Washington Insider

Bloomberg is reporting this week that key Republicans have withheld support for an initial agreement on government funding totals, as lawmakers continue to work toward a deal on an omnibus appropriations measure by the end of next week.

Bloomberg is reporting this week that the U.S. will soon have a new climate czar, John Kerry, the former senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate. In explaining the role's placement within the National Security Council, President-elect Joe Biden said he wanted to put “climate...

The World Trade Organization has been without a boss — the Director General — since September, when Roberto Azevedo stepped down one year before the end of his mandate. Since then, the 164 members that make up the organization have been discussing who his replacement should be.

Progressives and others have been lobbying the White House to create a special office dedicated to climate change which they say could be created through executive fiat and akin to a National Security Council on climate. However, some of them said naming John Kerry isn't sufficient.

Recently, advocates have been looking hard at the new administration's $2 trillion Build Back Better proposal for the U.S. economy that includes investment in schools, water systems, municipal transit and universal broadband. To move the plan forward, though, requires Congress to come together...

The New York Times is reporting that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had announced last week the discontinuation of several Fed programs, including those that support the markets for corporate bonds and municipal debt and one that extends loans to...

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, once a lead negotiator working on a new coronavirus stimulus package, is now proclaiming that it's up to Congress to proceed with any talks, even though the issue has been a “priority” for the president.

U.S. Senate's top Republican and Democrats are continuing to battle over the size of fiscal stimulus needed to support the economy and that the dispute is continuing to play out even as Congress breaks for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The New York Times reported this week that “in addition to a deadly pandemic and a weakened economy, the next president will inherit a toxic relationship with the world's second-largest economy, China."

Record-low mortgage rates, reflecting the ultra-easy Fed policy, have prompted a steady wave of refinancing and allowed homeowners to reduce monthly payments or tap equity. Americans are also holding more cash, helped in part by stimuli from the government, Bloomberg says.

Bloomberg is reporting this week that several Asia Pacific nations including China, Japan and South Korea on Sunday signed the world's largest regional free trade agreement, encompassing nearly one-third of the world's population and gross domestic product.

When President Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and took his “America First” campaign into government, many of the world's pundits declared the end of the western-led trade order and globalization. Four years on, there are still plenty of thinkers who see reasons for gloom...

U.S. Senate's top Republican and Democrat are continuing to battle “over the size of fiscal stimulus needed to support the economy,” and that the dispute is dimming any hopes for an immediate package as lawmakers reconvene following the election.

The European Union said Monday that it would begin imposing sweeping tariffs on around $4 billion worth of American aircraft, food, drinks and other products beginning Tuesday. The action was authorized by the World Trade Organization last month in retaliation for “years of illegal...

Joe Biden is largely ignoring President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine his victory, Bloomberg reports. He is methodically moving forward moving to launch his transition and is working to identify potential appointees to White House staff jobs.

Joe Biden is largely ignoring President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine his victory, Bloomberg reports. He is methodically moving forward moving to launch his transition and is working to identify potential appointees to White House staff jobs.

The Washington Post, and many others reported last week that the U.S. economy added 638,000 jobs in October. Still, the report was largely seen as “the latest sign that the economic recovery has slowed compared with earlier in the summer, amid rising coronavirus cases that continue to...

Both presidential candidates made sweeping campaign promises to strengthen the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure, but the issue has long defied solution. As a result, Bloomberg says that the next president likely will hit the same speed bump that has plagued Washington for...

Despite pledges of debt relief and expanded programs, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have delivered meager aid to the developing world.

Bloomberg thinks Americans' view of trade is more optimistic than ever and has only become more so under this administration. In February 2016 when Gallup asked Americans whether they saw foreign trade as more of a threat or opportunity, the optimistic view won 58-33. By February of this...