Last evening, the U.S. Senate adjourned until Monday, guaranteeing that the federal government “shutdown” will extend for a full four weeks. Before they left town, Senators confirmed the fifth federal judge this month, with two more teed up for Monday evening when they return.
For his part, Pres. Trump will be off to Asia this weekend. The Hill newspaper reports,
President Trump on Friday will travel to Asia for his first visit to the region since returning to the White House. The visit comes as the government shutdown hits Day 24 with no end in sight.
Trump departs for Malaysia later this evening to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) before visiting Japan to meet with the country’s new prime minister.
Later next week, the president will head to South Korea and speak at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
In his absence, the biggest controversy raging in Washington is…White House renovations?
How can this be? The federal government is shut down. Government services are no longer available. On a daily basis, millions of Americans are dropping dead in the middle of the street. Won’t someone do something?
Wall Street seems unperturbed. New records were set today. CNBC reports,
Inflation rate hit 3.0% in September, lower than expected, long-awaited CPI report shows
“Lower than expected.” Describing that exact same report, The Hill’s headline reads,
Inflation hit 3 percent in September as energy prices squeezed households
Who knows when the next inflation report will be issued, on account of the ongoing shutdown, mentioned above. But another data point came out this morning. From USA Today,
Social Security 2026 COLA is 2.8%, but seniors will still fall into poverty. Here’s why
In the Trump 2.0 era, all news is bad news.
A 2.8% cost-of-livng, or COLA, increase means Social Security benefits will rise by about $56 per month starting in January, when COLA kicks in, the Social Security Administration said. Letters will be mailed in December to let beneficiaries know what their new monthly will be.
It will not suprise you that, in a survey conducted by AARP, most seniors wanted a higher number. But “seniors will fall into poverty”? Last year’s increase was 2.5 percent.
Some good news from CNN,
Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members
It is a little-known fact that the government can, and does, accept voluntary donations. Democrats argue that donations can’t be used to pay for anything during a “shutdown.”
I very much hope that they sue to prevent the military from getting paid.
