Balance of Power

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.President Donald Trump pushed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates at their first in-person meeting since the president’s inauguration, the White House said.  The president told Powell that he believes the Fed chair is making a mistake by not lowering rates, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday. That “is putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries, and the president’s been very vocal about that, both publicly and, now I can reveal, privately,” she added.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall. Wiley Rein Partner Greta Peisch. Former Republican Congressman and Bloomberg Contributor Patrick McHenry. Bloomberg Economics Editor Stuart Paul and Bloomberg Economics US Economist Molly Smith. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. The White House will ask Congress next week to enact $9 billion of spending cuts into law — a small portion of the $175 billion in savings that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency claims to have found.  The cuts — first floated in April but waylaid amid efforts in the House to pass President Donald Trump’s tax bill — would target funding for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and foreign aid in the current fiscal year, according to an Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman.  The renewed interest in the rescissions comes as Musk has criticized the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that Trump favored — and which passed the House last week — because it would increase federal deficits. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida. Bloomberg Intelligence Financials Analyst Ben Elliot. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.New sanctions against Russia are “absolutely” under consideration, President Donald Trump told reporters after Moscow launched its largest drone barrage in the war against Ukraine during a third night of strikes.Trump has grown visibly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the state of talks meant to deliver a ceasefire in Ukraine. The US president has repeatedly threatened new sanctions in the past without following through.“I’m not happy with what Putin is doing,” Trump said Sunday before Moscow’s latest barrage. “He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time — always gotten along with him — but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.” In a Truth Social post later on Sunday, Trump said that Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY!”Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Bloomberg's Kate Sullivan. Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Fellow for the Defense and Security Department Benjamin Jensen. FIL Inc. CEO Frank Luntz. Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Third Way Executive Vice President for Policy Jim Kessler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.President Donald Trump dug in on his threat to impose a 50% tariff on the European Union and said a potential 25% charge on imported Apple Inc. smartphones would also apply to Samsung Corp. devices if they do not move production to the US. Trump said Friday in a social media post that the higher charge on the EU would start on June 1 because “our discussions with them are going nowhere,” adding that he saw the bloc as “very difficult to deal with.” The president later downplayed the EU’s ability to broker a lower rate, complaining about its trade practices and negotiating tactics and stating “I’m not looking for a deal. I mean, we’ve set the deal. It’s at 50%.”Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall. US Fleet Forces Commander Admiral Daryl Caudle. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. Former House Financial Services Committee Chairman and Bloomberg Contributor Patrick McHenry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.President Donald Trump’s signature tax bill narrowly passed the House Thursday morning, advancing a sprawling multi-trillion dollar package that would avert a year-end tax increase at the expense of adding to the US debt burden.The bill now heads to the Senate, where groups of Republicans are pressing for extensive change. Lawmakers plan to vote on approval by August. The bill includes a $4 trillion increase in the US debt ceiling, which the Treasury Department forecasts could otherwise force a default as soon as August or September, adding urgency to the timeline.The 215-214 House vote, with one abstention, was met with cheers from Republicans in the chamber. It followed a furious offensive by Trump, who visited the Capitol to rally Republicans, worked lawmakers by phone late into the night and summoned holdouts to the Oval Office. His budget office released a statement branding any GOP lawmaker who failed to support the package guilty of the “ultimate betrayal.”Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. Bloomberg's Liz Capo McCormick. Republican Main Street Partnership President and CEO Sarah Chamberlain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.The White House amped up the pressure on Republicans on Wednesday urging lawmakers to quickly approve President Donald Trump’s signature tax bill, adding that a failure to do so would be the “ultimate betrayal.”“The House of Representatives should immediately pass this bill to show the American people that they are serious about ‘promises made, promises kept.’ President Trump is committed to keeping his promises,” the White House’s Office of Management and Budget wrote in a memo endorsing the legislation.Republicans made some headway in advancing Trump’s bill on Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he had an agreement with lawmakers from high-tax states to increase the limit on the state and local tax deduction to $40,000, winning over a key faction of members who had threatened to block the legislation. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York. Republican Congressman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma. ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn and Former RNC Communications Director Lisa Camooso Miller. Former US Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall. Bloomberg Deputy Capitol Influence Team Lead Mike Dorning. Republican Congressman Bryan Steil of Wisconsin. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York. President Donald Trump is growing frustrated with demands to significantly boost the cap on the state and local tax deduction, according to a senior administration official, signaling a deadlock as Republicans aim to quickly pass a giant tax-cut bill. Trump told lawmakers in a meeting on Tuesday not to let the SALT deduction or differences over social safety-net cuts impede the bill. But afterwards members of warring factions told reporters they were still dug in in opposing the bill unless their changes are made.  Trump urged Republicans from New York and other high-tax states to wait to try to raise the SALT limit further until after Congress is done with the tax legislation, the official said, a proposal that is likely to draw backlash from SALT lawmakers who see the president’s “one big, beautiful bill” as their sole shot to address a political priority that dates back to 2017. Trump is also losing patience with a faction of conservative hardliners pushing for deeper cuts to Medicaid health coverage for the poor and disabled, the official said. The president implored Republicans to stick together and pass the bill the official said, adding that Trump expects every Republican to vote for the bill on the floor.Trump told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday he wants to keep the SALT deduction limit at $30,000, the level in the draft legislation. That’s three times the current $10,000 cap. In that meeting, Trump singled out the lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California who have rejected the $30,000 deduction limit, saying it is insufficient to win their votes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.President Donald Trump said that Moscow and Kyiv would begin talks “immediately” on ending the war in Ukraine after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said in a social-media post. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.”The US president said he had also briefed European leaders on his two-hour call with Putin and that the Vatican had offered to host the negotiations. He described “the tone and the spirit of the conversation” as “excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later,” Trump added.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with: Ipsos US Public Affairs President Cliff Young. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. Bloomberg US National Security Team Lead Nick Wadhams. Atlantic Council Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Melinda Haring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.House Republicans’ reconciliation package hit a wall in the Budget Committee, where conservatives may block the measure today over complaints that it front-loads tax cuts and delays spending reductions.There are at least three conservative members on the panel who oppose the bill, barring changes. GOP members can only afford to lose one vote, partly because Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) has been out of Washington on paternity leave.Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) all plan to oppose the measure, unless their problems are resolved. There are a handful of other fiscal hawks on the panel who could jeopardize the vote including Reps. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.)Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with: Republican Congressman Nick LaLota of New York. Bloomberg Washington Deputy Bureau Chief Laura Davison. Former RNC Communications Director Lisa Camooso Miller and Democratic Strategist Roger Fisk. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas. Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.House Republicans are close to reaching an agreement on the state and local tax deduction, aiming to pass the tax bill next week, Speaker Mike Johnson says.Talks over SALT are on track to continue over the weekend, he tells reporters.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with: Bloomberg Government Congress Reporter Jack Fitzpatrick. Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania. Bloomberg Editor in Chief Emeritus Matthew A. Winkler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.