Year: 2025

Trump Admin Considers Destroying $500 Million in COVID Tests

Buck Banks

$500 million

“The Trump administration has been evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of coronavirus tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans,” the Washington Post reports. “Internal documents show that officials in the Department of Health and Human Services have been considering two options: either disposing of or continuing to ship more than 160 million tests, valued at more than half a billion dollars. Only a small fraction of the tests are expired.”

Musk and DOGE Are NOT Saving the Government Money

Buck Banks

$30 billion a day

The Economist: “Every working day the Treasury publishes a statement detailing withdrawals of cash from its primary deposit account, providing the best high-frequency indicator of government spending. Since Donald Trump took office a little more than three weeks ago, outlays have averaged $30bn a day. Compare that with the same period last year under Joe Biden: federal spending back then came to about $26bn a day. … Outflows from the Treasury have actually risen since January 28th, when Mr Musk first claimed his ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, or DOGE, was saving the federal government $1bn a day.”

Trump’s Honeymoon Is Ending — Approval/Favorability Already Underwater

Buck Banks

46%

A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds President Trump’s approval rating and personal popularity falling over the past two weeks. This week’s poll finds Americans are less likely to approve of Trump (46%) than to disapprove (48%), and less likely to view him favorably (46%) than unfavorably (52%).

Trumponomics: Inflation Is Rising

Buck Banks

3%

U.S. inflation rose to 3% in January, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to extend a pause on interest rate cuts, reported the New York Times. The Consumer Price Index jumped more than expected, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday, rising 0.5% from December in what was the fastest monthly increase since August 2023. Last month, the annual pace was 2.9%. “Core” C.P.I., which more closely reflects underlying inflation by removing volatile food and energy prices, also showed little improvement. It rose 0.4% from December or 3.3% on a year-over-year basis, both higher than economists expected. The monthly increase in core prices was the highest since April 2023.