeking the party's nomination for governor in 2026, said staff in the administration of Gov. Laura Kelly attempted to pressure Democratic lawmakers into idling their campaigns for governor so a preferred candidate could prevail. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — State Sen. Cindy Holscher expressed frustration Friday with behind-the-scene involvement of Gov. Laura Kelly's staff in attempting to influence who launched a campaign for the Kansas Democratic Party's nomination for governor in 2026. Holscher, who announced her bid for governor in June, said she was among three Democrats in the Kansas Senate told by the Kelly administration to stand aside so Democratic primary voters would be more likely to nominate Lawrence attorney Chris Mann in the race to determine who would be the party's choice to replace the term-limited Kelly. Holscher said she as well as Sens. Dinah Sykes and Ethan Corson, also of Johnson County, were initially discouraged from impeding Mann's path in the August 2026 primary for governor. 'All three of us were told basically 'do not run' because Chris Mann's the guy,' Holscher said. 'Why are insiders picking candidates? We're being bullied, essentially.' After the dust cleared at the end of July, Mann had chosen to launch another campaign for attorney general after narrowly losing to Republican Kris Kobach in 2022. Corson and Holscher had declared their campaigns for governor. Kelly threw her support to Corson. Lt. Gov. David Toland, at one point the presumed frontrunner in a Democratic gubernatorial race, said he wouldn't run. Sykes remained on the sideline. Will Lawrence, Kelly's chief of staff, said the two-term governor met with potential Democratic candidates for governor and offered advice on how each could approach the 2026 election cycle. 'No one told them, 'You can't run.' They can make their own decisions,' Lawrence said. 'There's a lot of give and take in those conversations. It was never forceful. Cindy was the one that kept coming to the governor trying to get her support. The governor kept saying, 'I'm not going to support you in the governor's race if that's what you choose to do.' The governor was very clear about that.' Lawrence said Kelly would prefer Democrats didn't set the stage for grueling primary battles in statewide races. In an interview, Holscher said it was disappointing Lawrence had participated in an effort to essentially anoint a Democratic nominee for governor. Holscher also asserted Lawrence attempted to leverage future political support from the governor to secure Holscher's vote for a bill altering regulation of child care facilities and exemptions to vaccination mandates. Holscher said it was concerning that Lawrence wielded financial influence over Democratic campaigns by controlling the governor's Middle of the Road political action committee. 'This whole situation is what frustrates Democrats,' Holscher said. She said Democrats suffered under Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate. In the Senate, the GOP edge stands at 31-9 — the same mix as in 2018. The House GOP majority is 88-37, representing the addition of three Republican representatives since 2018. 'If you take a look, you know, we've had the governor's office the past seven years. We haven't advanced in terms of growing our numbers. We've gone backward,' she said. Lawrence, who has held a leadership role with the governor's $2.3 million PAC, made a push during the 2024 elections to alter the balance of power in the Legislature. The Republican supermajority was targeted by Democrats because the GOP's numerical advantage made it easier to override Kelly's vetoes. Outcome of the 2024 election was a disappointment for Democrats up and down the ballot, Lawrence said. Holscher notified Lawrence in mid-June about her views on the Kelly administration's involvement in the development of Democratic campaigns for governor. Holscher sent a text to Lawrence, obtained by Kansas Reflector, that included a warning that Holscher would 'swiftly hand over all the proof I have to the press' of the governor's intervention in Democratic campaigns. 'I am so done with the games coming from you and the governor's office,' Holscher's message to Lawrence said. 'I want to be very clear about something.' Holscher vowed she would go to the media if anyone affiliated with the Kelly administration 'says anything negative about me or my candidacy,' attempted to interfere with Holscher's hiring of campaign staff or in signing up volunteers, 'does so much as attempt to put a thumb on the scale in any way to interfere with this election' or made use of the Democratic Governors Association, which is led by Kelly, to 'impede or negatively influence' her Democratic primary. In the interview, Lawrence said language used by Holscher in the text could be interpreted as an attempt to intentionally gain something of value from Lawrence or Kelly against their will. 'It would be worthwhile for Cindy to take a look at the statute and reassess how she communicates with people,' Lawrence said. 'Extremely disappointing behavior. Questionable behavior. Not someone who has gubernatorial temperament, who has to compromise and negotiate on things every day in this building.' In a July social media post after Kelly embraced Corson's candidacy for governor, Holscher offered an explanation as to why Kelly chose to support Corson. Holscher wrote pressure had been applied by Lawrence regarding an upcoming vote during the 2025 session on House Bill 2045. It rolled back child care safety standards and tinkered with exemptions to vaccination mandates. Holscher voted against the bill, which passed the House and Senate with bipartisan votes and was signed into law by Kelly. 'I had received tons of emails from constituents adamantly opposed to the bill,' Holscher's post said. 'The gov and Will (her chief of staff), told me that if I didn't support it, the governor's office wouldn't be supportive of me in future races. I wasn't going to go against my district and the people I represent, so I voted 'no.' So, it looks like they are holding true to that threat.' Lawrence said he didn't agree with Holscher's analysis of meetings the senator had with the governor about the legislation. 'That vote has nothing to do with the gubernatorial election,' Lawrence said. Holscher, elected to the House in 2016 and to the Senate in 2020, has been endorsed by former Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers. He served in Kelly's first term before appointed to the job of Kansas state treasurer in 2021. Corson, who entered the Senate in 2021, said in an interview at the Capitol that he appreciated Kelly's expression of support. It was helpful to voters because Kansans wanted the kind of bipartisan, moderate leadership delivered by Kelly since sworn into office in 2019, Corson said. He said he hadn't taken notice of social media chatter about Holscher's claims of how the Kelly administration handled legislators who declined to fall into line with the governor. 'I just haven't seen any of that,' Corson said. 'I haven't paid attention to it. We've been out there talking to folks and trying to meet people in real life.' Candidates lined up to take part in the Kansas Republican Party's campaign for governor included Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, Senate President Ty Masterson, Secretary of State Scott Schwab and former Gov. Jeff Colyer.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Fed Governor Steps Down Early, Giving Trump Opportunity to Appoint New Official
The Federal Reserve announced on Friday that Adriana D. Kugler will step down from her position as governor of the Federal Reserve Board on Aug. 8. Her term was due to expire in January. But her early resignation gives President Trump an opportunity to more quickly appoint someone who could eventually replace Jerome H. Powell as chair. Ms. Kugler missed the Fed's most recent policy meeting this week and did not vote. In a speech earlier this month, she said that the Fed should not cut interest rates 'for some time' as tariffs trickle through to consumer prices. The opening on the board comes as Mr. Trump has been openly pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates and publicly berating Mr. Powell, saying he should cut rates or resign. The president has also toyed with firing Mr. Powell or naming a successor before Mr. Powell's term as chair ends in May. 'It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,' said Ms. Kugler said in a statement. 'I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market.' Ms. Kugler has served as a governor at the Fed since September 2023. Mr. Powell said in a statement that Ms. Kugler 'brought impressive experience and academic insights to her work on the Board.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kugler to step down from Fed board on Aug. 8, allowing Trump to fill her seat early
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said Friday she will resign from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors effective Aug. 8, meaning President Trump could have a replacement in her seat earlier than expected. The term of Kugler, who was appointed by President Biden, was due to expire on Jan. 31. "It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,' Kugler wrote in a resignation letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market.' Kugler was not present at this week's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee, due to what was described by the Fed as "personal matter." The Fed voted at that meeting to keep rates unchanged and two Fed governors dissented from that decision — the first time that has happened since 1993. Kugler, who has served as a Fed governor since Sept. 13, 2023, also submitted her letter of resignation to Trump. She will return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. 'I appreciate Dr. Kugler's service on the Board and wish her very well in her future endeavors,' said Powell. 'She brought impressive experience and academic insights to her work on the Board.' Trump and the White House have been considering candidates to replace Powell as chair once the chairman's term ends next May, and one of those names could be appointed to fill Kugler's seat as a prelude to becoming chair. The people that have Trump have considered include National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. One sitting Fed governor, Fed governor Christopher Waller, is also considered among the possible choices to replace Powell eventually. Bessent, who is leading the search for Powell's replacement, has already sketched out a scenario where the White House appoints someone to fill Kugler's seat and that person can then be in the running to succeed Powell next May. The White House also hopes that Powell decides to leave the Fed Board of Governors when his chairmanship is up, which would open up a second seat that Trump can fill. Powell has not yet said whether he intends to do that; his term as a Fed governor is up not up until 2028. The opportunity for the White House to fill Kugler's seat earlier than expected comes as Trump applies pressure on Powell and the Fed board to lower rates by as many as 3 percentage points. Trump said in a social media post Friday that the Federal Reserve Board should 'ASSUME CONTROL." The president urged the Fed board, which Powell chairs, to "DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE' if Powell won't support lower interest rates. Waller and Michelle Bowman, the two Fed governors who argued for a quarter percentage point rate reduction at the Fed's last meeting on Wednesday, explained Friday in statements why they broke with Powell. Both cited worries about the labor market as a reason to start cutting again. 'I believe that the wait and see approach is overly cautious, and, in my opinion, does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve,' Waller said in his statement. The statements from Waller and Bowman came just 30 minutes before July's jobs report released Friday morning, which showed the US economy added fewer jobs than expected last month. Traders raised their odds of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting to 80% following the release of that weaker-than-expected labor reading, after lowering them below 40% on Thursday. Trump seemed to praise the Fed governors after their statements were released, adding in a separate Truth Social post: 'STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER!' There are seven seats on the Fed Board of Governors and all seven hold spots on the FOMC, the powerful body that decides whether rates go up or down. Another five spots on the FOMC are held on a rotating basis by regional Fed presidents who are based around the country. Whoever is US president gets to nominate all Fed governors, who then need Senate approval to be confirmed, and serve 14-year terms while the regional Fed presidents are picked by banks in their districts. Trump spent much of Friday criticizing Powell on social media, even mentioning him in a post about firing the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a weak July jobs report. 'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should also be put 'out to pasture,'' Trump said. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
