Congress
Fed’s Powell says Trump can’t fire him; `Not permitted under the law’
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a simple response Thursday as to whether he would leave his post if President-elect Donald Trump asked him to.
“No.”
Powell, speaking to reporters after Fed policymakers cut interest rates again, tried during his press conference to avoid the political fray. Still, he made clear that he’s not going anywhere. He declared that it’s “not permitted under the law” for presidents to remove members of the independent central bank.
Despite years of criticism of the Fed chief, the once and future president said over the summer that he would let Powell finish out his term, which doesn’t end until mid-2026 — “especially if I thought he was doing the right thing.” But close advisers to Trump — who once questioned whether Powell was a “bigger enemy” to the U.S. than China’s Xi Jinping — have suggested the Fed chief should simply resign.
Trump, who says he believes the president should have a say in monetary policy, has made no secret of his preference for low interest rates and will likely resume his previous habit of tweeting barbs at the Fed chief if he thinks borrowing costs are too high. He explored the question of whether he could fire Powell during his first term, a prospect that added to market turmoil at the time.
The Fed lowered rates again on Thursday, as expected, but the timing for future cuts is less clear — in part because Trump’s policies could alter the economy’s trajectory. Bond investors pushed up yields on Wednesday as they weighed the possibility that higher tariffs and fewer immigrant workers could stoke inflation.
Powell told reporters that Fed officials always take policies — both from the executive branch and Congress — into account if they affect the economy, but “we don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be,” he said. “We therefore don’t know what the effects on the economy would be.”
Congress
Rep. Mike Lawler ‘accosted’ by Sen. Rand Paul’s son
Rep. Mike Lawler on Wednesday said he was accosted by the son of Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday night with a 10-minute “reprehensible” antisemitic rant.
The New York Republican told reporters the interaction occurred when he was on his way to a restaurant with at least one journalist. He said William Paul approached him and shouted at him and said he would blame “your people” if Rep. Thomas Massie loses his reelection bid.
“My people?” Lawler asked.
“Yeah, you Jews,” Paul replied.
Lawler said he told Paul that he isn’t Jewish and the senator’s son apologized before launched into an antisemitic diatribe.
“At one point, he said that he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die. And I think that’s fucking disgusting,” Lawler said.
The conversation, he said, ended soon thereafter, with Paul flipping him off and tripping on his way out the door.
In a post to X late Wednesday afternoon, Paul said he “had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am.”
“I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” he added. A spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I think it speaks to a larger issue, obviously, in society and what we’re seeing among young people and what we see online, and this is the level of hatred and vitriol, frankly, that some of my Jewish colleagues experience, that many of my constituents experience,” said Lawler.
Lawler represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is home to about 90,000 Jews, or about 12 percent of the district’s population.
“I’m not going to stop standing up for my constituents. I’m not going to stop standing up for the Judeo-Christian values that are at the core of our nation, our Constitution, our rule of law,” he said.
Congress
Lawmakers’ prescription data at risk after data breach
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill were informed this week of a data breach involving the congressional medical office that may have compromised personal information — including their prescription history.
The intrusions occurred March 1 and 3 and targeted RXNT, a medical software provider used by the Office of the Attending Physician to manage care for members of Congress, according to letters sent this week to affected individuals that were reviewed by Blue Light News.
Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, is making personal calls to staff and lawmakers whose data are affected, according to one person contacted by phone this week and alerted that their prescription history was among those breached.
RXNT’s software is intended to “securely transmit prescription information to pharmacies for fulfillment,” Monahan’s office explained in the letters to patients. Among the data accessed in the RXNT breach includes names, birthdays, addresses, prescription information, doctor information and pharmacy information.
Under federal law, the data breach has to be reported within 60 days of the intrusion being discovered. RXNT notified the attending physician’s office on the last possible day allowed under federal health privacy rules. That, in turn, might have delayed the OAP’s review of the impact of the breach on Capitol Hill patients, according to two people familiar with the timeline and granted anonymity to share private deliberations.
It is not clear what foreign or domestic entity conducted the breach and where the sensitive data on lawmakers’ health could end up.
Financial data, insurance information and Social Security numbers were not compromised, nor were any patient records maintained by the Office of the Attending Physician that were not shared with RXNT. Such records, which include extensive information on lawmakers’ health history and medical treatments, “remain secured within the walls of Congress” and are “not cloud based,” according to the notice shared with affected patients on Capitol Hill.
“The OAP only provides the minimum information required to process prescription services,” the letter reads.
The Office of the Attending Physician operates several small medical clinics on the Capitol campus where Navy medical personnel handle both emergencies and primary health care for lawmakers, while also providing vaccinations and minor medical services for congressional aides. Staff are able to procure prescriptions through the OAP in limited circumstances, including for official travel and follow-up care.
Congress
Speaker calls allegations against Chuck Edwards ‘serious’
Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday the allegations against Rep. Chuck Edwards are “serious” and that he has spoken to the North Carolina Republican — who reportedly denied them all.
Johnson also noted an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and harassment accusations against Edwards, who is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a staffer, among other things.
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