Latest news with #Trump administration
The Independent
an hour ago
- Business
- The Independent
Whitmer says 'massive economic uncertainty' is to blame on semiconductor project failure in Michigan
Plans to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Michigan have fallen through and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that 'massive economic uncertainty' is to blame. Bringing the company to Michigan was a key goal for Whitmer, a Democrat and potential 2028 presidential candidate who is in her final years as governor of the battleground state. Domestic manufacturing is a priority of President Donald Trump 's second administration and the president has leveraged tariffs as a way to incentivize companies to build and stay in America. While Whitmer did not mention Trump by name in her remarks, she pointed the finger at his tariffs that have shaken up the economy periodically this year. 'Their board came to this decision amid national economic turmoil, which is at risk of worsening amid threats of even higher tariffs,' Whitmer said in a statement. Whitmer did not name the company but state records show California-based technology firm Sandisk Corp. was considering the sprawling 1,300-acre site near the city of Flint and forecasted 9,400 jobs and 5,000 construction jobs as a result. Sandisk declined to comment on Wednesday. The news quickly set off dueling political statements from Republicans and Democrats in the state. The Trump administration is using tariffs and other tactics to bring manufacturing in critical areas like semiconductors back to the U.S., White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement in response to Whitmer's remarks. Desai pointed to new semiconductor development in Texas and Arizona this year as wins garnered by the Trump administration in the chips and technology industry. Other Democrats were quick to attribute the loss in Michigan to Trump's economic policies Wednesday. 'Trump's abandonment of long-term investments and chaotic tariff practices are not only raising costs, they just killed 10,000 good-paying jobs,' U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat who represents the area, said in a statement. 'This could have been a game-changer for mid-Michigan's economy.' Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican, said he supports Trump's strategy of relying on tariffs and incentives in the tax and spending bill to bring manufacturing development to America, not overseas. 'We simply need state leaders who are focused on making sure Michigan is the best possible place to build and grow,' he said. Sandisk, known for making flash drives and memory cards, was looking to break ground on the project in 2025, according to documents provided by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Michigan offered Sandisk $1.925 billion in cash grants, $250 million in workforce development funding and about $3.76 billion in tax breaks, according to documents dated to August 2024. Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act incentivizing technology development about halfway through former President Joe Biden 's term. Even as Trump and Republican lawmakers have since threatened to put an end to the act, the Department of Commerce was collaborating with Sandisk on securing federal incentives through the package. Whitmer in her statement said that the company is no longer looking to build a semiconductor facility anywhere in the U.S. In a speech in May, Whitmer said she had been advocating with the Trump administration directly to help bring a chip plant to the state.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Vance mocks the New York Times for border op-ed
Published: | Updated: Vice President JD Vance took a shot at the New York Times , mocking the paper for publishing an op-ed from a former advisor to President Joe Biden on the issue of border security. The op-ed, authored by Blas Nuñez-Neto, an assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security in the Biden administration, was headlined: 'I Was One of Biden's Border Advisers. Here's How to Fix Our Immigration System.' The post went viral, triggering additional mockery from Trump supporters. One user wrote, 'I was the captain of the Titanic. Here's how you steer an ocean liner across the North Atlantic at night.' Another person wrote, 'I was one of Kamala's campaign advisers. Here's how to win the presidential election .' But Vance noted that one post from one of his friends went too far by writing, 'I'm a Cincinnati Bengals player, here's how you win Super Bowls.' The post on social media the vice president referred to was made by professional troll and podcast co-host 'Comfortably Smug' of the Ruthless Podcast. 'That cut a little deep,' Vance chuckled. 'For the football fans out there will know that was not a cool thing for that guy to say.' Vance is a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, but the team has famously never won a Super Bowl despite appearing in the historic final matchup game three different times. The vice president celebrated the Trump administration's success at securing the Southern border. Customs and Border Protection reported Monday that June was the lowest month of illegal crossings ever recorded at the southern border, with just 6,072 for the month. They also reported that there were zero releases of illegal aliens into the United States in June. The Biden administration typically had over 6,000 illegal crossings in a single day, with 27,776 releases in June 2024. The vice president additionally mocked Democrats for trying to target President Trump's tariffs on foreign goods importing products in the United States. 'Their big line of attack is that Donald Trump dares to put tariffs on foreign countries who try to bring their crap into the United States of America ,' he said. Vance said the administration would continue to promote domestic manufacturing and use tariffs to punish companies for producing their products overseas. 'If you're going to build something in the United States of America, we're going to reward you and we're going to fight for you, but if you want to build something overseas, you're going to pay a big fat tariff before you bring it back into the United States and that's exactly how it should be,' he added. After the rally, Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visited the Majestic Lunch, a diner in Pittston, Pennsylvania, where they met with patrons and talked politics and football.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US economic activity up but outlook pessimistic, Fed says
By Ann Saphir (Reuters) -U.S. economic activity increased slightly in recent weeks, but the outlook was neutral to slightly pessimistic, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, as businesses reported the Trump administration's higher tariffs were putting upward pressure on prices. "Contacts in a wide range of industries expected cost pressures to remain elevated in the coming months, increasing the likelihood that consumer prices will start to rise more rapidly by late summer," according to the Fed's "Beige Book" report, which was based on surveys, interviews and observations collected from the commercial and community contacts of each of the U.S. central bank's 12 regional banks through July 7. Employment increased very slightly, the Fed said, and "many contacts expected to postpone major hiring and layoff decisions until uncertainty diminished." Fed policymakers have kept their policy rate in the current 4.25%-4.50% range since December and are widely expected to leave it there at least until September as they wait to see how the economy responds to trade and other policy changes under President Donald Trump. The president has demanded the Fed cut rates immediately, and a couple of Fed policymakers have said they'd consider it as soon as the July 29-30 meeting to head off any further labor market weakening. Most U.S. central bankers, however, believe the job market remains solid despite some signs of cooling, like a recent rise in continuing unemployment claims and a slowdown in job growth, and are unwilling to lower rates when they expect the highest import duties in decades will drive up prices in coming months and potentially undo hard-won progress on inflation. In a sign that process is underway, U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June, with the prices of some largely imported goods including apparel, home furnishings, toys and sporting goods driving the rise. But wholesale prices for June came in on the soft side, and economists now estimate the June reading for the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index - which the Fed tracks to gauge progress toward its 2% inflation target - will be 2.7%, no higher than in May. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan is among U.S. central bank officials who say they expect it to take into the fall before the data show the impact of tariffs on inflation more clearly; Boston Fed President Susan Collins and others have said it may turn out that tariffs won't boost inflation as much as feared. To figure out exactly what may happen, Fed policymakers say they are paying special attention to the day-to-day experiences of people and businesses like those highlighted in the Beige Book. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
US economic activity up but outlook pessimistic, Fed says
July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. economic activity increased slightly in recent weeks, but the outlook was neutral to slightly pessimistic, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, as businesses reported the Trump administration's higher tariffs were putting upward pressure on prices. "Contacts in a wide range of industries expected cost pressures to remain elevated in the coming months, increasing the likelihood that consumer prices will start to rise more rapidly by late summer," according to the Fed's "Beige Book" report, which was based on surveys, interviews and observations collected from the commercial and community contacts of each of the U.S. central bank's 12 regional banks through July 7. Employment increased very slightly, the Fed said, and "many contacts expected to postpone major hiring and layoff decisions until uncertainty diminished." Fed policymakers have kept their policy rate in the current 4.25%-4.50% range since December and are widely expected to leave it there at least until September as they wait to see how the economy responds to trade and other policy changes under President Donald Trump. The president has demanded the Fed cut rates immediately, and a couple of Fed policymakers have said they'd consider it as soon as the July 29-30 meeting to head off any further labor market weakening. Most U.S. central bankers, however, believe the job market remains solid despite some signs of cooling, like a recent rise in continuing unemployment claims and a slowdown in job growth, and are unwilling to lower rates when they expect the highest import duties in decades will drive up prices in coming months and potentially undo hard-won progress on inflation. In a sign that process is underway, U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June, with the prices of some largely imported goods including apparel, home furnishings, toys and sporting goods driving the rise. But wholesale prices for June came in on the soft side, and economists now estimate the June reading for the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index - which the Fed tracks to gauge progress toward its 2% inflation target - will be 2.7%, no higher than in May. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan is among U.S. central bank officials who say they expect it to take into the fall before the data show the impact of tariffs on inflation more clearly; Boston Fed President Susan Collins and others have said it may turn out that tariffs won't boost inflation as much as feared. To figure out exactly what may happen, Fed policymakers say they are paying special attention to the day-to-day experiences of people and businesses like those highlighted in the Beige Book.
E&E News
5 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
House appropriators shield dam safety program from Trump cuts
House appropriators have rejected the Trump administration's proposal to eliminate a dam safety program that experts say is desperately needed and is just getting started after years of delays. The White House Office of Management and Budget proposed zeroing out funding in fiscal 2026 for the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program, an Army Corps of Engineers loan program to help finance costly repairs to dams and similar water infrastructure nationwide. The House Energy-Water spending bill released this week, however, would authorize $5 million for the program. While that is $2 million less than it received in fiscal 2025, it's enough to keep it alive and begin disbursing loans, said Aaron Snyder, the program's director. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Senate, which has been working on appropriations on a bipartisan basis, has yet to release its fiscal 2026 Energy-Water spending plan.
