Governor Hochul Makes a Transportation Announcement at Albany International Airport

The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve voted to lower interest rates by 0.25%.

The vote happened after Trump applied months of public pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates. The president has moved to install multiple new governors who would vote to reduce rates, with the newest Trump-aligned governor, Stephen Miran, joining the board this week.

"President Trump wants lower interest rates, and on Wednesday, he got his wish as the Federal Open Market Committee cut the overnight rate by a quarter point," the editors argued in a new op-ed. "The FOMC also delivered an implicit warning about what this might mean for the economy. Mr. Trump now owns that, too."

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that there are still some risks the U.S. economy needs to navigate. For instance, inflation and unemployment have trickled upwards. Powell said those factors have the central bank torn between two mandates: stabilizing prices and maximizing employment.

The Journal's editorial board also wished Trump "good luck" as his administration addresses these economic conditions.

"It may be that everything works out fine: inflation drifts downward after a brief price bump from tariffs, the economy booms despite tariffs and a looming labor shortage, the housing market enters a new golden age, and financial markets gallop happily off into the artificial-intelligence sunset," the editors wrote.

"But if Mr. Trump is wrong, voters will notice sustained inflation and the lack of gains in real wages. Having staked so much on his political assault on the Fed, Mr. Trump owns the outcome now for good or ill," they added.

Read the entire op-ed here.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) offered an apology to fired CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez on Wednesday during the Senate Health Committee hearing, surprising CNN anchor Brianna Keilar.

"That apology from Sen. Kaine was really something," Keilar said, adding that officials who heard her testimony over her resignation called her and other CDC officials who resigned "heroes."

Monarez was fired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy disputes. In the hearing, Monarez testified that Kennedy asked her not to talk to senators and pressured her to give him full pre-approval over any changes to vaccine policies at the agency. She, along with other ousted colleagues, warned the senators that Kennedy is risking Americans' public health.

“Dr. Monarez, I owe you an apology," Kaine said. "When you were here for your confirmation hearing, I questioned you very significantly, not on your qualifications – you got over the qualifications bar easily – but my worries about the direction of HHS made me question you very significantly on your backbone, a trait that is not in long supply in this town. And then when I voted against your confirmation. I cited that as the reason. Again, no concern about your qualifications. I had concern about your backbone. And I was wrong and I apologize to you for being wrong. I think it’s important when you’re wrong to admit you’re wrong.”

Democrats had voted unanimously against her confirmation.

Kennedy, who is known for his anti-vaccine advocacy, later fired 17 CDC employees and replaced them with his own selected staff who follow his views.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that issues vaccine recommendations, is scheduled to meet Thursday, according to reports.

Ex-Trump associate Lev Parnas warned that Donald Trump’s recent NATO letter amounts to a dangerous signal to Vladimir Putin. In a weekend essay, Parnas argued Trump’s demand that NATO impose massive tariffs on China until the Ukraine war ends reads less like foreign policy and more like a real estate shakedown. He claimed Trump is echoing Kremlin talking points by calling it “Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s war” and using inflated casualty numbers. According to Parnas, the letter proves Trump isn’t serious about NATO or democracy, but about leverage—sending Putin the message: “I got your back.”

Watch the video below.

Ex-ally says Trump’s NATO letter sends dangerous “I got your back” signal to Putin roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms