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…
Elon Musk has quietly written another eight-figure check into the 2026 midterm cycle, a fresh $10 million aimed at keeping Republicans in charge of Congress. The move confirms that the billionaire is not just dabbling in politics but positioning himself as a central financier of the party’s power structure, even after publicly musing that he…
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…
Federal deployments of troops to American cities are no longer an abstract political fight, they are a line item on the national balance sheet. By the end of 2025, domestic missions tied to President Donald Trump’s orders had already cost taxpayers $496 million, and new estimates show that figure rising fast in 2026. I see…
Wall Street is quietly wagering that the Supreme Court will clip President Donald Trump’s tariff powers, ease a major source of uncertainty, and leave the real economy to prove it can grow without emergency trade protection. The bets are visible in prediction markets, sector positioning, and research notes that treat a rollback of Trump’s signature…
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 half million dollar stock move by a sitting member of Congress would raise eyebrows in any sector. When that trade involves a dominant health insurer at the center of federal policy fights over medical costs, it starts to look like a case study in why public trust in Washington’s money habits is so fragile….
House and federal investigators are now examining how Rep. Ilhan Omar went from reporting no assets to being linked to an estimated $30 million in family wealth, a trajectory some critics have flatly labeled “not possible” under normal circumstances. At the center of the storm are opaque business interests tied to her husband, questions about…