Federal Reserve says building renovation complies with law, defends costs
The letter is the lastest salvo in an escalating battle between the Federal Reserve, an independent agency charged with fighting inflation and seeking maximum employment, and the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has for months criticized Powell and the Fed for not lowering its key interest rate, which the president says would boost borrowing and accelerate the economy.
Powell has said he wants to see how the economy responds to Trump's sweeping tariffs, which could raise inflation and slow growth, before making any moves.
Trump has even threatened to fire Powell, though he has since backed away and said Wednesday it was 'highly unlikely' that he would take the unprecedented step of doing so. Firing the Fed chair could cause chaos in the financial markets. Several executives of Wall Street banks have said this week that the Fed's independence from day-to-day politics is crucial.
Still, the Trump administration has seized on ballooning costs for the Fed's renovation of two century-old buildings to argue that Powell has mismanaged the project. The president can't fire the Fed chair because of a policy disagreement, but he could do so 'for cause,' which is widely seen as some kind of malfeasance or neglect.
Last week, the president's top budget adviser, Russell Vought, wrote Powell a letter that said Trump is 'extremely troubled' by Powell's management of the project, which has risen in cost to about $2.5 billion, up from the Fed's initial estimate of $1.9 billion.
Vought's letter also noted that Powell, in testimony before the Senate last month, said that the Fed removed some amenities that critics called ostentatious from its plans. Those plans had been approved by the National Capital Planning Commission in 2021.
Vought said in his letter that if the renovation plans had changed, they were no longer 'in compliance with the approved plan" and may violate the National Capital Planning Act.
Powell responded Thursday that since the Fed's plans were approved by the NCPC in September 2021, it has made only 'a small number of design changes to scale back or eliminate certain elements' and added that the changes weren't significant enough to 'warrant... further review.'
'The project is proceeding in accordance with the plan that the NCPC approved,' Powell wrote.
The changes were intended 'to simplify construction and reduce the likelihood of further delays and cost increases,' Powell said in his letter.
Powell also defended the cost of the renovation: 'Both buildings were in need of significant structural repairs,' including 'the removal of asbestos and lead contamination,' as well as the 'complete replacement of antiquated systems such as electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as fire detection and suppression systems,' he wrote.
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The New Jersey-based company estimates that the Brazil tariffs would increase its costs for not-from-concentrate orange juice from Brazil by $68 million over the next 12 months and raise retail costs for consumers between 20-25%. According to the complaint, Brazil supplies more than half of all orange juice sold in the US. Read more here. Orange juice prices join the list of products that could see price increases as a result of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Bloomberg reports: A US orange juice distributor is suing over President Donald Trump's move to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil starting next month. Johanna Foods Inc. is arguing that Trump's reasons for the levy increase — including support for Brazil's former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro — don't present 'unusual and extraordinary' threats that give him emergency authority to circumvent Congress' taxing power. The New Jersey-based company estimates that the Brazil tariffs would increase its costs for not-from-concentrate orange juice from Brazil by $68 million over the next 12 months and raise retail costs for consumers between 20-25%. According to the complaint, Brazil supplies more than half of all orange juice sold in the US. Read more here. Brazil acknowledges possibility of no US trade deal by August 1 President Trump's August 1 tariff deadline is steadily approaching, and trading partners are preparing for multiple outcomes. Brazil, for example, is increasingly open to the possibility that a trade deal won't be reached in time. Reuters reported: Read more here. President Trump's August 1 tariff deadline is steadily approaching, and trading partners are preparing for multiple outcomes. Brazil, for example, is increasingly open to the possibility that a trade deal won't be reached in time. Reuters reported: Read more here. US steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs touts 'positive impact' of tariffs Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) CEO Lourenco Goncalves praised President Trump's protectionist policies on Monday, stating that the 25%-50% tariffs on foreign steel imports have had a "positive impact" on the US steel and automotive industries. The Section 232 steel tariffs "have played a significant role in supporting the domestic steel industry," Goncalves said during the company's earnings call. 'So far, there's no indication that the Section 232 tariffs will be used as a bargaining chip by the Trump administration as leverage in trade deals with other countries," Goncalves added. "We appreciate that and fully expect that the administration will keep in place and enforce these Section 232 tariffs." Goncalves said the only place where it's having a problem is with Stelco, the Canadian steel company it acquired in November 2024. The CEO urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to implement similar protectionist policies, saying that other efforts to curb unfair trade practices were "insufficient." Cleveland-Cliffs stock soared 11% in early trading Monday after the company reported record steel shipments of 4.3 million net tons for the three months ended June 30. Read more about how Cleveland-Cliffs' stock is trading. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) CEO Lourenco Goncalves praised President Trump's protectionist policies on Monday, stating that the 25%-50% tariffs on foreign steel imports have had a "positive impact" on the US steel and automotive industries. The Section 232 steel tariffs "have played a significant role in supporting the domestic steel industry," Goncalves said during the company's earnings call. 'So far, there's no indication that the Section 232 tariffs will be used as a bargaining chip by the Trump administration as leverage in trade deals with other countries," Goncalves added. "We appreciate that and fully expect that the administration will keep in place and enforce these Section 232 tariffs." Goncalves said the only place where it's having a problem is with Stelco, the Canadian steel company it acquired in November 2024. The CEO urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to implement similar protectionist policies, saying that other efforts to curb unfair trade practices were "insufficient." Cleveland-Cliffs stock soared 11% in early trading Monday after the company reported record steel shipments of 4.3 million net tons for the three months ended June 30. Read more about how Cleveland-Cliffs' stock is trading. Bessent: Trump more concerned about quality of deals than making deals by Aug. 1 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the US wouldn't rush to make trade deals ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for many of President Trump's sweeping tariffs to kick in. "We're not going to rush for the sake of doing deals," Bessent told CNBC in an interview. More from Reuters: Read more here. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the US wouldn't rush to make trade deals ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for many of President Trump's sweeping tariffs to kick in. "We're not going to rush for the sake of doing deals," Bessent told CNBC in an interview. More from Reuters: Read more here. More signs that Europe is hardening its stance We detailed earlier (keep scrolling) how the EU is readying its plans for retaliation in case a trade deal with the US fails. The Wall Street Journal has a big report out today with some more details of those plans — and details on how delicate negotiations are on even thinner ice, as President Trump keeps wanting more. The report said the EU got a "surprise" when US officials said Trump would want a higher baseline tariff in any deal, likely north of 15%, after months of talks around a 10% baseline. That apparently prompted Germany, Europe's largest economy, to swing to more of an alignment with France, which has been pushing a harder line throughout the negotiations. 'All options are on the table,' a German official said. The official said there was still time to negotiate a deal but added, 'If they want war, they will get war.' More from the report: Read more here. We detailed earlier (keep scrolling) how the EU is readying its plans for retaliation in case a trade deal with the US fails. The Wall Street Journal has a big report out today with some more details of those plans — and details on how delicate negotiations are on even thinner ice, as President Trump keeps wanting more. The report said the EU got a "surprise" when US officials said Trump would want a higher baseline tariff in any deal, likely north of 15%, after months of talks around a 10% baseline. That apparently prompted Germany, Europe's largest economy, to swing to more of an alignment with France, which has been pushing a harder line throughout the negotiations. 'All options are on the table,' a German official said. The official said there was still time to negotiate a deal but added, 'If they want war, they will get war.' More from the report: Read more here. Stellantis warns of $2.7B loss as tariffs bite Big Three automaker Stellantis (STLA) warned on Monday that it expects a 2.3 billion euro ($2.7 billion) net loss for the first half of 2025, hit by restructuring costs, ebbing sales, and an initial hit from US tariffs. The Chrysler maker's US-listed shares slipped nearly 2% in premarket, mirroring a drop in its stock in Milan. Reuters reports: Read more here. Big Three automaker Stellantis (STLA) warned on Monday that it expects a 2.3 billion euro ($2.7 billion) net loss for the first half of 2025, hit by restructuring costs, ebbing sales, and an initial hit from US tariffs. The Chrysler maker's US-listed shares slipped nearly 2% in premarket, mirroring a drop in its stock in Milan. Reuters reports: Read more here. EU to prepare its retaliation plan as US hardens its stance on trade talks EU negotiators are scrambling to make a trade agreement with the US as the Aug. 1 tariff deadline closes in. But they are also stepping up preparations to strike back if the two sides fail to secure a deal. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. EU negotiators are scrambling to make a trade agreement with the US as the Aug. 1 tariff deadline closes in. But they are also stepping up preparations to strike back if the two sides fail to secure a deal. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Lutnick 'confident' US will get tariffs deal done with EU before Aug. 1 deadline WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Lutnick said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement. "These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Lutnick said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Lutnick said that was a hard deadline. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," he said on CBS. Read more here WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Lutnick said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement. "These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Lutnick said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Lutnick said that was a hard deadline. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," he said on CBS. Read more here Trump's tariffs are already shaping the holiday shopping season NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff rates the president sets, postpones and revises. 'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not." Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. Read more here NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff rates the president sets, postpones and revises. 'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not." Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. Read more here Hawaii coffee growers say Trump tariffs may curb demand (Bloomberg) — Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too. Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state's products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans. While the discourse around trade and Trump's 'Buy American' mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state's farmers is that 'tariffs will probably will hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,' said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms. Read more here (Bloomberg) — Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too. Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state's products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans. While the discourse around trade and Trump's 'Buy American' mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state's farmers is that 'tariffs will probably will hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,' said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms. Read more here Trump pushes for 15%-20% minimum tariff on all EU goods President Trump appears to have settled on a tariff rate on all EU member countries, according to reports. Financial Times reports: Read more (subscription required). President Trump appears to have settled on a tariff rate on all EU member countries, according to reports. Financial Times reports: Read more (subscription required). Battery materials stocks jump after US lays out 93.5% graphite duty Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. China: Trade talks show there's no need for tariff war Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. US set to impose 93.5% tariff on key battery material from China Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized. From Bloomberg: Read more here. Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized. From Bloomberg: Read more here. Trump Tariff added $115M in aluminum costs for largest US producer The largest producer of aluminum in the US, Alcoa Corp., claims that tariffs cost it $115 million in Q2. Bloomberg reports: Alcoa Corp., the largest US aluminum producer, said tariffs on imports from Canada cost it $115 million in the second quarter, showing how US President Donald Trump's trade agenda has affected the industry. The company redirected Canadian produced aluminum to customers outside the US to mitigate additional tariff costs, it said Wednesday while reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates. Alcoa shares rose as much as 6.4% Thursday in New York, the biggest intraday increase since June 26. Metal producers are navigating the trade tumult Trump created after raising import tariffs on steel and aluminum, first to 25% in March and then to 50% in June, in an effort to revive domestic production. Alcoa's latest toll from tariffs is about six times more than in the first quarter when the Pittsburgh-based firm said the levies, which were then 25%, had cost it an additional $20 million. Mining giant Rio Tinto Group also revealed Wednesday that its Canada-made aluminum generated costs of more than $300 million in the first half due to the tariffs. Read more here. The largest producer of aluminum in the US, Alcoa Corp., claims that tariffs cost it $115 million in Q2. Bloomberg reports: Alcoa Corp., the largest US aluminum producer, said tariffs on imports from Canada cost it $115 million in the second quarter, showing how US President Donald Trump's trade agenda has affected the industry. The company redirected Canadian produced aluminum to customers outside the US to mitigate additional tariff costs, it said Wednesday while reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates. Alcoa shares rose as much as 6.4% Thursday in New York, the biggest intraday increase since June 26. Metal producers are navigating the trade tumult Trump created after raising import tariffs on steel and aluminum, first to 25% in March and then to 50% in June, in an effort to revive domestic production. Alcoa's latest toll from tariffs is about six times more than in the first quarter when the Pittsburgh-based firm said the levies, which were then 25%, had cost it an additional $20 million. Mining giant Rio Tinto Group also revealed Wednesday that its Canada-made aluminum generated costs of more than $300 million in the first half due to the tariffs. Read more here. Nordic finance heads urge EU to stand firm in US trade talks Financial leaders in European Union member countries are clearly telling their peers to hold their ground and act fast in trade talks with the US. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Financial leaders in European Union member countries are clearly telling their peers to hold their ground and act fast in trade talks with the US. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. EU lines up tariffs on US digital services as retaliation: Sources The European Commission is drawing up a list of measures against US services as part of its potential response to President Trump's 30% levies due to kick in on Aug. 1, sources told the Financial Times. The FT reports: Read more here. The European Commission is drawing up a list of measures against US services as part of its potential response to President Trump's 30% levies due to kick in on Aug. 1, sources told the Financial Times. The FT reports: Read more here. EU stalls probe into Musk's X amid US trade talks The EU seems to be treading carefully during negotiations to avoid a 30% tariff it sees as "prohibitive" to transatlantic trade. The Financial Times reports: Read more here. The EU seems to be treading carefully during negotiations to avoid a 30% tariff it sees as "prohibitive" to transatlantic trade. The Financial Times reports: Read more here. Volvo CEO wants EU to cut 'unnecessary' auto tariffs Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Trump eyes tariffs of 10% or 15% for the 150+ countries, muses on EU deal President Trump said the tariff rate could be 10% or 15% for the more than 150 countries he has promised will get a notification letter soon. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. President Trump said the tariff rate could be 10% or 15% for the more than 150 countries he has promised will get a notification letter soon. Bloomberg reports: Read more here.
USA Today
18 minutes ago
- USA Today
Gabbard yells 'Russia hoax' to distract MAGA from Epstein for Trump. It won't last.
Say what you want about AI, but powerful artificial intelligence in the hands of a 79-year-old man with zero emotional intelligence makes for ugly outcomes. Tulsi Gabbard was on the outs – literally and figuratively – with President Donald Trump last month after contradicting him about Iran's nuclear program, which he was about to bomb. Gabbard, Trump's Director of National Intelligence, was shut out of planning meetings about Iran and pushed to the intelligence sidelines for asserting that Iran had not been trying to build a nuclear weapon. "I don't care what she said," Trump replied when asked about Gabbard back then. She needed a way back inside Trump's bubble. The president's new "Epstein files" scandal offered an opportunity. Trump has stumbled badly with his loyal base and MAGA influencers by demanding that they just move on from a favorite conspiracy theory: that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in 2019 to prevent disclosure of his "client list" of famous, powerful, wealthy people he had blackmailed. Epstein, you must know by now, was a former Trump cruising buddy and convicted pedophile who died by suicide in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges filed during Trump's first term. Trump has long relied on distraction tactics when his supporters get antsy, like a weary parent shaking car keys in a baby's face to stop the crying. But that wasn't working this time. MAGA was in a meltdown. The base was not buying Trump's new pitch: that the Epstein files they so desperately want to see were a Democratic "hoax." So Gabbard dug deep into the classics of Trump's "hoax" claims, declaring on July 18 that President Barack Obama's top advisors had somehow concocted the notion that Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won while defeating Hillary Clinton. Tulsi Gabbard caters to Trump by suggesting Obama is a criminal Gabbard issued a July 18 memo claiming to have new evidence of an "Obama Administration conspiracy to subvert" Trump's 2016 win. She pushed it in a post on X, announcing that she was sending information to the Department of Justice for "criminal referral." And she played it up for the weekend morning anchors at Fox News, because, of course. Trump grabbed all that like a drowning man grabs a life preserver. He spent the weekend frenzy-posting on his website, Truth Social, promoting Gabbard's Fox News hit, posting memes of Obama and other prominent Democrats in a jail cell and in prison uniforms. The president of the United States of America even shared a video made with artificial intelligence of Obama being handcuffed in the Oval Office. Say what you want about AI, but powerful artificial intelligence in the hands of a 79-year-old man with zero emotional intelligence makes for ugly outcomes. 'Stupid Republicans': Trump mocks GOP allies for seeking Epstein files release | Opinion Trump and Gabbard won't let facts get in the way of their fresh lies The lit sparkler Gabbard passed off as a bombshell focuses on the discussion within the intelligence community at the end of Obama's second term about whether Russia had used cyberattacks on election infrastructure. She's claiming Obama's team "manufactured" intelligence to hobble Trump's impending presidency after he won. There's a hole in that theory. First, the Obama administration said shortly after the 2016 presidential election that hackers had not tampered with the election results. Marc Elias, who then was general counsel for the Clinton campaign, wrote at the time that they had "not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking" in the election. Opinion: Trump is unpopular, polls show, and he's building an America most Americans hate Trump's tantrums about this have never been focused just on cyberattacks or hacking. He has long insisted that any claim that "Russia, Russia, Russia" wanted him to win in 2016 was a "hoax." Here's another problem with that. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in an August 2020 report issued as Trump was running for re-election, said it "found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling" in the election, including "an aggressive, multi-faceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome." Those words came from the archived statement by Marco Rubio, who at the time was a Republican senator from Florida and acting chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and now serves as Trump's secretary of State. He and Gabbard are, in theory, on the same team. You know who else is on that team? CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who earlier this month released a review of his agency's 2016 assessment that Russia tried to interfere with the 2016 election. That review offered some criticism for how the assessment was reached, but didn't challenge its veracity. Gabbard is hoping that Americans will be distracted U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, put out that 966-page 2020 report about Russia with Rubio and still holds that post today. The report's title: "Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 Election." Warner, in a July 18 statement, said, "It seems DNI Gabbard is unaware" that the committee found that Russia "used social media to conduct an information warfare campaign in order to benefit Donald Trump." He also noted, "This conclusion was supported on a unanimous basis by every single Democrat and Republican on the committee." Gabbard is dredging back up Russian interference because American voters just don't buy what Trump has tried to sell them about the Epstein files that his administration is still keeping secret, after he promised during last year's campaign to make them public. She appears to have won back his favor, for now. But this distraction is just so shaky, like those keys dangled in a baby's face, that it won't hold America's gaze for long. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
