Today’s notice: One Republican senator hopes it’s not “Libation Day.” A powerful trade association called it “complicated.” The Trump administration says it’s going to work, no matter what the numbers say. Plus: the fossil fuel industry and DOGE.
It’s a Numbers Game
There is a great deal no one knows about what Donald Trump’s new tariff plan will do for (or to!) the economy. But one thing we can be sure of: Trump administration officials are publicly building a new way to measure the country’s economic health so the dial always points to “going great.”
Howard Lutnick has proposed changing the way GDP is measured. Karoline Leavitt told NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright at a briefing the other day that “the market is a snapshot in time” and “just like they were in his first term, Wall Street will be just fine.” (Using new math is also hot on Capitol Hill these days, but more on that below.)