China condemned the U.S. military’s decision on Saturday to shoot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the U.S. last week.
“China strongly disapproves of and protests against the U.S. attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday morning, per the South China Morning Post.
“The U.S.’s use of force is a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice,” the ministry added, noting that Beijing reserves the right to make “further responses that are necessary.”
A “high-altitude surveillance balloon” first entered U.S. airspace in Alaska on Jan. 28. After briefly traveling through Canadian airspace, it returned to the U.S. via Idaho on Jan. 31 and spent the rest of the week traversing the country.
Beijing confirmed on Friday that the balloon was Chinese, but claimed that it was primarily used for meteorological research and had been blown off course.
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” a ministry spokesperson said.
However, American officials have maintained that the balloon was surveilling “strategic sites” within the U.S., leading Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his trip to Beijing on Friday.
“We have noted the [People’s Republic of China] statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred,” a senior State Department official said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry hit back at the U.S. on Saturday in a statement, alleging that some politicians and the media have “hyped” up the situation in order to “attack and smear China.”
The U.S. military waited to shoot down the balloon until Saturday afternoon, when it was over water off the coast of South Carolina, due to safety concerns. They are now working to recover debris and intelligence information, according to officials.
After a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon spent several days flying across the U.S. this week, the U.S. military shot down the aircraft off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
President Biden said on Saturday that he had ordered the military to down the balloon “as soon as possible” after he was briefed on the matter on Wednesday.
The decision raised questions on timing, as lawmakers and industry pundits had pushed the Biden administration to take care of it much sooner.
National security officials warned Biden that “the best time to do that was when it got over water,” due to safety concerns associated with shooting it down over land, the president told reporters on Saturday.
The balloon was traveling about 60,000 feet above the ground and was estimated to be the size of three buses. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin echoed Biden’s claims after news broke that the U.S. military shot it down.
“U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload,” Austin said in a statement on Saturday.
“Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first,” he added.
Still, Republican lawmakers criticized Biden for not acting sooner as tensions rise between the U.S. and China.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the Biden administration’s response to the balloon an “embarrassing display of weakness.”
“The [administration] should have taken care of this before it became a national security threat,” McCaul said in a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that he is “deeply concerned” about the decision to allow the balloon to traverse the U.S. this week.
Rogers also accused the Biden administration of attempting to “hide this national security failure from Congress and the American people.”
The Chinese surveillance balloon reportedly first entered U.S. airspace in Alaska on Jan. 28, according to Reuters. It then traveled into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, before returning to U.S. airspace via Idaho on Jan. 31.
Reports of the balloon emerged one day later, as it passed through Montana, leading U.S. defense officials to confirm the presence of the balloon on Thursday.
“It is clear that standard protocol for defense of U.S. airspace was ignored,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, adding, “The White House owes Congress and the American people answers about this failure.”
However, several Democratic lawmakers accused their Republican colleagues of “playing politics” with the issue.
“All of us who serve here spend time and care on national security,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said on Twitter. “It is possible to express concerns about surveillance and other issues with the Chinese Communist Party without trying to create unnecessary panic for political gain.”
While most Democrats defended Biden’s decision to wait to shoot down the spy balloon over safety concerns, there were some that expressed interest in receiving a briefing from the Biden administration to learn what went wrong.
“Glad that [the president] shot down the Chinese balloon but these aerial threats are not new,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said in a tweet. “We need to take them seriously and implement new measures to prevent surveillance in our airspace.”
“I commend our great military for successfully and safely downing the spy balloon,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also tweeted. “Now it’s time for the CCP to explain their violation of our airspace and for the US to ensure this is the last balloon that flies over our country.”
“I look forward to receiving a briefing from the [administration] on the balloon’s capabilities, what if any assets have been surveilled, and our plan to stop this from happening in the future,” he added.
China acknowledged on Friday that the balloon was one of its own, but claimed that it was primarily used for meteorological research and had been blown off course.
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
However, the Biden administration and lawmakers have maintained that the balloon was surveilling “strategic sites” in the U.S. and even postponed Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing over the “unacceptable” presence of the balloon in U.S. airspace.
“We have noted the [People’s Republic of China] statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law,” a senior State Department official said on Friday.
Republicans are increasingly looking to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to play a leading role in the party’s bid to take back the White House in 2024 and beyond following his decisive victory in last year’s midterm election.
Coming off a year that saw him easily shut down a primary challenge backed by former President Trump before routing Democrat Stacey Abrams in the general election, Kemp is having a political moment. Republicans downplay his interest in a presidential bid, but point to him as a potential running mate for the eventual nominee or, at the very least, a highly sought-after surrogate in a newly minted battleground state.
Multiple Kemp allies also raised the possibility of a Senate bid in 2026, when Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will be up for reelection.
“After his accomplishment in the last election cycle, I think he has earned at a minimum elder statesman status,” said John Watson, a former Georgia GOP chairman and a close ally of Kemp. “The well-known battles with the former president, obviously the general race that was his second go-around with Stacey Abrams. I mean, the guy has packed a lifetime of politics into four years.”
“I think at a minimum, Republicans across the country ought to be picking up the phone and be talking to him.”
For the growing number of Republicans questioning Trump’s continued influence in the GOP after three lackluster election cycles in a row, Kemp’s success offers something of a blueprint for governing in a post-Trump party.
“If you are a candidate for president, there is no single endorsement in Georgia that is of more importance than Brian Kemp,” Watson said. “And because of that, I think that he’s going to have a pretty high degree of interest from people seeking his counsel.”
He first won the governor’s mansion in 2018 by campaigning as a staunch conservative Trump ally, before landing on the former president’s target list when he pushed back against efforts to overturn President Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Trump coaxed former Sen. David Perdue (R) into an ill-fated primary bid against Kemp, who ultimately won renomination by more than 50 points.
He went on to defeat Abrams, a former state House minority leader and a national Democratic star, in a closely watched rematch in November, giving Georgia Republicans something to celebrate in a year that saw the GOP only barely recapture control of the House and blow an opportunity to oust Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and win back the Senate majority.
On top of that, Kemp boasts a healthy approval rating. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released last month showed Kemp with a 62-percent approval rating — the highest it’s been in the poll since he took office in 2019.
“I’m not sure there’s anyone who’s gotten more thrown at him in the last several years and come out of it stronger,” said one national Republican strategist. “That appeal is a good rubric for those seeking office.”
Now, as Republicans begin scoping out their next presidential nominee, many are looking to Kemp as something of a kingmaker in Georgia, believing that he may be the key to countering Trump and winning the state back for the GOP in 2024.
“I think it is likely, should he not run, that folks ask him for his advice,” one Kemp adviser told The Hill. “I think he could be a key voice to weigh in at some point on that primary.”
So far, only Trump has announced a bid for the party’s 2024 nod, but more candidates are expected to jump in soon. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is said to be planning a campaign launch later this month, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) could enter the race later this year. Early polling suggests that DeSantis may pose the biggest threat to Trump’s hopes of reclaiming the Republican nomination.
Multiple Republicans suggested that Kemp could form something of an alliance with someone like DeSantis. Both are conservative southern governors who have found themselves at odds with Trump at one time or another.
“I think he’s going to do whatever he can to help someone like DeSantis,” said Jay Williams, a Georgia-based Republican strategist. “In a way, they’re natural allies, just from the fact that Trump dislikes both of them. They have a lot of common ground. And I do think they probably have a lot of mutual interest in seeing Trump defeated in a primary.”
But there’s still a catch: If Trump, who is leading in most 2024 polling, were to win the GOP’s nomination, that could put Kemp in an awkward place. The Kemp adviser noted that while they believe that “Trump is in a much weaker position than what the polls suggest,” Kemp would stand behind whoever emerges from the primary.
“The governor said that he would support whoever the nominee is, and that includes Trump,” the Kemp adviser said. “From a policy perspective, you would believe a second term of Trump would be preferable to a second term of Joe Biden.”
Kemp himself has been the subject of occasional 2024 speculation, though several Republicans said it is more likely that he holds out to challenge Ossoff for his Senate seat in 2026. Kemp is serving out his second term in the governor’s mansion, and term limits will bar him from seeking reelection again.
“He’s probably going to play things close to the vest, but I’m pretty confident he wants that Senate seat,” said one Georgia Republican strategist and Kemp ally. “It’s probably going to be his nomination in four years, if he wants it.”
Still, if Kemp is offered the chance to be the eventual 2024 Republican nominee’s running mate, “I definitely think he would jump at that,” the strategist added.
“I can see him being on the short list for VP,” the strategist said. “I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be. He just won reelection against a very popular, very famous Democrat celebrity.”
Regardless, there are already signs that Kemp is looking to play a larger role on the national stage. He filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission in November forming his own super PAC — Hardworking Americans Inc. — that could be used as a vehicle to boost his national profile or lay the groundwork for a future bid for federal office.
“The governor has not closed the door on anything in the future,” the Kemp adviser said. “He has previously said ‘I haven’t ruled anything in or out.’ That’s kind of where our whole operation is.”
President Biden said on Saturday that he had ordered the Pentagon earlier in the week to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon traveling over the U.S. “as soon as possible.”
“On Wednesday when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down … as soon as possible,” Biden told reporters in Hagerstown, Md.
However, amid concerns about the potential dangers of downing the balloon over land, Biden said his national security officials decided that “the best time to do that was when it got over water.”
The U.S. shot down the surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, after it spent several days traversing the U.S.
“They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators that did it,” Biden added.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also confirmed in a statement that the president had authorized the Pentagon on Wednesday to shoot down the balloon “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.”
“In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities,” Austin wrote.
“Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first,” he added.
Republicans were quick to criticize Biden’s response to the Chinese surveillance balloon after U.S. defense officials confirmed its presence on Thursday, calling for the president to shoot down the balloon immediately and linking the issue to problems at the country’s southern border.
“Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Thursday. “President Trump would have never tolerated this. President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America.”
“I am demanding answers from the Biden administration about the spy balloon that flew over our airspace,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said in a tweet, after sending an angry letter to the Pentagon on Thursday night. “The administration failed to protect our border and now has failed to protect our skies.”
However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) commended Biden’s decision to take the balloon down over water on Saturday in order to “ensure safety for all Americans.”
“Now we can collect the equipment and analyze the technology used by the CCP,” he added in a tweet.
The Navy and Coast Guard are reportedly working to recover debris from the downed balloon, according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday, after the high-altitude balloon spent the last week traveling across the country, according to the Pentagon.
“This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
An operation is reportedly underway to recover debris from the downed balloon, The Associated Press confirmed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) paused flights from three airports in North Carolina and South Carolina and closed additional airspace on Saturday afternoon as part of a “national security effort” with the Defense Department.The balloon had been seen traveling over the Carolinas on Saturday.
U.S. military commanders had previously declined to shoot down the balloon, which was estimated to be about the size of three school buses and traveling at about 60,000 feet, due to safety concerns on the ground, per AP.
U.S. defense officials confirmed the existence of the balloon on Thursday, after it was first spotted hovering over Montana on Wednesday. Beijing acknowledged on Friday that the balloon was Chinese but claimed it was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research.
“Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”
However, the presence of the balloon has heightening tensions in an already strained relationship between Beijing and Washington. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing on Friday, with a senior State Department official calling the balloon a “clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law.”
The U.S. has refused to accept China’s explanation for the balloon, alleging that it was attempting to surveil “strategic sites” within the U.S.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday approved an adjusted early presidential primary state schedule, formalizing their intentions to move Iowa out of the early lineup and shake up the order, with South Carolina going first.
DNC committee members approved an early presidential primary schedule during the winter meeting in Philadelphia that begins with South Carolina, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on the same day, then Georgia, and Michigan fourth.
The DNC has given Georgia and New Hampshire an extension into early June to comply with the committee’s request to change their primary day and expand early voting access, amid concerns that they may be unable to do so in time — or at all.
Given that both Georgia and New Hampshire have GOP-controlled legislatures and Republican secretaries of state and governors, changing their state’s respective primary processes could prove challenging. It’s unclear how Democrats might proceed if both states are unable to comply with the new early presidential primary calendar.
The DNC’s winter meeting comes as President Biden sent a letter to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee asking them to readjust the existing presidential primary calendar, which had Iowa holding its caucuses first, followed by New Hampshire as the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Biden has asserted the decision in part allows a more diverse demographic of voters to come earlier in the nominating process. At the same time, others have noted that South Carolina helped to turn Biden’s presidential prospects around in 2020 when he placed first in their primaries.
“Our early states must reflect the overall diversity of our party and our nation – economically, geographically, demographically. This means more diverse states earlier in the process and more diversity in the overall mix of early states,” he wrote to the Rules and Bylaws Committee in December.
“Working class families are the backbone of our economy. Union households must be represented in greater numbers than before. We need to include voters from many backgrounds, not to ratify the choice of the earliest states, but as full stakeholders in making the choice,” he added.
Progressives are looking at New York as a way to make the Senate map more left-wing.
They see Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who’s up for reelection in 2024, as a tempting primary target in a state that sent several “squad” members to the House and which some Democrats concede is in need of a party rebranding.
On the surface, the Empire State seems ripe for an insurgent win. New York progressives in urban areas have been successful in recent years at ousting longtime establishment House Democrats, including former Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), making it part of a mecca for grassroots activity, candidate recruitment and liberal energy.
But Gillibrand’s deep roots could prove hard to penetrate, challenging the assumption that a hypothetical primary rival would pose an immediate threat.
“I would be shocked if it came to pass for Sen. Gillibrand,” said Jon Reinish, a former aide to the senator. “She has a really progressive voting record and on the issues that she’s best known for, they’re beloved by the Democratic base.”
Among the state’s high-profile talent, none has garnered more attention than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
The progressive congresswoman, who ousted Crowley in 2018, seems poised to rise from the House to the Senate if she wants to. Some have even speculated that she could run for the White House if President Biden decided not to seek a second term.
While that rumor swirled for a little while, much of the more serious speculation centered around whether she would challenge Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in 2022 and instigate what would be a power clash of prominent Democrats from different sides of the party’s spectrum.
As November came and went, however, she turned that down, instead sailing to reelection to a third House term and causing Democrats to ask about her plans for 2024.
“People all over want her to run — she is like our generation’s JFK,” said Ryan Adams, a progressive strategist who also worked with New York-based “squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
Adams suggested the real question is which cycle she will choose to run in, not whether she has the desire to.
“Possible, yes, very,” he said about the idea that she may run for the Senate. “To me, it almost feels inevitable.”
But in politics, timing is everything.
“I don’t know about this cycle,” Adams said. “How best could her political capital be used in the next two years? What is she trying to get done in Congress? Will a big loud fight pull resources from other places that will need it in 2024?”
Gillibrand, on the other hand, is all in. First elected to the House in 2006, defeating three-term GOP Rep. John Sweeney in the state’s 20th Congressional District, she has moved relatively quickly up the electoral ladder, often tweaking her platforms and positions to address voters’ changing needs.
“She then represented a conservative, rural, white, sprawling upstate district,” Reinish said about her time in the House. “She very quickly pivoted to representing the entire state, so those are many different constituencies.”
Gillibrand, who took over Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, won her reelection campaign in 2016, the year Clinton lost to former President Trump. She made a name in Congress running on a pro-woman platform, championing some of the biggest fights around reforms for handling sexual assault in the military and as a staunch advocate of paid family leave.
Last month, she formally stated she would run again in 2024, sending out an email fundraising blast alerting supporters of her intention. Almost immediately, there were questions in some Democratic circles about whether Gillibrand would face a challenger.
Publicly, she is keeping her powder dry. She told local station News12 in Westchester, “I don’t believe I will have a primary.”
While many believe Ocasio-Cortez would be the most likely — and certainly biggest ticket name — to mount a possible challenge from the left, others could also emerge as dark horse contenders.
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) was considered one of progressives’ top rising stars during his brief time in Congress. While in office, the young, Black and openly gay lawmaker often pushed the administration in front of the national spotlight, particularly around voting rights. Dealt an unfortunate hand when his district was redrawn in the gerrymandering process, he’s now a CNN commentator and could decide to primary Gillibrand as a Hail Mary pass at another term in office.
Other Democrats have laid to rest speculation they will challenge her. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told The New York Times emphatically last week that he was not considering a primary against Gillibrand. Additionally, the publication reported that he recently gave $10,000 to her reelection campaign.
“I don’t think there is a lot of appetite to primary the senator,” said Camille Rivera, a New York-based Democratic strategist who’s worked with a variety of progressives. “She may not be totally left-left, but she fights for the issues that really matter.”
In the Senate, Gillibrand has worked to advance Biden’s agenda after her brief stint competing against him for the presidential nomination in 2020. She failed to catch on nationally but managed to amass smaller pockets of loyal supporters in key early voting states like New Hampshire and Iowa.
While statewide Democrats tend to have a natural advantage given its blue lean, former Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-N.Y.) better-than-expected performance against Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in last year’s gubernatorial race put Democrats on notice. Hochul defeated Zeldin by roughly 6 points.
As the unofficial campaign season gets underway, rumblings around a potential match-up between Gillibrand and Zeldin have been growing.
“He may not be victorious but he can definitely be formidable,” Rivera said. “His numbers were way too close for comfort.”
A recent wave of surprisingly solid economic data reveals that the U.S. economy is in a far stronger position than most economists expected.
Friday’s stunning jobs report, coupled with a surprising jump in job openings, has forced experts to recalibrate their expectations for an economy being slowed by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
Here’s what we learned about the U.S. economy over the past week:
Companies are still eager to hire
A hiring sign is displayed in a window of a store in Manhattan on December 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The U.S. added 517,000 jobs in January, blowing away analyst projections, while the unemployment rate dipped to 3.4 percent, the lowest in 54 years. Economists had expected unemployment to rise.
Several sectors that had been seeing an apparent slowdown, including retail and construction, added jobs at a faster rate than last year’s monthly average. The average workweek totaled 34.7 hours, the highest since March 2022, indicating massive demand for workers.
That means the nation clearly isn’t in a recession, despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to weaken the labor market by hiking employers’ borrowing costs.
“For now, it’s a good sign that the Fed hasn’t broken the economy yet. The best-case scenario is a soft landing, and it’s still in play,” Callie Cox, U.S. Investment Analyst at eToro, said in a note.
In another surprising figure, Labor Department data released Wednesday showed that the U.S. had a near-record 11 million job openings at the end of December, up from 10.4 million the month prior. Economists expected openings to fall on a month-to-month basis.
The shortfall of workers, driven in part by 2 million early retirements during the pandemic, boosts workers’ leverage over wages but also reduces the supply of certain goods and services, leading to higher prices.
Lisa Lighter, 52, told The Hill she struggles to find workers for her small business, A Day In Our Shoes, which helps Philadelphia-area parents secure critical services for their disabled children. The labor shortage forces countless parents with a disabled child who go without those services, Lighter said.
“I work long hours myself because finding qualified help to do my administrative work is challenging. Many never even return emails, and I pay above market rate,” she said.
Friday’s booming jobs report comes with caveats. Economists expect the jobs number to be revised down because companies added fewer holiday employees this year and the U.S. experienced an unusually warm January. The Bureau of Labor Statistics usually accounts for a rush of post-holiday layoffs and lower economic activity during a cold but uneventful month by adjusting January jobs gains higher.
“The BLS jobs report for January was VERY strong. So strong, I don’t believe it. The BLS is likely having measurement issues. Most likely, difficulty seasonally adjusting the data, which is especially important in January,” Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi wrote on Twitter Friday.
Layoffs are lower than the headlines make it seem
A sign is shown on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Some of the nation’s largest and most well-known companies, including Google, Microsoft and FedEx, announced mass layoffs in January, fueling recession fears.
But the data shows that most companies aren’t letting workers go.
The number of Americans filing unemployment claims dropped to a nine-month low last week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That’s an indicator that the economy is still growing amid the highly publicized job reductions.
The persistent shortfall of workers means that those who are laid off can typically find employment elsewhere, and quickly.
A survey from tech recruiting and staffing firm Andiamo found that 74 percent of tech workers who were laid off between September and November have already landed new jobs. Thirty percent of those fired workers jumped over to new industries such as finance and media.
“Despite the large layoffs and firings in the tech sector over the past year, the data strongly implies that these workers with in-demand skills are quickly finding employment,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at auditing firm RSM, said in a note.
Fed rate hikes are making a serious dent on inflation
A customer looks at refrigerated items at a Grocery Outlet store in Pleasanton, Calif.,. on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell can finally exhale.
After six straight months of declines in both the consumer price index and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the two primary ways of tracking inflation — Fed officials are willing to acknowledge that their rate hikes are working.
“We actually see disinflation in the goods sector,” Powell said Wednesday, after the Fed issued its smallest interest rate hike since March 2021.
“We note that when we say inflation is coming down that this is good,” he continued.
Powell’s remarks may seem like little more than a basic observation. But his willingness to acknowledge progress against inflation — however slight — is a sign that the Fed feels increasingly confident in its fight to bring down price growth.
The Fed has been reluctant to declare victory with the PCE price index still up 5 percent on the year in December, well above the Fed’s annual inflation target of 2 percent but down from a peak of 7 percent in June.
Powell added that while prices for goods have fallen steadily, prices for basic services are still rising and may continue to do so as long as the labor market holds strong.
The staggering January gain of 517,000 jobs might be a cause for concern for the Fed, even though wage growth continued to slow down. While Fed officials are optimistic they can quash inflation without derailing the job market, they could face pressure to keep cranking up rates.
“If the central bank thinks that the low unemployment rate will necessarily push up wage growth and inflation moving forward, this strong report may darken the economic outlook. But if instead, Chair Powell and colleagues are heartened by tempering wage growth, then the odds that the economy can avoid a recession increase,” wrote Nick Bunker, head of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab, in a Friday analysis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday proposed major changes to school lunches in an attempt to make the meals healthier, with particular emphasis on reducing sugar and salt.
The plan, which is set for a 60-day public comment period starting Tuesday, is a multi-year effort that was developed with input from school nutrition professionals, public health experts, industry and parents, according to the statement from the department.
The USDA found the biggest concerns from stakeholders in the conversation were the amount of added sugar in school lunches and the amount of time the industry needs to make these changes to school meals.
“Our commitment to the school meal programs comes from a common goal we all share — keeping kids healthy and helping them reach their full potential,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“Many children aren’t getting the nutrition they need, and diet-related diseases are on the rise. Research shows school meals are the healthiest meals in a day for most kids, proving that they are an important tool for giving kids access to the nutrition they need for a bright future.”
Not everyone, however, is a fan of the proposed changes.
“Research shows students receive their healthiest meals at school, thanks to current nutrition standards,” said School Nutrition Association (SNA) President Lori Adkins. “As schools nationwide contend with persistent supply chain, labor and financial challenges, school meal programs are struggling to successfully maintain current standards and need support, not additional, unrealistic requirements.”
Here are the major changes proposed for your child’s school meals:
Limiting added sugars
The new plan proposed by the USDA will have a public comment period so parents and others will be able to give their feedback on these changes. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)
The USDA is planning on limiting added sugars in a two-part plan.
The first phase of the plan is limiting added sugars in products that are particularly high in them, such as breakfast cereals, flavored milks, grain-based desserts and yogurt.
Currently, there is no limit on added sugar in school lunches. With the changes, breakfast cereals would only be allowed 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce, yogurt would be no more than 12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces, flavored milks would be 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces and grain-based desserts would be no more than 2-ounce equivalents per week in school breakfast.
The goal is to cap added sugars in these products by 2025, but the USDA also wants to implement a weekly overall limit in the 2027-2028 school year: no more than 10 percent of a child’s calories for a given week could be added sugars.
The reductions were praised by the American Heart Association, which has advocated for such changes.
“By proposing to limit the amount of added sugars in school meals for the first time ever, the USDA is taking a major step toward helping children achieve a more nutritious diet and better health,” the organization said. “Added sugars are a significant source of excess calories, provide no nutritional value and may cause weight gain and increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic health conditions.”
More whole grains
The new changes to school meals, if adopted, would take until 2029 to complete. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
The USDA wants to make whole grains the main grain option available as they “are a key source of fiber and can help support healthy digestion and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.”
There are two options the department wants feedback on in the public comment period for the proposal. One would be keeping the current standard, which says schools must make whole grain-rich options 80 percent of all grains offered in a week. The other would only allow schools to serve non-whole, enriched grain foods one day a week.
The whole change, if adopted, would be among the quickest implemented, in fall 2024.
The American Heart Association had hoped for a 100 percent transition into whole grains but is hopeful about the plan.
“We appreciate that the proposed standards continue to emphasize the importance of whole grains. While we would like to see USDA reinstate the 100% whole grain-rich requirement, the proposed standard would still encourage whole grain consumption while giving schools some flexibility when menu planning,” the group said.
Reduce sodium intake
Less sodium in school lunches would put them more in line with FDA recommendations. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The USDA proposes a 30 percent reduction in sodium in school lunches, but spread out over time to give school cooks, the food industry and children’s palates time to adjust.
Three separate 10-percent reductions in sodium would be seen in the autumns of 2025, 2027 and 2029.
“Research shows that nearly all children consume more sodium than recommended, which can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease,” the USDA said.
However, the change, along with others in the proposal, is not backed by the SNA, which argues supply chain issues and national shortages make the goals unachievable.
The group points to a survey of school meal program directors that shows many are already struggling with the current nutrition standards.
“With no end in sight to supply chain and labor challenges, a majority of survey respondents also indicated concerns about proposals to establish long-term standards that exceed Target 1A transitional sodium limits (98.3%) and limit added sugar (94.4%),” SNA said.
Changes to milk consumption
It is possible the milk standards under the new proposals will not change. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The proposed standards would continue allowing flavored milks, but aim to encourage students to choose fat-free and low-fat milk options. They include an optional limiting of flavored milk for those in grades nine or above, or else leaving flavored milk options for all grades.
If the standard does change, it would be implemented in fall 2025.
The possibility of a crowded GOP presidential primary in 2024 has grown likelier in recent days following reports that former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley is gearing up to officially announce a White House bid later this month.
Former President Trump is the only high-profile Republican who has formally announced a presidential campaign, but he’s ramped up rhetoric in recent days against several widely floated 2024 contenders, including Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — both of whom who could be formidable challengers to the former president.
Here’s a look at eight Republicans likely to challenge Trump in 2024:
Nikki Haley
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is set to announce her 2024 presidential bid Feb. 15 after months ofspeculation that she would throw her hat in the ring. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., is expected to formally announce on Feb. 15 that she’ll be running for president, The Hill confirmed this week.
Haley has long teased speculation that she might throw her hat in the ring, including during an interview with Fox News last month in which she said that “when you are looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change.”
Trump responded to the news by taunting his former administration official.
“Nikki has to follow her heart, not her honor. She should definitely run!” he wrote on Truth Social, including an older clip of her saying she would not run in 2024 if Trump did.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been quiet so far about his plans for 2024, though the governor’s advisers are reportedly looking into possible campaign staff picks should he launch a presidential bid. (Associated Press)
The Florida governor has been coy about his possible 2024 presidential plans, though he notably refused to commit to serving out a full four-year term as governor when asked about it during a debate in the lead-up to the Florida gubernatorial race.
Behind the scenes, though, advisers for DeSantis are reportedly in the process of contacting possible staff picks should he go forward with a bid of his own.
While DeSantis has avoided trading barbs with Trump, who has stepped up his attacks on the governor, he made a point to emphasize his resounding reelection when asked by a reporter about the former president’s recent criticism of him.
“I’m happy to say, you know, in my case, not only did we win reelection. We won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida,” the Florida Republican said. “We won by the largest raw vote margin — over 1.5 million votes — than any governor candidate has ever had in Florida history.”
Mike Pence
Former Vice President Pence has been increasing public appearances in recent months while promoting his memoir and backing candidates leading up to the November midterms. (Associated Press)
Trump’s former vice president is also weighing a possible presidential run, telling The Hill in an exclusive interview last month that he would continue traveling across the country and make a decision “in the months ahead.”
Pence has been traveling around the U.S. to promote his memoir, “So Help Me God,” and book tours often serve as a prelude to announcing larger political aspirations. He also noticeably waded into the November midterms, backing more centrist and establishment-leaning Republicans like Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch, though both lost to Trump’s picks.
More recently, Pence has been embroiled in recent news that the FBI is reportedly searching his residence in Indiana again in addition to his Washington, D.C., office after his team alerted federal officials previously that they had found some classified documents at his home.
Mike Pompeo
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has teased that he will make his plans for 2024 known this spring. (Getty)
The former secretary of State said in December that he’ll announce his possible presidential plans in the spring, but he’s already made moves suggesting he’s signaling a White House bid.
In recent months, Pompeo has spoken at the presidential campaign mainstay “Politics & Eggs” series in New Hampshire; released his own memoir, “Never Give an Inch”; and taken a few shots at the former president.
“We were told we’d get tired of winning. But I’m tired of losing. And so are most Republicans,” Pompeo tweeted in November, mocking Trump’s “tired of winning” phrase after the GOP performed worse than expected during the November midterms.
Tim Scott
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced that he will launch a listening tour that will take him to South Carolina and Iowa, two early presidential primary and caucus states. (Associated Press)
Scott, a senator from South Carolina, is rolling out a “Faith in America” listening tour, which will include stops and speaking arrangements in South Carolina and Iowa — both early presidential primary and caucus states. The tour will only add to rising speculation that he’s considering launching a bid of his own.
The chamber’s only Black GOP senator, Scott often points to his personal story as someone who was raised by a single parent living in poverty who now serves in the halls of Congress. Among the issues that Scott has worked on, he’s most notably been the negotiator of police reform legislation from the Senate GOP side; a possible police reform bill being negotiated between him, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and former Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), however, fell through last year.
Larry Hogan
Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor who has been one of former President Trump’s most vocal critics, has recently leaned into speculation that he will run for president in 2024. (Greg Nash)
Hogan taunted Trump during an interview following the November midterms, telling CBS News “My side of the party had a really good night. Trump’s side did not” — a reference to centrist Republicans who performed better than more far-right candidates during the elections.
During an interview on conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt’s show this week, he initially said he would support whoever the presidential nominee turned out to be on the Republican side, suggesting he would support Trump if he ended up in that position but later clarified those comments to say he wouldn’t back the former president.
Glenn Youngkin
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R) victory over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in the state’s 2021 gubernatorial race sparked excitement about the governor’s future plans within the Republican party. (Associated Press)
Republicans saw Youngkin’s upset victory over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race as a bright spot for the party in a state that has trended blue in recent years. Youngkin made education — including concerns over critical race theory and parent’s rights in school — a key component of his campaign and one that some candidates like Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) sought to replicate during their own campaigns.
Youngkin campaigned with GOP gubernatorial candidates like Lombardo, former Oregon state Sen. Christine Drazan in the Beaver State’s governor’s race and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, raising speculation that the Virginia governor might have higher aspirations past the governor’s mansion.
Asa Hutchinson
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) confirmed late last year that he is seriously considering a 2024 presidential run. (Getty)
The former Arkansas governor said in November that he was looking “very seriously” at a possible White House bid during an interview with “CNN This Morning” host Kaitlan Collins and told her that he was aiming to make his decision in January.
A Trump critic, he said in December that it would be the GOP’s “worst scenario” if the former president ran again and said last month that “Jan. 6 really disqualifies him for the future.” Last year, he delivered remarks at the presidential campaign mainstay “Politics & Eggs” New Hampshire Event.
