Trump's Billions in Climate Cuts Have Nonprofits Scrambling to Survive
Founded in 2020 shortly before former President Joe Biden was elected, the organization focuses on shifting US homes from fossil fuel-powered appliances to electric ones like heat pumps — a prime goal of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act when it was passed in 2022. Rewiring America was poised to receive nearly $500 million from a $27 billion program created by that law.
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9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's former jobs data chief decries firing of successor
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump's firing of the chief labor statistician was criticized by her predecessor, who called it an unfounded move that will undermine confidence in a key data set on the US economy. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance 'This is damaging,' William Beach, whom Trump picked in his first term to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Trump on Friday fired Erika McEntarfer hours after labor market data showed weak jobs growth based in part on steep downward revisions for May and June. The move by Trump, who claimed the latest monthly report was 'phony,' prompted an outcry from economists and lawmakers. 'I don't know that there's any grounds at all for this firing,' said Beach, whom McEntarfer replaced in January 2024. 'And it really hurts the statistical system. It undermines credibility in BLS.' Studies indicate that the agency's data is more accurate than 20 or 30 years ago, including any revisions of the initial data, Beach said. Even so, he said he'll trust future BLS data because people working for the agency are 'some of the most loyal Americans you can imagine,' making the bureau 'the finest statistical agency in the entire world.' Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, speaking Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, urged the US government to improve its data collection to avoid revisions that engender distrust. 'We watch what consumers really do. We watch what businesses really do,' Moynihan said, while not addressing the politics of the firing. 'They can get this data, I think, other ways, and I think that's where the focus would be.' He noted the revision for May and June data, while not unusual, was one of the largest in seven years. 'That creates doubt around it,' he said. 'Let's spend some money. Let's bring the information together. Let's find where else in the government money is reported.' McEntarfer was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan 86-8 vote. Vice President JD Vance, then a senator, voted to approve her nomination. Kevin Hassett, Trump's chief economic adviser at the White House, alleged that the large jobs data revisions were poorly explained and were evidence enough for a 'fresh set of eyes' at BLS. He sought to contradict Beach's portrayal of the agency as politically neutral. 'The bottom line is that there were people involved in creating these numbers,' Hassett said on NBC's Meet the Press. Pressed on whether Trump would fire anyone offering data he disagreed with, Hassett, who heads the National Economic Council, disagreed. 'No, absolutely not,' he said. 'The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they're more transparent and more reliable.' How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US trade advisor says Trump tariff rates unlikely to change
New US tariff rates are "pretty much set" with little immediate room for negotiation, Donald Trump's trade advisor said in remarks aired Sunday, also defending the president's politically driven levies against Brazil. Trump, who has wielded tariffs as a tool of American economic might, has set tariff rates for dozens of economies including the European Union at between 10 and 41 percent come August 7, his new hard deadline for the duties. In a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "the coming days" are not likely to see changes in the tariff rates. "A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country," Greer said. "These tariff rates are pretty much set." Undoubtedly some trade ministers "want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States," he added. But "we're seeing truly the contours of the president's tariff plan right now with these rates." Last Thursday, the former real estate developer announced hiked tariff rates on dozens of US trade partners. They will kick in on August 7 instead of August 1, which had previously been touted as a hard deadline. Among the countries facing steep new levies is Brazil. South America's largest economy is being hit with 50 percent tariffs on exports to the United States -- albeit with significant exemptions for key products such as aircraft and orange juice. Trump has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-president accused of plotting a coup in a bid to cling to power. The US president has described the case as a "witch hunt." Greer said it was not unusual for Trump to use tariff tools for geopolitical purposes. "The president has seen in Brazil, like he's seen in other countries, a misuse of law, a misuse of democracy," Greer told CBS. "It is normal to use these tools for geopolitical issues." Trump was "elected to assess the foreign affairs situation... and take appropriate action," he added. Meanwhile White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said that while talks are expected to continue over the next week with some US trade partners, he concurred with Greer's tariffs assessment in that the bulk of the rates "are more or less locked in." Asked by the host of NBC's Sunday talk show "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" if Trump could change tariff rates should financial markets react negatively, Hassett said: "I would rule it out, because these are the final deals." Legal challenges have been filed against some of Trump's tariffs arguing he overstepped his authority. An appeals court panel on Thursday appeared skeptical of the government's arguments, though the case may be ultimately decided at the Supreme Court. mlm/des Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House officials defend firing of labor official as critics warn of trust erosion
By Doina Chiacu and Jasper Ward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top White House economic advisers on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, pushing back against criticism that Trump's action could undermine confidence in official U.S. economic data. U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS that Trump had "real concerns" about the data, while Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said the president "is right to call for new leadership." Hassett said on Fox News the main concern was Friday's BLS report of net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported. Trump accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of faking the jobs numbers without providing any evidence of data manipulation. The BLS compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data. The BLS gave no reason for the revised data but noted that "monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors." McEntarfer's firing added to growing concerns about the quality of U.S. economic data published by the federal government and came on the heels of a raft of new U.S. tariffs on dozens of trading partners, sending global stock markets tumbling as Trump presses ahead with plans to reorder the global economy. "I think what we need is a fresh set of eyes at the BLS, somebody who can clean this thing up," Hassett said on "Fox News Sunday." In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation," Greer acknowledged there were always revisions of job numbers, "but sometimes you see these revisions go in really extreme ways." 'PREPOSTEROUS CHARGE' Critics, including former leaders of the BLS, slammed Trump's move and called on Congress to investigate McEntarfer's removal, saying it would undermine trust in a respected statistical agency. There was no way a commissioner could rig the jobs numbers, said William Beach, a former BLS commissioner and co-chair of the group Friends of the BLS. "Every year we've revised the numbers. When I was commissioner, we had a 500,000 job revision during President Trump's first term," Beach said on CNN's "State of the Union. "And why do we do that? Because firms are created or firms go out of business, and we don't really know that during the course of our of the year, until we reconcile against a real full count of all the businesses." Democrats and at least two Republican senators also criticized the firing. "This is a preposterous charge. These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals," former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor on Friday. The firing came amid a flurry of economic upheaval last week. Just hours before the tariff deadline on Friday, Trump signed an executive order imposing duties on U.S. imports from countries including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, in his latest round of levies as countries attempted to seek ways to reach better deals. Greer and Hassett said on Sunday the bulk of those tariffs are likely to stay in place rather than be cut as part of continuing negotiations. India pushed back on Trump's threats of an additional penalty if it kept purchasing oil from Russia, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday. Trump imposed a new 25% tariff on Indian goods.
