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A bipartisan group of President Donald Trump’s critics is launching a new organization, dubbed the Cost Coalition, to highlight Trump’s struggle to control rising costs in the early months of his new presidency.
The group expects to be especially active ahead of upcoming elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, according to preliminary plans shared with The Associated Press this week ahead of a formal announcement. The Cost Coalition will push its message through a combination of paid advertising, social media, press interviews, and on-the-ground events with small business leaders, veterans, and the faith community.
Terry Holt, a former spokesperson to former President George W. Bush and former House Speaker John Boehner, both Republicans, is serving as a senior communications adviser along with Andrew Bates, a former spokesperson for former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“In 100 days, Donald Trump put the best-performing economy in the world on a crash course toward recession. Trump’s tariffs — the biggest middle class tax hike in modern history — are making everyday prices skyrocket and wreaking havoc for businesses large and small,” Holt and Bates said in a joint statement. “Next up are grossly inflationary tax cuts for the wealthy that will only saddle future generations with staggering debt. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or anything else, Donald Trump’s agenda is an economic crisis threatening your livelihood and standard of living."
The new group enters a political landscape already packed with powerful voices fighting to shape the national conversation, little more than 100 days after Trump began his second term. The Republican president vowed to “end inflation” on Day 1, but he has focused more on immigration, culture wars, and exacting revenge against his political adversaries while launching a global trade war that has pushed some costs higher and threatens to send the U.S. economy into recession.
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Trump late last week said on his social media platform that there is “NO INFLATION” and claimed that grocery and egg prices have fallen, and that gasoline has dropped to $1.98 a gallon.
That’s not entirely true: Grocery prices have jumped 0.5% in two of the past three months and are up 2.4% from a year ago. Gasoline and oil prices have declined — gas costs are down 10% from a year ago, continuing a longer-running trend that has continued in part because of fears the economy will weaken.
Inflation did drop noticeably in March, an encouraging sign, though in the first three months of the year it was 3.6%, according to the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, well above its 2% target.
The Cost Coalition will be led by a team of veteran operatives who played key roles for Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful presidential campaign: Republican strategist Austin Weatherford, the leader of “Republicans for Harris”; Rev. Jennifer Butler, Harris’ national faith and engagement director; Libby Jamison, the Harris campaign’s national director of veteran and military family engagement; political strategist Leslie Gross, a veteran of the Obama-Biden administration; and George Holman, who served in the Biden administration.
A spokesperson declined to say how the new group will be funded, except to say it has “seed contributions” from some large donors in both parties and will also rely on grassroots donations. As a project of the American Values Alliance, the organization will be set up as a nonprofit with a hybrid political action committee. As such, it won’t have to publicly disclose all of its funding sources.
The Federal Reserve will likely keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, despite weeks of harsh criticism and demands from President Donald Trump that the Fed reduce borrowing costs.
After causing a sharp drop in financial markets two weeks ago by saying he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump subsequently backed off and said he had no intention of doing so. Still, he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said the Fed should cut rates.
They argue that inflation has steadily cooled and high borrowing costs are no longer needed to restrain price increases. The Fed sharply ramped up its short-term rate in 2022 and 2023 as pandemic-era inflation spiked.
Separately, Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, last Wednesday suggested that DOGE should look more closely at the Fed’s spending on its facilities.
The heightened scrutiny shows that even as the Trump administration backs off its threats to fire Powell, the Fed is still subject to unusually sharp political pressures, despite its status as an independent agency.
Even so, the Fed will almost certainly leave its key rate unchanged at about 4.3% when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Powell and many of the other 18 officials that sit on the Fed’s rate-setting committee have said they want to see how Trump’s tariffs affect the economy before making any moves.
Trump, however, on Friday said on the social media platform Truth Social that there is “NO INFLATION” and claimed that grocery and egg prices have fallen, and that gas has dropped to $1.98 a gallon.
That’s not entirely true: Grocery prices have jumped 0.5% in two of the past three months and are up 2.4% from a year ago. Gas and oil prices have declined — gas costs are down 10% from a year ago, continuing a longer-running trend that has continued in part because of fears the economy will weaken. Still, AAA says gas price nationwide average $3.18 a gallon.
Inflation did drop noticeably in March, an encouraging sign, though in the first three months of the year it was 3.6%, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, well above its 2% target.
Without tariffs, economists say it’s possible the Fed would soon reduce its benchmark rate, because it is currently at a level intended to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation. Yet the Fed can’t now cut rates with Trump’s broad tariffs likely to raise prices in the coming months.
Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at BNY, said that the Fed is “scarred” by what happened in 2021, when prices rose amid supply snarls and Powell and other Fed officials said the increase would likely be “transitory.” Instead, inflation soared to a peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
This time they will be more cautious, he said.
“That’s a Fed that is going to have to wait for evidence and be slow to adjust on that evidence,” Reinhart said.
Plus, Trump’s badgering of Powell makes it harder for the Fed chair to cut rates because doing so anytime soon would be seen as knuckling under to the White House, said Preston Mui, an economist at Employ America.
“You could imagine a world where there isn’t pressure from the Trump administration and they cut rates ... sooner, because they feel comfortable making the argument that they’re doing so because of the data,” he said.
For his part, Powell said last month that tariffs would likely push up inflation and slow the economy, a tricky combination for the Fed. The central bank would typically raise rates — or at least keep them elevated — to fight inflation, while it would cut them to spur the economy if unemployment rose.
Powell has said that the impact of the tariffs on inflation could be temporary — a one-time price increase — but most recently said it “could also be more persistent.” That suggests that Powell will want to wait, potentially for months, to ensure tariffs don’t sustainably raise inflation before considering a rate cut.
Some economists forecast the Fed won’t cut rates until its September meeting, or even later.
Yet Fed officials could move sooner if the tariffs hit the economy hard enough to cause layoffs and push up unemployment. Wall Street investors appear to expect such an outcome — they project that the first cut will occur in July, according to futures pricing.
Separately, Musk criticized the Fed Wednesday for spending $2.5 billion on an extensive renovation of two of its buildings in Washington, D.C.
“Since at the end of the day, this is all taxpayer money, we should certainly look to see if indeed the Federal Reserve is spending $2.5 billion on their interior designer,” Musk said. “That’s an eyebrow raiser.”
Fed officials acknowledge that the cost of the renovations have risen as prices for building materials and labor have spiked amid the post-pandemic inflation. And former Fed officials, speaking on background, say that local regulations forced the Fed to do more of the expansion underground, rather than making the buildings taller, which added to the cost.
Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and a potential candidate to replace Powell as chair when Powell’s term expires next year, said recently that the Fed has attracted greater scrutiny because it failed to keep prices in check.
“The Fed’s current wounds are largely self-inflicted,” he said in a speech during an International Monetary Fund conference in late April, in which he also slammed the Fed for participating in a global forum on climate change. “A strategic reset is necessary to mitigate losses of credibility, changes in standing, and most importantly, worse economic outcomes for our fellow citizens.”
Powell, for his part, said last month that “Fed independence is very widely understood and supported in Washington, in Congress, where it really matters.”
The Department of Education is restarting collections on federal student loans today.
New analysis from TransUnion finds that a record 20.5% (roughly 4 million) of federal student loan borrowers who owe money have been reported as seriously delinquent.
That includes just over *half* of all subprime borrowers who owe federal student debt.
If anything, the TransUnion analysis could understate matters because it also found that another 4 million appear to also 90 days late but have not been reported as seriously delinquent yet.
Tyler Wickord has taken on a second job to try to chip away at student loan debt -- even though he owes zero per month now because of an income-driven repayment plan.
“It feels like I’m drowning,” Wickord told me. “Knowing I have student loan debt to pay along with rent, credit card debt, and other debt is definitely a bit of a scary feeling, like the life preserver will never get to me while I’m in the ocean.”
Amazon has updated its pay structure in a bid to reward "consistently high-performing" employees, according to Business Insider, which cited internal guidelines. Under the new system, employees who have been ranked in the highest tier on their annual performance reviews for four consecutive years will receive 110% of the pay range for their role, up from a previous cap of 100%. Meanwhile, some lower-tier performers will see their payouts decrease.
📢 Amazon just made a bold move in how it pays people 🟧
👉 My prediction? A lot of employees who are good at gaming the system will get a pay raise while the ACTUAL high performers will feel betrayed.
I did a bit of research and here’s what I found out (it's worse than you think 🙈)
🟠Top performers (4 years straight) can now earn 110% of their pay band
🟠But 90 %+ of employees, those in the middle tiers, will earn less than before
🟠A single-year top rating? Now worth 70% of the range, down from 80%
🟠Promotions (especially L5 to L6+) just got harder
🟠Management layers are being flattened; some managers are becoming ICs
🟠A pilot allows 25% of stock awards to be taken as cash
🟠And performance ratings? Still confidential. So, for most employees, pay is the only signal.
What could this mean for tech?
🟧 Will other companies follow suit?
🟧 Will top talent leave for firms with more transparency or more pay?
🟧 Could this reshape how promotions, compensation, and retention work across Big Tech?
Founders: take note. Amazon’s move to reward high performers while dialing back comp for underperformers isn’t just bold—it’s smart.
Somewhere along the way, many startups adopted a culture of equal rewards regardless of outcomes. But in the long run, that erodes excellence. Compensation should be a reflection of value created—not just tenure or titles.
This is a reminder that performance-based pay isn't just for legacy corporations. It's a discipline every high-growth company should embrace early.
🚗 Ford Beats, But Suspends 2025 Outlook Amid $2.5B Tariff Hit
Ford beat Q1 expectations — but pulled full-year guidance, citing a projected $2.5 billion tariff impact tied to Trump’s trade policy. Roughly $1 billion of that is expected to be offset, but the remaining drag ($1.5B) is significant enough to cloud visibility.
🔹 EPS: $0.14 adjusted (vs. $0.02 est.)
🔹 Automotive Revenue: $37.42B (vs. $36.21B est.)
🔹 Total Revenue: $40.7B (down 5% YoY)
🔹 Adjusted EBIT: $1.02B (vs. $2.76B a year ago)
Ford says without the tariffs, it was “tracking” toward EBIT of $7–$8.5B for the year — which underlines the scale of policy-induced distortion. The Q1 tariff bill came in at $200M, but Ford cut that by 35% through tactical logistics changes and production adjustments.
The bigger story here? The growth story is intact, but the macro noise is rising. Ford's transformation efforts are showing up in narrowed EV losses and operational efficiency. But near-term guidance has become a casualty of geopolitical volatility.
⚠️ Blue EBIT collapsed nearly 90% YoY to $ 96 M. Commercial Pro EBIT fell more than 50%. Model e losses narrowed to $849M — a sign that Ford is grinding toward better EV unit economics, but it’s still early.
🧩 Bottom line: the Ford quarter supports the idea that business fundamentals remain resilient, but are now competing with external shocks. This isn’t about demand destruction — it’s a policy-induced margin squeeze.
Skechers is going private. Investment firm 3G Capital will acquire the footwear company in a deal valuing it at $9.4 billion, the two parties said Monday. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Skechers notched about $9 billion in revenue last year, but like many retailers, it pulled its full-year outlook last month amid trade worries. Many of its shoes are made in China and Vietnam, which have recently been targeted by the Trump administration's hefty tariffs.
OpenAI has bowed to pressure from civic leaders and ex-employees, announcing in a blog post on Monday that its nonprofit would retain control of the company even as it restructures into a public benefit corporation.
The company, which is backed by Microsoft and was recently valued at $300 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank, said it made the decision after discussing the matter with the attorneys general of California and Delaware.
"The TLDR is that with the structure we're contemplating, the not-for-profit will remain in control of OpenAI," Bret Taylor, OpenAI's board chairman, said in a video call with reporters. "We will be converting the limited liability company, which is a subsidiary of that nonprofit, to a public benefit corporation. By doing so, it will change the equity structure of that company so that employees, investors, and the not-for-profit can own equity in that PBC."
Taylor said OpenAI had commissioned outside financial advisors to advise on the recapitalization. He declined to share how much of a stake the nonprofit would have in the company. (CNBC)
President Trump has confirmed that Washington, D.C. will host the 2027 NFL draft. The league's commissioner, Roger Goodell, who joined Trump for the announcement, said he anticipates record-breaking crowds for the three-day event, which is expected to take place on the National Mall. Last month's NFL draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, drew over 600,000 football fans. The news comes days after D.C. officials and the Washington Commanders inked a $3.7 billion deal to bring the team back to the city.
Google has gone Hollywood, setting up a film-and-TV partnership called 100 Zeros, Business Insider reports. It involves a multiyear pact with Range Media, the talent and production house behind the Bob Dylan biopic, "A Complete Unknown," and horror film "Longlegs." The strategy involves catching up to Apple in pop culture engagement, including attracting younger audiences to its tech and products. At the same time, Google wants to sell the projects to studios and streamers, not spotlight them as YouTube Originals.
Last week, air traffic controllers tasked with directing flights to and from Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a dramatic equipment malfunction in which they briefly lost all contact with aircraft, according to the workers' union. The incident led to significant delays, with multiple air traffic controllers taking leave afterward to recover from the stress. Due to staff shortages and other issues, United Airlines cut flights from its Newark schedule last weekend and is now advising travelers to find an alternate airport.