(L) Lori Chavez-DeRemer testifies during her confirmation hearing.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) / (R-Top) White House Senior
Advisor to the President and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. (Photo by
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) / (R-Bottom) Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former
head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
As the Trump administration pushes the Department of Government
Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal
government, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said this week that
the agency will return more than $1 billion in unused COVID-era funds
to U.S. taxpayers.
The Labor Department stated in a news release that it is currently
taking “action” in order “to recover the remaining $2.9 billion,” but
that $1.4 billion of unspent COVID funding will soon be “returned to
taxpayers through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s General Fund.”
However, it did not specify a date for either.
“The roughly $4.3 billion was intended for states to use for
temporary unemployment insurance during the pandemic,” the press release
states. “Instead, several states continued spending millions of dollars
despite no longer meeting necessary requirements, which was uncovered
in a 2023 audit conducted by the department’s Office of Inspector
General.”
In the press release, Chavez-DeRemer clarified that the program is
especially designed to offer expanded unemployment insurance to
Americans who were unable to work during the pandemic and that the
financing came from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Act in March 2020.
The 2023 audit “found four states were allowed to access the funding
‘despite not meeting program requirements,’ totaling over $100 million
in spending,” according to the department, which stated that the program
was discontinued in 2021.
“There’s no reason leftover COVID unemployment funds should still be
collecting dust,” DeRemer told Fox News. “I promised to look out for
Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars, and we are delivering at the
Department of Labor.”
“Any money still sitting around for pandemic-era unemployment funds
is a clear misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Chavez-DeRemer
said in the press release, noting that they are “rooting out waste to
ensure American Workers always come First.”
Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling made a statement as well.
“Billions of dollars went unchecked in a program that ended several
years ago,” Sonderling stated. “In a huge win for the American taxpayer,
we’ve clawed back these unused funds and will keep working to eliminate
waste, fraud, and abuse.”
The announcement follows DeRemer’s declaration in her first memo to
the department upon her appointment last month, where she expressed that
she intends to collaborate with DOGE to eradicate waste, fraud, and
overspending — while adhering to President Trump’s executive orders.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, our focus remains on
promoting job creation, enhancing workforce development, and ensuring
safe working conditions, wages, and pensions so that every American has
the opportunity to succeed,” DeRemer said to employees. “I challenge
each of you to actively engage with your teams to identify innovative
solutions that can help us achieve our goals.”
According to Chavez-DeRemer, the Labor Department “must focus on
practicing fiscal responsibility, reducing unnecessary spending, and
optimizing our resources to ensure that taxpayer dollars are utilized
effectively” and must be in line with the Trump administration’s
policies.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
World Economic Forum founder and chairman Klaus Schwab attends a session
during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on
January 21, 2025.
Klaus Schwab’s days as chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF),
the technocratic globalist group he established in 1971, which holds an
annual gathering of politicians and other world “elites” in Davos,
Switzerland, are coming to an end.
In a letter obtained by the Financial Times on Tuesday,
Schwab informed the WEF’s board of trustees and staff that he was
starting a one-year process that will end with him stepping down.
He also resigned as the organization’s executive chairman in May 2024.
Davos’ upheaval follows a string of claims of discrimination at the
WEF, and comes amid American-led efforts to combat Schwab’s global
“great reset.”
In January, President Donald Trump offered some insightful commentary on Schwab’s vision of his idealized globalist future.
“On day one, I signed an executive order to stop all government
censorship. No longer will our government label the speech of our own
citizens as misinformation or disinformation, which are the favorite
words of censors and those who wish to stop the free exchanges of ideas
and, frankly, progress,” Trump said in a virtual address to the World
Economic Forum in Davos.
InfoWars founder Alex Jones commented on the news on social media.
World Economic Forum kingpin Klaus Schwab has informed the board he will be RESIGNING!
This is another MASSIVE blow to globalism, thanks to President Trump and populist Info Warriors worldwide!
Schwab has infamously been on a Jihad against the United States and conservatism… pic.twitter.com/Lfo4VtN8Zc
Based on internal complaints, email exchanges, and interviews with current and former WEF employees, the Wall Street Journal released
a damning report a few days after Schwab’s previous title-drop,
alleging that “under Schwab’s decades-long oversight, the forum has
allowed to fester an atmosphere hostile to women and Black people in its
own workplace.”
At least six female employees were allegedly “pushed out or otherwise
saw their careers suffer” when they became pregnant or returned from
maternity leave, according to the investigation. Senior bosses were also
accused of sexually harassing other women in the workplace.
“It was distressing to witness colleagues visibly withdraw from
themselves with the onslaught of harassment at the hands of high-level
staff, going from social and cheerful to self-isolating, avoiding eye
contact, sharing nightmares for years after,” stated Farid Ben Amor, a
former media executive who worked at the WEF — before resigning in 2019.
According to other former employees who were close to Schwab, the
issues reached the highest levels of the company, and they said that the
founder “made suggestive comments to them that made them
uncomfortable.”
The Journal reported that Black employees also expressed
dissatisfaction over bosses’ alleged use of racial slurs, in addition to
being passed over for promotions. Following a lawsuit in New York last
year by an employee alleging that the WEF was “hostile to women and
Black employees,” the WEF reached an undisclosed settlement.
“That was the most disappointing thing, to see the distance between
what the Forum aspires to and what happens behind the scenes,” stated
Cheryl Martin, head of the Center for Global Industries at the WEF.
The World Economic Forum—an organization known for frequently
scolding the world on issues such as racism, the so-called “gender wage
gap,” sexism, climate change, and other societal “shortcomings,” in
their own words—ironically dismissed the outlet’s report as
“inaccurate.”
“We are an organization that upholds the highest standards of
governance, while working to address the most pressing challenges of our
time with our high-performance teams, our diverse and global outlook,
and an environment that values innovation, inclusion, and well-being,”
the WEF’s vague statement read.
According to the Financial Times, the WEF hired the law firm
Covington and Burling, whose members recently had their security
clearances revoked by President Trump, to look into the allegations of
workplace harassment and discrimination after the outlet revealed that
those eager to “control the world” and hound less affluent individuals
to be on their best behavior — were unable to control themselves.
An email from Børge Brende, president and CEO of the WEF, stated that
the board committee that was in charge of the law firm’s inquiry found
“leadership and management issues… that do not meet our established
standards.” The leadership affirmed the company’s purported “commitment
to a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected,” and they
also pledged to provide supervisors with more training.
The WEF informed the Financial Times that Schwab’s departure should most likely be complete by January 2027.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Markets extended a global selloff Friday as
countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's trade
war, but the White House insisted the American economy will emerge
victorious.
Shock waves tore through markets in the United States, Europe, and
Asia after Trump's tariff bombshell, as foreign leaders signaled
readiness to negotiate but also threatened counter-tariffs.
The S&P 500 dropped 4.8% in its biggest loss since 2020 on
Thursday. The tech-rich Nasdaq plummeted 6.0% and the Dow Jones 4.0%.
Japan's key Nikkei 225 index was down more than 3% in afternoon trade
Friday, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba describing Trump's tariffs
as a "national crisis."
Trump slapped 10% import duties on all nations and far higher levies
on imports from dozens of specific countries — including top trade
partners China and the European Union.
Separate tariffs of 25% on all foreign-made cars also went into
effect, and Canada swiftly responded with a similar levy on U.S.
imports.
Stellantis — the owner of Jeep, Chrysler, and Fiat — paused production at some Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.
Trump dismissed the turmoil, insisting to reporters as he left for a weekend at his Florida golf resort that stocks will "boom."
Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Newsmax, also played down the market turbulence.
"I frankly thought in some ways it could be worse in the markets, because this is a big transition," Vance said.
- 'Trust Donald Trump' -
Trump says he wants to make the United States free from reliance on
foreign manufacturers, in a massive economic reshaping that he likened
to a medical procedure.
"It's what is expected," the 78-year-old president said of the market
reaction. "The patient was very sick. The economy had a lot of
problems.
"It went through an operation. It's going to be a booming economy. It's going to be amazing."
Amid howls of protest abroad and even from some of Trump's
Republicans, who fear price rises at home, Commerce Secretary Howard
Lutnick urged patience.
"Let Donald Trump run the global economy. He knows what he's doing," Lutnick said on CNN
Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called "nations that treat us badly."
That included an additional 34% on goods from China — bringing the new added tariff rate there to 54%.
The figure for the European Union was 20%, and 24% on Japan.
China demanded the tariffs be immediately canceled and vowed
countermeasures, while France and Germany warned that the EU could hit
back at U.S. tech firms.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for suspending investment in
the United States until what he called the "brutal" new tariffs had been
"clarified."
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the tariffs "clearly represent a significant risk to the global outlook."
She appealed to Washington and its trade partners to work "constructively" to resolve tensions and reduce uncertainty.
Gold — a safe-haven investment — hit a new record price, oil fell, and the dollar slumped against other major currencies.
- Global economic 'sumo wrestler' -
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organization, which
helps manage global trading, warned the upheaval may lead to contraction
of "one percent in global merchandise trade volumes this year."
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell broke ranks with Trump, slamming tariffs as "bad policy."
Preserving long-term prosperity "requires working with our allies, not against them," McConnell said.
Trump has said he would negotiate "as long as they are giving something that is good."
The 27-nation EU and other countries have sought to negotiate as they refrained from immediate retaliation.
Beijing said it was "maintaining communication" with Washington over
trade issues, and EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic planned to speak with
U.S. counterparts on Friday.
But White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier that the president made it clear "this is not a negotiation."
And Lutnick also struck a hard line, saying, "You can't really fight with the United States.
"You're going to lose. We are the sumo wrestler of this world."
A Boston District Attorney and a Boston judge are getting a
well-deserved lesson in constitutional law and the Supremacy Clause, and
it's coming from U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah
Foley.
It seems an Immigrations & Customs Enforcement officer,
Brian Sullivan,
arrested an illegal alien in a Boston courtroom,
pursuant to a valid federal warrant. Now the DA is threatening Sullivan
for taking the illegal alien out of the courtroom, and the judge in the
case has already found Officer Sullivan in contempt for arresting the
illegal alien during the trial - and both of them may well now be in the
second half of the famous "Fool Around, Find Out" cycle.
She
is now threatening felony charges against the Boston DA, who said he is
considering charging the ICE agent who arrested the alien after he was
held in contempt of court by a Boston judge for making the arrest.
Leah Foley, US Attorney in Massachusetts, writes the following in a letter to Suffolk County (Boston) DA Kevin Hayden:
"The
fact that you disfavor ICE officers doing their jobs is not a basis for
criminal charges. In fact, there is no legal basis for such charges.
You may very well disagree with the enforcement of our federal
immigration laws, but it is inappropriate to suggest to the public that
federal officers can be criminally prosecuted by your office for
performing their official duties. Any attempt or threat to interfere
with the lawful actions of federal government agents will not be
tolerated. It is a felony offense to assault, resist, oppose, impede,
intimidate, or interfere with an immigration officer's efforts to duly
execute the immigration laws of the United States."
Officer Sullivan, we note, was doing his duty. He had a valid federal
warrant for the arrest. Boston, as a "sanctuary" city, would very
likely have released this criminal to the streets, a criminal with
serious drug trafficking charges. And, if Boston was a responsible
jurisdiction that cooperated with federal authorities enforcing
immigration law, the high-profile courtroom arrest would not have been
necessary; ICE could have rolled up to the back foor of the jail and
picked the perp up.
She also sent a letter to Judge Mark Summerville,
who held the ICE officer in contempt for arresting the alien during his trial.
"It
is well settled that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution immunizes
federal officers from state prosecution, including contempt proceedings
for actions taken in the course of their official duties. Please be
advised that this court lacks any authority whatsoever to proceed in
this matter with respect to ICE officer Brian Sullivan."
The Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, reads:
This
Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in
Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under
the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the
Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in
the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
This would include legislation passed by Congress and signed into law
by the president - like, say, immigration laws. It is against federal
law to interfere with a federal officer in the discharge of his lawful
duties, and that is precisely what DA Kayden and Judge Summerville are
doing.
In this matter, both the district attorney and the judge,
people who presumably should have known better, are finding themselves
way out of their league. She is already experienced in matters like
this, having previously served as lead attorney for Boston's Organized
Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. A Trump appointee, she is already
showing that she won't be trifled with, that she knows the law and the
Constitution, and that she won't brook any nonsense from a DA or a judge
with an agenda.
And that agenda is baffling. These "sanctuary city" politicians, DAs, and judges are working to keep criminals in their cities.
That's acting directly against the best interest of the people of the
State of Massachusetts and the City of Boston, but we can hope that the
voters of Massachusetts in general and Boston in particular are
self-aware enough to notice safer streets with these people gone and to
vote accordingly.
You can read US Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley's letter in full here.
Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great
country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new
legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
Help us continue to report the truth about the president's border policies and mass deportations. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
So, the special elections came and
went, and the MSM is very excited with the final results. The GOP held
two open U.S. House seats in Florida while losing a Democrat-held State
Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin. Politico, which was, until recently,
being funded by the Biden administration, has had at least three
articles documenting what they presume will be just the beginning of a
supposed coming Democrat “blue wave” — see here and here and here.
Now, I have theorized
before that the MSM has been working overtime to recreate the political
situation following the 1994 elections, when – the CW says – the
radically conservative budget cutters in the GOP, led by Newt Gingrich,
went too far, too fast, politically, and were rebuked by the voters in
the 1996 elections, when the Democrats held the presidency and gained
seats in the House (although they didn’t take control). This time, the
new figure to be targeted – “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it” –
is Elon Musk, the now odious billionaire who the left used to love –
when he was working on electric cars and voting Democrat – prior to two
years ago.
But is this really going to happen? And, for that matter, did this same strategy really work before, in 1996?
I have my doubts.
Here is what we know based on the facts. The RCP average for President Trump’s job approval stands at
47.7 percent, with his disapproval at 49.9 percent. As we know, the RCP
average was the closest average to being correct in the 2024
presidential election, being off by only 2 percent (in favor of Kamala
Harris). Nothing earth-shattering here; electoral mid-term disasters
don’t normally happen unless the president’s approval sinks into the low
40’s or even the 30’s, as exemplified by the polling of President George W. Bush.
In
the 2025 Florida races, Jimmy Patronis in the 1st District and Randy
Fine in the 6th District — the latter of whom CW claimed was running
scared — both won
57 percent of the two-party vote. The Democrats in those races
dramatically outraised them – $6.5 million to $2.1 million in the 1st;
$10 million to $1 million in the 6th – thanks to a frenzied national
donor audience of left-wing Democrats who want to crush all Republicans
and hate Donald Trump with a passion. In 2024, in those House races,
the very same Democrat lost 66 percent to 34 percent in the 1st, and
another Democrat lost 66.5 percent to 33.5 percent in the 6th, in both
cases to established and popular incumbents. Meanwhile, Donald Trump got
68 percent in the 1st District and 64 percent in the 6th.
In the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the Democrat won
55 percent to 45 percent over the Republican. In the last Supreme Court
race in Wisconsin, in 2023, the Democrat won by a similar 55 percent to
44 percent over the Republican. In 2025, the Democrat outspent the
Republican two to one ($22 million to $11 million), although outside
spending gave the edge to the Republican.
Since Donald
Trump took over the Republican Party, the party alignments have
dramatically changed. Prior to Trump, Republicans tended to overperform
in special elections since the most affluent voters tended to vote
Republican and were more reliable for non-presidential year elections.
Post-Trump, the coalitions have switched, and the GOP has had a problem
maintaining its strength in non-presidential year elections as the more
affluent voters have become increasingly Democrat.
All
put together, none of this strikes me as strong evidence for a coming
blue wave in the 2026 mid-terms. Could the Democrats win the U.S. House
that year? (The Senate is very unlikely
for reasons I have already explained.) Yes, certainly, with the numbers
as tight as they are. But there is no convincing evidence yet of a blue
wave. Certainly, the evidence from the results on Tuesday is not
particularly convincing, considering the facts that I outlined above.
But Politico, and the MSM it well represents, really wants
to see a blue wave in 2026. Because everyone they know and like agrees
with them that Donald Trump is the devil and that he and his Republicans
are going to destroy the country. So, the American people will surely
punish him/them. Like the Democrats/MSM projected would happen in 2024.
Except, things didn’t work out that way, then, and there is no such
assurance of it happening next year, either.
But don’t worry – the Democrats/MSM are going to keep projecting this wave until it does or doesn’t happen in 2026. “We’ll see how that works out” for them.
BTW,
I am not sure that the CW I mentioned above about the 1994 and 1996
elections is true, either. In 1994, the GOP won in a red wave called the
Gingrich Revolution that captured control of both the House and Senate;
for the former, it was the first time the Republicans controlled that
chamber in 40 years. That year, the GOP won 54 seats in the House and
eight seats in the Senate. In 1996, after all the Democrat/MSM attacks
on the “Contract on America” and “Newt (the) Grinch,” the Democrats won
back a net eight seats in the House, and they lost two more Senate
seats. They did, however, hold the presidency, where Bill Clinton
solidly beat Bob Dole and Ross Perot.
Now, I liked Bob
Dole. I voted for him. But I must admit, he was a rather poor candidate
that year, who was much older than Bill Clinton and rather
inarticulate. Plus, the economy was in good shape.
As they did in 1995-1996, I believe the Democrats/MSM are just projecting the latest Republican DOOM scenario.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
Help us continue exposing Democrats' plans to lead America down a dangerous path. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
We now know the names of the people leading the “resistance”
against President Donald Trump and the attacks on Elon Musk. They occupy
the highest levels of Congress and the pinnacle of the Ivy League.
They’ve called for more attacks against Tesla and are leading
“resistance” training to get more of it on the streets. Just like they
did in 2017, leading to the Summer of Love.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (☭-Wash.),
who just left her perch as chair of
the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Harvard professor Erica
Chenoweth
are holding “resistance” training sessions to get leftists
“street ready” for mass protests against President Donald Trump. The
goal is to cause so much unrest that Trump would be forced to resign.
During
a one-and-a-half-hour “resistance lab” training, Jayapal, a Seattle
Marxist, and Chenoweth, who heads the Nonviolent Action Lab at Harvard's
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard
Kennedy School, taught students on a Zoom call how fight for “democracy”
by taking to the streets in organized protests.
Though they paid
lip service to nonviolence, activists on the call were told to decide
what their “risk tolerance” is for these actions. That’s another way of
saying “Are you willing to get violent, go to jail, or hurt someone
else?” They said the attacks on Tesla were effective at moving people to
the streets. Oddly, (or is it?) they didn’t disavow the attacks on
Teslas or the people driving them.
The
Harvard professor said that “If at least 3-1/2% of the population
actively mobilized in a sustained way and in protests and demonstrations
um over a significant, you know, period of time like over a week or
something… in an anti-authoritarian movement,” the leader “always”
resigns.
Chenoweth said that civil unrest was a “collective project of making
this country a democracy and a country that works for everyone…” and by a
“country that works for everyone,” she meant for leftists.
You
might wonder why we can confidently claim this. The two far leftists
claimed that Trump was “destroying democracy” by dismantling USAID and
the Education Department. In other words, by dismantling their chief
form of propaganda and recruiting at the Ed Department and their chief
way of getting paid, USAID, their lifestyles will no longer be paid for
by taxpayers.
The Kennedy School recently ran an article opposing
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, claiming that it has
imperiled Americans’ data. This is apparently done by improving the
government’s hopelessly outdated computer systems that can’t communicate
with each other. No one has proven that anyone’s data has been stolen. Yet, the claim is industriously spread by the super smart smear merchants.
Why yes, the Kennedy School does receive taxpayer grants and funding from USAID
and the Department of Education, and the “Nonviolent Action Lab” is
being impacted by Trump’s freeze of funding. This went unmentioned by
the professor on the democracy dies in darkness doom Zoom.
Jayapal also founded OneAmerica,
which began as a pro-Islamic non-profit right after 9/11. The group
opposes deportations of all illegal immigrants and works to win them voting rights. There’s also a nice photo of Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell on the website.
These
leftists now declare that the griftus interruptus imposed by the Trump
Administration is “destroying democracy.” They’re on video explaining
how to cause civil unrest for at least a week to force Trump to resign.
They want thousands — preferably “3-1/2%” — to get “street ready” for
another Summer of Love.
She told Joan Walsh of The Nation recently that she's been prepping people for a while in her town halls and other ways.
But
we have seen this increase in local protests, coordinated across
multiple cities, the Tesla takedowns, the days of action, the showing up
at town halls, the calls that are coming in. We’ve been doing the town
halls in my district, of course, and they’ve been way oversubscribed.
But on the campaign side, we launched something we called the Resistance
Lab.
JW: You did it in Seattle, right?
PJ: Yes, and it just pumped me up in a whole different way.
JW: How do you describe the “Resistance Lab”?
PJ: The
idea is that we need to get people “strike ready.” If you’re in the
labor movement, you’d say strike ready and street ready. And in order to
do that, people need to understand: What are other models of countries
where democracies have fallen?
Just like Jayapal and the left did after Trump was elected the first time, leading to the Summer of Love.
And they’re planning it all.
Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing much-needed
accountability to our out-of-control bureaucracy as they take a chainsaw
to rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.
Help us continue to report on DOGE's accomplishments and expose Big Government corruption. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Two things are happening here:
first, the market was due for a reset. There was no way we’re going to
maintain the volume that was artificially inflated through an orgy of
government spending which created the Biden inflation crisis. Second,
the global elites hate American workers. The sell-off post-Liberation
Day, which we knew was coming, was induced by the elites who are unhappy
that we have a president who is trying to protect American workers.
The reciprocal tariff rollout isn’t the Embargo Act of 1807. There
will still be products on the shelves. The funniest thing about everyone
freaking out about the tariffs is that they’re trying to sell the fake
narrative that grocery stores will be barren wastelands.
Batya
Ungar-Sargon,
a left-wing populist and die-hard Trump supporter, put the
markets and the elites on blast for the sell-off, which she rightly
called despicable. Yet, she also finds it remarkable that Trump isn’t
caving, pushing through the agenda he promised on the stump despite the
forces working against him. It’s not the first time this president has
faced enemies everywhere. The Biden Justice Department tried to jail
him. It was all-out legal warfare, and Trump won. The markets are
betting against American workers over these little tariffs. It’s
insane.
Europe and the rest of the world can slap tariffs on
American goods, but we can’t issue reciprocal ones. It’s insane, and we
don’t need snotty economists to whitewash how this isn’t unfair. It
is—that’s the point.
“Wall Street is trying to short President Trump's agenda by betting
against the American worker. They can't stand that for the first time in
half a century, a president in choosing to stand with the American
working class over the international elites and China. It's despicable,”
she added.
Ungar-Sargon noted that the reason Trump won was
because he ran on respecting the dignity of the American worker,
realizing that de-industrialization has been a nightmare for working
families, and that shipping five million good manufacturing jobs
overseas to China and Mexico and then have hordes of illegal aliens
compete for the ones that remained here was an epic blunder. The real
sell-off was this trend of unbridled free trade, which both parties are
responsible for—Bill Clinton was the lead hitter, and it reached its
peak under George W. Bush.
The old ways of doing things pushed too many Americans to the back and kept them in a perpetual state of economic purgatory.
The Ford Motor Company logo is seen July 20, 2008 at a dealership in Hudson, Wisconsin.
Ford announced on Thursday that it will offer widespread discounts on
several vehicle models in an effort to keep car buyers engaged—just
hours after President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on auto imports took
effect.
The Detroit-based car manufacturer plans to lean on its healthy
inventory to offer customers thousands of dollars off. This comes as its
competitors will be increasing costs due to tariffs.
The announcement comes after Trump issued a 25% tariff on
foreign-made cars that took effect after midnight on Thursday. Starting
May 3rd, the tax will apply to imported car parts, which can add to costs for U.S. manufacturers.
According to the Anderson Economic Group, the highest impacted
foreign-made cars could increase by as high as a staggering $20,000,
while the least affected models would cost an additional $2,500 to
$5,000.
Ford’s new deal dubbed, “From America, For America” runs through June 3rd. It will offer all customers the same discount given to employees.
However, the deal is different from car to car, but it “could mean
savings of thousands of dollars on a vehicle,” a Ford spokesperson told
the New York Post.
Additionally, discounts can be put on top of other deal promotions,
and are eligible on 2024 and 2025 gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and diesel
Ford and Lincoln vehicles. The discount does not include Ford’s Raptor
models, specialty Mustangs and Bronco vehicles, the 2025 Expedition and
Navigator SUVs and its Super Duty trucks.
“In times like these, talk is cheap. At Ford, we believe in action,” the automaker said in a press release.
Other foreign automakers were also ready to discuss potential ways to avoid the tariffs.
Volvo said it was looking to make more cars and move production of
another vehicle model to its South Carolina factory — its first U.S.
facility, which was built in 2018.
“We will have to increase the number of cars we build in the U.S.,
and surely move another model to that factory,” CEO Håkan Samuelsson
told Bloomberg.
Furthermore, Volvo said they “will have to look closely” at what other it can add to U.S. production lines, Samuelsson said.
“The global car industry, as well as Volvo Cars, is facing increased
geopolitical complexity and regionalization. This makes Volvo Cars’
long-held strategy of building where we sell even more important,” a
Volvo spokesperson told the New York Post.
“Right now, we are ramping up our production of the EX90 in the U.S. to grow volumes and thereby also reduce costs,” they added.
Samuelsson said during an annual shareholder meeting that Volvo needs to “learn from the Chinese how to localize.”
He also said the company will need to cut production costs to protect its profits.
Luxury car company Mercedes said that it’s debating whether to change
some of its manufacturing to the U.S. to avoid additional costs from
the tariffs.
“We’re still assessing the impacts of these tariffs,” Jörg Burzer,
the automaker’s production chief, said during a company event in Germany
on Thursday, according to Bloomberg.
“We have made some plans, but flexibility is absolutely key,” he added.
Shares in Ford, Volvo and Mercedes fell on Thursday by 4.7%, 4.3% and 2.5%, respectively.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
EAST PALESTINE, OH – FEBRUARY 14: A Norfolk Southern train is en route
on February 14, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. Another train operated by
the company derailed on February 3, releasing toxic fumes and forcing
evacuation of residents.
This week marked the start of the trial to determine whether two
businesses will pay Norfolk Southern back for the $600 million
class-action settlement in the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment in 2023.
The settlement payout was previously accepted by Norfolk Southern.
However, the train company is now requesting that two businesses
contribute to the multimillion-dollar settlement: GATX Corp., a railcar
lessor, and Oxy Vinyls, a well-known chemical manufacturer.
Last year, the settlement, in addition to a 27% attorney fee, was
granted by U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson. This trial will also be
supervised by her.
The compensation sum would remain the same if the jury rules in favor
of Norfolk Southern. The two businesses would pay the rail company, but
the rail company is still liable for the payout — according to The Hill.
“Despite obtaining valuable releases under Norfolk Southern’s
settlement with the class, GATX and OxyVinyls have yet to contribute
anything to that settlement or to the class at all,” Norfolk Southern’s
attorneys stated in the court filings.
“The evidence presented at trial will establish that both GATX and
OxyVinyls acted negligently and that Norfolk Southern is entitled to
contribution from each.”
In September 2024, NewsNation had reported that many East
Palestine residents were unhappy with the large settlement, since they
were worried about the EPA’s handling of the contamination data — citing
a lack of transparency with the locals.
Jami Wallace, a resident who lived in East Palestine at the time,
called the judge’s ruling “a sham” as she left the courthouse. Wallace
also later told the press that the area’s “creeks are still
contaminated” on “NewsNation Now” in February.
“The only thing changing is people’s symptoms are actually going to
longer-term illnesses,” she stated, while pleading for more assistance
for East Palestine residents impacted by the toxic spill.
Three days after the disaster, local officials reportedly burned
116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, to stop explosions from
occurring. However, officials later discovered that the move wasn’t
necessary — fueling even more anger in the community.
“The deliberate burn of rail cars carrying hazardous chemicals after
last year’s crash in East Palestine wasn’t needed to avoid an explosion
because the rail cars were cooling off before they were set on fire, the
head of the National Transportation Safety Board told U.S. Sen. JD
Vance,” Cleveland News reported.
Additionally, local residents have continued to complain about
illnesses and other lingering issues related to the quality of the
community’s water source, according to The Hill.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
