President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order aiming to bring independent agencies under White House control, expanding executive power and potentially facing legal challenges. Matt discusses the unitary executive theory, asserting the President’s authority over the executive branch, comparing it to a CEO’s control over employees. The conversation explores the pros and cons of independent agencies like the Federal Reserve, which maintains economic stability but can be politically influenced. Matt argues that while independence shields agencies from political pressure, it also makes them unaccountable. The debate highlights the tension between the benefits of independence and the need for accountability in executive decision-making.
Thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Monday as powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and a partial government shutdown affecting airport security screeners dragged into a second month.
Days of downpours have begun in Hawaii. The Southwest will soon bake with day after day of record 100-degree-plus (38 Celsius-plus) heat. Two storms will dump snow by the foot over northern Great Lakes states. And the dreaded polar vortex will again invade the Midwest and East with soul-crushing Arctic chill. This forecast of extremes comes as weather whiplash has already hit much of the East.
An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved higher in January in the latest sign that prices were persistently elevated even before the Iran war caused spikes in oil and gas costs.
A man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials are saying was an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official said Friday.
