A (2:47)

Are the other candidates still serious contenders? There was Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock executive Rick Reeder.

B (2:55)

Look, if you've interviewed with Donald Trump for a job and he hasn't picked anybody for the job, even if you're not the frontrunner, you still have a chance because he could change his mind again. So initially, they had suggested this would be an October, November decision. Most recently, the timing has shifted to the next few weeks. Jay Powell, the current Fed chair, his seat runs until May 15th. You would probably want to do it two or three months ahead of that so that the Senate can have plenty of time to do the confirmation.

A (3:29)

You write that the criminal investigation into Powell has thrown a twist into this search for his replacement. What are the issues that have come up on Capitol Hill?

B (3:38)

So there are a lot of people who today, analysts want to connect the backlash to the probe by the DOJ and to the Fed to Hassett falling out of favor. And the reason for that is pretty simple. Kevin Hassett had been seen as the frontrunner because of his closeness to Trump, that Trump wants someone who's loyal. But the probe creates a problem, which is nobody likes this on Capitol Hill. They think it underscores the idea that Donald Trump is going to compromise the independence of the Fed. And so now there's much more attention being placed by the Senate that's gonna have to confirm the next Fed chair on who this person might be. And so the thinking there would be, maybe it'll be easier to get somebody confirmed if they have a little bit more distance and can hold up the idea that they'll be independent.

A (4:28)

And how does this jostling over who the Fed chair may be affect perceptions of interest rate decisions?

B (4:34)

Well, it doesn't really change too much with either of the two Kevins. Maybe people think Kevin Hassett would be a little bit more likely than Kevin Warsh to push for rate cuts. But most analysts who are watching this think that at least in 2026, both men would try to secure a couple more interest rate cuts, since that's what Donald Trump has made so clear that he wants. The question really then would be about, well, what happens in 2027 and 2028.

A (5:02)

That was WSJ chief economics correspondent Nick Timoros. Thanks, Nick.

B (5:06)

Thanks for.

A (5:11)

In other news from the White House today, President Trump will issue a plan next week for letting Americans tap their 401k retirement accounts for a down payment on a home. That's according to Kevin Hassett, who we were just talking about, who was speaking on Fox Business today. It's the latest affordability proposal floated by the White House. Right now, first time homebuyers who were under age 59 and a half can take up to $10,000 out of their IRAs without a penalty, though there are different rules for other retirement accounts. It's not clear how Trump's new plan would be different from existing options. Turning to foreign affairs, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries that oppose his efforts to take control of Greenland. He discussed it during that same health care event at the White House this morning.

C (5:53)

I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security, so I may do that.

A (5:58)

Trump said that owning Greenland is vital for America's national security. And the White House hasn't ruled out using force to take the Danish territory. Several European countries have sent small numbers of troops to Greenland this week as part of an effort to deter U.S. interest in the island. And with a decision on military action apparently on pause, the US has turned to economic pressure on Iran. It placed new sanctions on officials it said were responsible for the crackdown on nationwide protests. Human rights groups estimate that the death toll has risen past 2,600 people. The director of the CIA traveled to Caracas yesterday to meet with Acting President Delsey Rodriguez. It's the first known visit by a senior US Official to Venezuela since the ouster of Nicolas Maduro earlier this month. According to a US Official, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Rodriguez that the Trump administration wants to strengthen its working relationship with the government and discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration. Rodriguez has cooperated with the Trump administration's demands, but she's kept up the nationalist rhetoric at home. In a speech yesterday, she said Venezuela would continue to do business with U.S. adversaries. And leaders of the Oglala Sioux tribe say that federal agents have arrested several Native American men, all of whom are US Citizens amid the immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. A Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency has not been able to verify the claim. Coming up, a piece of chicken, some broccoli, a tortilla, and one other thing for $3. Our reporter did it. That's after the break.

D (7:40)

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A (8:14)

Treasury yields climbed after Trump's comments about Hassett, but stocks were little changed and major US Indexes ended the day slightly lower. The Dow had the biggest drop, falling 0.2%. OpenAI plans to start testing ads in ChatGPT, a big shift in its business strategy as it tries to grow revenue. OpenAI says the ads won't influence what ChatGPT says, and that there won't be ads when the chatbot's dealing with sensitive topics like mental health and politics. The company also says user conversations won't be sold to advertisers. News Corp. The Journal's owner, has a content licensing partnership with OpenAI. Today, the U.S. supreme Court said it would take up an appeal from Bayer about litigation over Roundup, the most widely used weed killer in the world. The company's argued that consumers shouldn't be able to sue it for failing to warn about cancer risks because US Federal regulators have determined that Roundup's main chemical ingredient doesn't require a cancer warning. If Bayer wins, it could help lead to the dismissal of thousands of cases against the company. Litigation that has cost it billions of dollars. And Mitsubishi has agreed to acquire a U.S. shale gas business for $5.2 billion in the Japanese company's biggest deal ever. Mitsubishi's CEO said owning U.S. assets was important for Japan's energy security, as supply has been unstable because of geopolitical events in Venezuela, Iran and Ukraine. And finally, how much does a nutritious dinner cost? According to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins, it should only be a few bucks. Earlier this week, Rollins said on the News Nation TV network that Americans could actually save money while eating according to the government's new dietary guidelines that emphasize protein. We've run over a thousand simulations. It can cost around $3ameal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, corn tortilla and one other thing. Two intrepid Journal reporters put this claim to the test and found it was possible to make a $3 dinner, if not necessarily all that delicious. WSJ reporter Jared Mitovich is joining me now from Boston. So, Jared, how did you and your colleague Rachel Wolf go about starting to address this question?

E (10:25)

Yeah, so the first thing we did was think about what is the Agriculture secretary telling us to purchase. We also wanted to make sure we were consulting the Agriculture Department's dietary guidance. Rachel and I decided to hit the two grocery stores we could find closest by. We both tried to find boneless chicken breasts for as cheap as we could. I got Purdue. We both found flour tortillas. We couldn't find corn in either of our stores. And then we found broccoli.

A (10:51)

And what was your one other thing?

E (10:53)

My one other thing was Vermont cheddar cheese tried to stick with New England flavors. The department does advise us to have dairy with our meal. We were trying to make sure we hit all the groups right, vegetables, protein, dairy and grains. So the ingredients that I purchased to put this $3 meal together ended up totaling me $26. Portioning it out to follow the secretary's guidance did get us to a total of $2.91. I wouldn't say it was the most filling meal. I wouldn't say it was maybe the most flavorful. But that wasn't really our goal. It was trying to see what is the meal that the secretary and the new guidance are advising. What does that actually look like and taste like?

A (11:32)

So is this something you're going to do on the regular now?

E (11:35)

Well, I do have some leftovers, so I'm probably going to keep parceling it out and seeing if I can really live the full Brooke Rollins $3 meal lifestyle. But no, I think it's definitely interesting to make sure these claims checked. It was an interesting experiment, but as possible as it is, it's not always realistic. If you're time limited, limited by your geography, how close you are to a storm. And that's something that the secretary mentioned too, that while they're promoting more protein or healthier food, they're staying cognizant of the fact that they need to make that food more accessible to lower income households in particular.

A (12:07)

That was WSJ reporter Jared Mitovich. Thanks, Jared.

E (12:10)

Thank you.

A (12:11)

And that's what's news for this week. Tomorrow you can look out for our weekly markets wrap up, what's news in markets. Then on Sunday, we'll be discussing how China's approach to AI technology is threatening Silicon Valley. That's in what's New Sunday. We're off Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And we'll be back with our regular show on Tuesday morning. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienname with supervising producer Tali Arbel. Michael Lavall wrote our theme music. Jessica Fenton is our technical manager. Aisha El Muslib is our development producer. Chris Zinsley is our deputy editor, and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. I'm Alex Osola. Thanks for listening.