Trump’s Self-Defeating Attacks on the Fed Michael R. Strain warns that the president’s threats against Jerome Powell are jeopardizing his three main goals.

Fin/ But to ensure Warsh's timely confirmation, Republican senators must pressure Trump to drop the threats and the criminal investigation into Powell.

They must convince the president to get out of his own way.

www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t... @projectsyndicate.bsky.social #econsky

Trump’s Self-Defeating Attacks on the Fed Michael R. Strain warns that the president’s threats against Jerome Powell are jeopardizing his three main goals.

4/ Warsh will be a terrific Fed chairman, bringing many skills and attributes to the post. Much of his reform agenda is laudable and necessary.

www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t... @projectsyndicate.bsky.social #econsky

Trump’s Self-Defeating Attacks on the Fed Michael R. Strain warns that the president’s threats against Jerome Powell are jeopardizing his three main goals.

3/ Warsh's nomination hearing for Fed chairman is today. A main subject of the hearing will be Trump's scandalous decision to weaponize the threat of criminal prosecution against Powell in order to get the Fed to lower interest rates.

#econsky

www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t...

2/ Traders on Polymarket think the odds of Warsh being confirmed by May 14 are a measly 2 percent. If that doesn't happen, then Powell will stay on as chairman pro tempore after his term expires on May 15. This is the opposite of what Trump wants. Trump has only himself to blame.

#econsky

Trump’s Self-Defeating Attacks on the Fed Michael R. Strain warns that the president’s threats against Jerome Powell are jeopardizing his three main goals.

🧵President Trump has three goals when it comes to the Federal Reserve, including having Kevin Warsh as chairman. But Mr. Trump’s own vindictiveness and lack of discipline are thwarting all three goals.

My @projectsyndicate.bsky.social column: www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t... #econsky

Thank you!

Good from @michaelrstrain.bsky.social: remarkable how long it's taken to admit that with the great exception of trade policy, Trump has governed economically like the think tanks that write his legislation.

www.ft.com/content/c8c4...

Trumpism has done remarkably little to the GOP’s centre of gravity Most of the things that make it distinct from traditional conservatism won’t last

Trumpism has done remarkably little to the GOP’s centre of gravity—Trumpism barely works for Trump — most Americans disapprove of his job performance, including on inflation and immigration, the issues crucial… www.ft.com/content/c8c4... @michaelrstrain.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Ultimately, most things that make Trumpism distinct from traditional conservatism won’t last because they are not a coherent whole that another politician could easily inherit.

My @financialtimes.com column: www.ft.com/content/c8c4... #econsky

I had the privilege of organizing economist amicus briefs in support of the parties challenging the administration’s most recent round of worldwide tariffs. The cases are Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. Trump. and Oregon et al. v. Trump, both before the U.S. Court of International Trade.

How Much AI-Driven Productivity Growth Do We Want? Michael R. Strain argues that the benefits of substantial gains would outweigh the costs in advanced economies.

Economists have been discussing generative AI’s possible effects on productivity. But from a cultural and political perspective, it is useful to ask: How much productivity growth should society desire?

My @projectsyndicate.bsky.social column. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a... #econsky

An Iran shock will further damage fragile inflation psychology Business and households alike are worrying — the Fed should be too

An Iran shock will further damage fragile inflation psychology-
What should the Fed do? On the one hand, increasing interest rates in a weakening economy could be damaging. At the same time, it is imperative — after… www.ft.com/content/b9fd... @michaelrstrain.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

An Iran shock will further damage fragile inflation psychology Business and households alike are worrying — the Fed should be too

3/ A self-reinforcing inflationary spiral is a real concern.

www.ft.com/content/b9fd... #econsky

An Iran shock will further damage fragile inflation psychology Business and households alike are worrying — the Fed should be too

2/ If an energy price shock caused by the Iran war leads the public to worry that inflation is accelerating, then that concern could itself cause inflation to accelerate. And the public seems primed to worry about exactly that. 

www.ft.com/content/b9fd... #econsky

An Iran shock will further damage fragile inflation psychology Business and households alike are worrying — the Fed should be too

1/ The Fed should treat inflation psychology as fragile — which makes the current situation in the Middle East even more precarious.

My @financialtimes.com column.

www.ft.com/content/b9fd... #econsky

Christians vs. America’s Taliban Michael R. Strain explains why any serious conservative should reject the post-liberal far right's push for theocratic government.

2/ The state has no business using coercion in matters of conscience, as the Catholic Church itself has long made clear.

My @projectsyndicate.bsky.social column www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/c... #econsky

Christians vs. America’s Taliban Michael R. Strain explains why any serious conservative should reject the post-liberal far right's push for theocratic government.

1/ With both the Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes & more genteel post-liberal commentators calling for their own religious views to be imposed on others, traditional conservatives and Christians must speak up.

My @projectsyndicate.bsky.social column www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/c... #econsky

Everything you thought about the US labour market is wrong The conventional view has struggled to contend with robust economic growth

Though the Fed thinks it has its foot on the economy’s brake pedal, it is actually hitting the gas. Even if the central bank keeps the policy rate at its current level, it may need to raise rates in the second half of this year.

My FT column: www.ft.com/content/2422... #econsky

Is Affluence a Barrier to Living Well? Michael R. Strain thinks the struggle for subsistence and the struggle to flourish occurs simultaneously.

Rich democracies are doing better than ever across many broad measures. While there are genuine concerns about democratic capitalism, it is hardly an obstacle to human flourishing, argues @michaelrstrain.bsky.social. bit.ly/49RnEcn

The year ahead in US politics [FREE TO READ] Friends of the Swamp look forward to what is likely to be a pivotal period, culminating in November’s midterm elections

In the latest FT Swamp Notes newsletter (and before the seizure of Maduro), I asked @constelz.bsky.social, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social, @sohrabahmari.bsky.social, Lauren Fedor and Rebecca Katz to offer some guidance to the year ahead in US politics as.ft.com/r/faed7e98-5...

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

Fin/ Welcome to 2026. The battle for the post-Trump future of the political right has begun.

My @financialtimes.com column: www.ft.com/content/9adf... #econsky

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

5/ For conservatives, the only way out of this mess is through it. The fight to keep extremists, their allies and those who would redefine American identity at bay can’t be sidestepped. 

My @financialtimes.com column: www.ft.com/content/9adf... #econsky

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

4/ Third, conservatives must resist the ascendant effort to redefine American identity as blood-and-soil nationalism.

My @financialtimes.com column: www.ft.com/content/9adf... #econsky

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

3/ Second, conservatives must push the broader political right to enforce ideological borders against extremism.

My @financialtimes.com column: www.ft.com/content/9adf... #econsky

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

2/ First, recognise that those of us who prioritise individual liberty, limited government, free markets, personal responsibility, economic opportunity, America’s “credal identity” and US global leadership are a faction on the political right, and not the whole of the right.

🧵 The rot on America’s political right runs deep. Perhaps because of their growing numbers and influence, some on the right apparently seem to believe that the political success of the Republican party requires playing footsie with racists, bigots and antisemites.

What are conservatives to do?

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun Conservatism is a big tent, but there should be no room in it for those who deny the dignity of all human beings

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun-The writer is director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. www.ft.com/content/9adf... @michaelrstrain.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Populism won’t help U.S. workers. Here’s what will | George W. Bush Presidential Center

5/ But what reforms would? How, in a populist age, can policymakers actually deliver more prosperity to the Americans who need it most?

www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/bui... #econsky

Populism won’t help U.S. workers. Here’s what will | George W. Bush Presidential Center

4/ Unfortunately, the solutions being offered by today’s populists – namely protectionism, nationalism, and larger, more heavy-handed government – simply won’t fix the problems they purport to solve.

www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/bui... #econsky

Populism won’t help U.S. workers. Here’s what will | George W. Bush Presidential Center

3/ Critics of populism – myself included – should be among the first to acknowledge that this impulse to focus on the problems facing American workers is both welcome and long overdue.

www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/bui... #econsky