Balance of Power

With Congress now in August recess, President Donald Trump and Congress have a long list of items that may see action before the midterm elections. Yet with only a handful of days in September when both chambers are in action, many of the initiatives could prove to be no more than headline risks and opportunities for companies and sectors.
On Bloomberg Intelligence's August 10 Washington Policy Pulse, we discussed how a Senate continuing resolution to keep the government open until Dec. 11 -- which includes an extension of the Highway Authorization bill -- will likely be adopted, staving off, but not stopping a $580 billion highway package key for Vulcan, CRH and Marietta. We also looked what fares next for the CLARTY Act and Coinbase and Robinhood after it failed to pass the Senate before recess. Finally, we updated clients on the outlook for the farm bill, defense spending, and a bill that would allow President Donald Trump to place tariffs on countries that purchase oil from Russia.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.
Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
US President Donald Trump signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build rather than launch fresh military strikes to force a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, even as the Islamic Republic reiterated that the conditions still aren’t in place to allow free passage through the key waterway.

“We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump told Axios in an interview on Sunday, saying that a US naval blockade of the country was deepening its financial woes. “We are low-keying it.”

The president’s comments mark a shift from his repeated threats to escalate the bombing campaign against Iran and come amid lingering talks between Tehran and Oman to reopen Hormuz. Iran has said it’s nearing a deal, while laying out a list of demands for Washington to meet before shipping can resume — including the lifting of sanctions.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg White House Correspondent Josh Wingrove.
Democratic Congresswoman Suzan DelBene of Washington, Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodities Strategist Mike McGlone.
Princeton University Professor of Near Eastern Studies Bernard Haykel.
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Our Town from Bloomberg’s Big Take podcast follows residents of Gainesboro, Tennessee, after a group of far-right Christians moves in with plans for a radical social experiment.

Listen to Episode 1 on the Big Take.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

The Senate voted to pass a slate of sweeping new sanctions against Russia Friday afternoon and extended existing sanctions against Iran. The bill faced pushback over its use of tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, with some Democrats and Republican Rand Paul saying that would give President Trump too much authority to place new tariffs on countries like China and India. The Senate also made moves towards confirming Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche. Earlier in the day Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said that he would back Blanche, clearing the way for his confirmation to the role. Giving remarks on the Senate floor Cassidy said, 'Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general, who may not run the department effectively under President Trump.'

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:
Bloomberg White House Correspondent Josh Wingrove
Former Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Joe Biden Jared Bernstein
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Bluestack Strategies Founder Maura Gillespie
Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall sits down with US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll
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President Trump took to Truth Social Thursday to hit back at reports that the US has depleted much of its munitions stockpile and that the president clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the state of the stockpile. President Trump wrote, "The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions'" in his post and said that more were being manufactured. In an additional post Thursday afternoon, he doubled down saying 'I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing.'

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy.

On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:
Bloomberg White House Correspondent Jeff Mason
Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis.
Former Republican Congressman from North Carolina and Former House Financial Services Committee chairman Patrick McHenry
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