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Trump Accountability Watch: Donald Trump, Agent of Economic Chaos

 

For an administration well-known for fanning chaos, division, confusion, and brinkmanship, it somehow continues to surprise. Following President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” and his administration’s historically doomed tariffs against ally and adversary countries alike (except Russia, of course), over $6 trillion in U.S. shareholder value evaporated in just 48 hours, and the nation was put on a crash course to the next Great Recession. 

 

Perhaps after enough cries for mercy from Republican megadonors on Wall Street, a week later, President Trump announced a pause on his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for many countries except for one of America’s biggest trading partners, China — raising tariffs on Chinese exports to 145% which are virtually guaranteed to jack up costs on countless goods in the U.S. and effectively impose a giant new national sales tax that everyday American consumers will be forced to pay. Regardless of the semi “pause”, severe and needless economic damage has already been wrought and will continue. As The Atlantic put it: 

 

“That [tariff] retreat might have averted a worldwide economic meltdown, but to conclude that the danger is over would be a big mistake. The whirlwind of the past week has paralyzed businesses, rattled financial markets, undermined confidence in the dollar, frozen the Federal Reserve, and scared consumers. Most of that damage will not be undone by Trump’s tariff pause. The world has seen things it cannot unsee.”

 

With the administration’s whiplash, recession-flirting approach to tariff policy, American workers have been left to wonder if they should prepare for a severe economic downturn, while those nearing retirement wonder if they need to continue to work longer than expected. Meanwhile, the President is clearly enjoying the wild ride, yucking it up about how his wealthy insider golfing buddies made out huge from the very temporary stock market rebound: 

 

“He made $2.5 million today, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad,” Trump said, pointing to financial investor Charles Schwab and Roger Penske, a NASCAR team owner, respectively.

 

And there was even some money to be made for the Trump family from the President’s grand game of world economic chicken. On the morning of the same day the President announced the tariff pause, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” stock, writing “DJT”– strikingly similar to the the ticker for Trump Media & Technology Group, which he defiantly remains the majority stake owner in despite the major conflicts of interest. And it certainly worked to his own benefit, prompting calls from Democratic Senators to investigate very likely illegal insider trading. 

 

Speaking of insider trading, Accountable.US launched Cash in Congress this week, the only comprehensive database detailing every Congressional Republican member’s personal financial stake in extending the pass-through and estate tax changes from the Trump tax scam. With more than 100 million Americans facing unprecedented cuts to their health care under the Trump budget plan that House Republicans passed on Thursday, a staggering 70% of these same lawmakers could financially benefit themselves with their own tax plan.

 

Meanwhile, many in the Trump administration have also acquired a taste for sowing chaos and confusion. Last week, several White House officials anonymously told the Wall Street Journal how “exasperated” they were with billionaire Commerce Secretary and tariff cheerleader Howard Lutnick, “particularly when Lutnick grows emotional in White House meetings.” In other news, Politico noted that on Monday that as Treasury Secretary Bessent announced the U.S. was opening negotiations with Japan over tariffs, around the same time Trump’s trade czar, Peter Navarro (a.k.a. Ron Vera) published an op-ed in the Financial Times digging his heels in on “no negotiations.” Then, hugely unpopular “DOGE” front man Elon Musk publicly called Navarro a “moron” for speaking ill of Tesla manufacturing practices. Speaking of Musk, despite reports he was headed for the administration exit, he continues to show up to cabinet meetings. 

 

And on Thursday, just minutes before her confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management suddenly was withdrawn on the heels of reports the prominent oil industry shill “privately wrote that she had been ‘disgusted’ by Trump “spreading misinformation” on Jan. 6, 2021.” The truth hurts sometimes. Apparently, not even insiders of an industry that gave record donations to Trump’s campaign are welcome in the administration if they dare to point out that Trump has presented zero credible evidence in multiple courtrooms that he did not resoundingly lose the 2020 election. 

 

All in all, it was an especially remarkable week of Trump administration economic self-sabotage that American families will pay for for months, if not years, to come.

 

ACCOUNTABLE.US IN THE NEWS:

Politico Playbook: NEW THIS MORNING: Accountable.US has launched Cash in Congress — a website that includes a comprehensive database that tracks congressional Republicans’ personal financial stakes in extending the pass-through and estate tax change benefits.

 

The Lever: Thanks To Trump’s Tax Scam, Death Isn’t The End For GOP Lawmakers’ Riches: GOP lawmakers may cash in on tax breaks. A staggering 70 percent of congressional Republicans could financially benefit from Trump’s billionaire-friendly tax plan that they’ve helped ram through Congress. A new project from watchdog group Accountable.US shows how nearly every Republican in Congress stands to personally gain from the new tax plan, which will also deliver unprecedented cuts to social services for working-class Americans. 

 

The Hill: Progressive groups: Attacks on judiciary ‘unprecedented constitutional danger’: Some organizations that penned the letter included Accountable.US, Democracy Forward, Human Rights Campaign and Public Citizen. “We urge Congress to stand firm against the assaults on our democracy by rejecting the JUDGES Act, the PEPPER Act, and the NORRA Act,” the organizations wrote, referring to the proposed legislation. “We urge legal professionals to speak out against these unjust attacks.” 

 

The Hill (A.US President Caroline Ciccone op-ed): Justice Barrett has set a new judicial ethics standard — and it’s about time : As the Supreme Court takes on new cases every day involving President Trump’s unprecedented law-breaking and power grabs, it is more important than ever that Americans are able to trust the highest court in the land to judge cases fairly and impartially. But right now only 44 percent of Americans profess at least moderate trust in the institution, according to the nonpartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center. Sadly, the Supreme Court’s current opaque and inconsistent approach to judicial recusals undermines this essential trust.

 

CNN: Tulsi Gabbard declared her residency in Texas. Then she voted in Hawaii : A liberal watchdog group, Accountable.US, filed a petition with the New York Division of Election Law Enforcement in January accusing Kennedy of violating state law. The division declined to comment about the status of the claim or whether it was investigating Kennedy.

 

Common Dreams: Millions March Against Trump-Musk in Nationwide ‘Hands Off’ Protests: Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—supported the action as partners.

 

Common Dreams: Senate GOP Fuels Privatization Fears by Confirming ‘Quack Grifter’ Dr. Oz: “While Dr. Oz would rather play coy, this is no hypothetical. Harmful cuts to Medicaid or Medicare are unavoidable in the Trump-Republican budget plan that prioritizes another giant tax break for the president’s billionaire and corporate donors,” Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog group Accountable.US, said ahead of the vote. “None of Dr. Oz’s ‘miracle’ cures that he’s peddled over the years will help seniors when their fundamental health security is ripped away to make the rich richer,” Carrk continued. “And while privatizing Medicare may enrich Dr. Oz’s family and big insurance friends, it will cost taxpayers far more and leave millions of patients vulnerable to denials of care and higher out-of-pocket costs.”

 

RECENT RELEASES FROM ACCOUNTABLE.US:

 

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