Trump regime

The Hill - The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it is dropping its criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve and its chair Jerome Powell. An ongoing criminal investigation would continue to delay the confirmation process for Trump’s nominee to be the next Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. Closing the case could clear the way for Warsh to be confirmed by the Senate in the coming days.

Timing: Powell’s term ends on May 15. However, the Federal Reserve chair typically does not step down until a replacement is confirmed. Today’s announcement could put that timing back on track.

Is this saga over for Powell?: Well, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that she asked the Fed inspector general to investigate Powell and the Fed renovations.

The Hill - The Navy secretary’s removal, which caught many officials and lawmakers by surprise, comes as the president has aggressively pushed to supercharge U.S. shipbuilding, the commander in chief’s growing priority in efforts to counter China’s industrial and naval might.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery said Thursday that he was not “disappointed” with Phelan’s ouster, but he said his grumbles with the Navy secretary were over the Trump-class battleship. “He and the president cooked up an extremely bad idea, which is a very large target known as a battleship. That’s going to cost $24 to $26 billion minimum. For the first one, which is the cost of like, 12 destroyers,” Montgomery, a senior director for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told reporters Thursday morning. 

In late December, Trump announced a new class of battleships as part of the U.S. Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” envisioned as an upgrade to the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. 

Trump aimed for the new class of battleships to be built by 2028, a timeline experts argued would be unlikely, saying the new vessels would take billions of dollars and far more time to complete. 

The Navy asked for a $377 billion budget for next year, including more than $65.8 billion for shipbuilding, to procure 18 warships, including destroyers and submarines.