Transcript
Charles Schwab (0:00)
This podcast is supported by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day, but what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen@schwab.com WashingtonWise.
Tracie Mumford (0:26)
From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracie Mumford. Today's Friday, May 30th. Here's what we're covering today. President Trump said he's going to hold a press conference at the White House to say goodbye to Elon Musk. Musk's been talking about his departure from the administration for weeks, wrapping up his role that's been unlike any in the history of American government. The world's richest man, Musk wielded a huge amount of influence in the White House, though he was never confirmed by the Senate to any official cabinet position. He was the face of Trump's federal spending cuts with his Department of Government efficiency, gleefully talking about feeding programs into the wood chipper. And he faced backlash from the public for it, too. Marking his exit, Trump wrote, quote, this will be his last day, but not really because he will always be with us, helping all the way. He Elon is terrific. As Musk leaves Washington, the Times has learned new details about his drug use when he first joined President Trump on the campaign trail. While Musk was stumping for Trump, jumping around on stage at rallies and donating about $275 million to the campaign, he was doing drugs far more intensely than previously known. As you can see, I'm not just maga. I'm dark maga. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. He told people he was having health issues that match side effects associated with chronic ketamine use. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall. It's unclear whether Musk continued taking drugs when he started working at the White House and was given the authority to reshape the federal government. But he did exhibit erratic and troubling behavior, insulting cabinet members, garbling his answers in an interview and gesturing like a Nazi. Musk has previously said he takes ketamine for depression, though he didn't respond to requests from the Times for comment. The White House also didn't respond when asked if Musk had to take drug tests as part of his role. Now three more updates on the Trump administration, A court ruling blocking President Trump's steep tariffs was in place for less than 24 hours before a separate court paused that decision yesterday, sowing even more confusion for American consumers and the global economy. The tariffs will remain in effect while a panel of judges now decides whether the president had the power to single handedly impose the surcharges. In the meantime, Trump officials have been intensifying their attacks on judges who rule against the administration's policies. Three judges of the U.S. court of International Trade brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp the authority of President Trump. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said America cannot function if the president is being, quote, railroaded by activist judges. Two of the trade court judges who originally found the tariffs were illegal are Republican appointees. One was named to the bench by Trump himself. Also, when the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again commission released a report last week on children's health issues, it called this generation the sickest in American history and said its findings were a, quote, evidence based foundation for taking action. But it's now become clear the report cited studies that do not exist that included fictitious research about drug advertising, mental illness and medications for children with asthma. One expert on medical journalism said the errors were characteristic of what happens when you use artificial intelligence, though it's unclear if the commission relied on that technology. The report has since been reposted with corrections and at the Department of Homeland Security, I have not been satisfied with the numbers. Kristi Noem, Steve Miller, myself, we all want more numbers. So we expect a fast increase in number of arrests every day. Several top officials have left their jobs, part of a shakeup in leadership as the Trump administration pressures the department to ramp up deportations. The White House says immigration authorities have been arresting about 700 people a day, but it's aiming to get that number up to 3,000. Meanwhile, the Times has been reporting on how the administration's aggressive crackdown is affecting immigrant communities, in particular farm workers, many of whom are undocumented.