Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Congress is moving to dramatically expand the firepower of the U.S. Export-Import Bank to align with President Donald Trump’s push for a massive strategic stockpile of critical minerals. Lawmakers are debating how far to go, with some proposals pointing to tens of billions of dollars in new authority rather than the $205 billion ceiling that…
President Donald Trump has spent the past year trying to turn the federal research budget into a political battlefield, targeting everything from basic biomedical science to climate and technology programs. Instead of capitulating, judges and lawmakers have drawn unusually bright lines, signaling that science funding is not as easy to weaponize as the White House…
The Federal Aviation Administration has once again been pulled into Washington’s budget crossfire, with a fresh funding lapse triggering a partial shutdown and reviving memories of last year’s record disruption. While planes are still flying, the renewed uncertainty is already rippling through airports, work schedules and political negotiations, raising new questions about how long the…
A partial federal government shutdown is again on the brink, and this time the fallout is poised to land more directly in household budgets. With a funding deadline approaching and political talks stalled, everything from tax refunds to student loans and grocery benefits could be disrupted at once. I am looking at a convergence of…
Telehealth is about to hit another cliff, and this one is measured not in policy jargon but in people. If Congress fails to act within days, 67 m Americans could see virtual visits with their doctors cut off or sharply curtailed, as temporary rules that have governed remote care since the early pandemic finally run…
A new push from the Democratic left is aiming not just to trim immigration enforcement, but to sharply restrict the Department of Homeland Security’s power to lock people up. At the center is Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, who is preparing legislation that would severely limit when DHS can detain immigrants and redirect money away…
Congress is moving to keep Affordable Care Act subsidies in place, but the same coalition that backs cheaper coverage is now colliding over abortion language that could reshape what plans are allowed to cover. The result is a high‑stakes standoff in which a fight over procedure rules could end up driving premiums sharply higher for…
House investigators and federal authorities are now circling one of the most prominent progressive figures in Congress, zeroing in on how Rep. Ilhan Omar’s family wealth appears to have ballooned in just a few years. The scrutiny follows financial disclosures that suggest a dramatic jump in assets, turning a onetime insurgent outsider into a multimillionaire…
Bill Nye has spent the past year warning that deep cuts to NASA would be an “extinction-level event” for American space exploration. Now that Congress has moved to fully fund the agency despite pressure from the White House, he is responding with a mix of relief, frustration and a renewed warning that flat budgets can…
Congress has effectively nullified President Donald Trump’s attempt to gut the nation’s civil space program, approving a bipartisan spending package that keeps NASA’s budget largely intact and protects its core science portfolio. Instead of the sweeping reductions the White House requested, lawmakers delivered a modest trim that still signals long term support for exploration, climate…