“Trillions of dollars in value have been vaporized from global crypto markets since October, plunging an ascendant industry championed by President Trump into a new bout of turmoil,” Axios reports.
“Crypto joins a growing list of MAGA coalition partners — from Epstein-focused populists to farmers to Latino men — now questioning whether Trump’s return to power has delivered what they were promised.”
Paul Krugman: “This crash may have political consequences. At least some young men supported Trump because they believed that he would enhance their crypto investments, and have remained favorable because he seemed to be delivering. I don’t know how many bitterly disillusioned bros there will be now, but there will be some.”
“And in general the whole ‘Say what you like about Trump, but markets are up’ mindset must be under severe strain.”
New York Times: “The price of Bitcoin is lower than it was the day before President Trump’s election. A leading cryptocurrency exchange is laying off a large chunk of its work force. And a push for industry-friendly legislation has stalled in Congress.”
“After months of declining prices and dispiriting setbacks, the crypto industry has found itself deep in one of its periodic slumps — a so-called crypto winter.”
“Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran said he has resigned from his job as a top White House economic adviser, ending an unusual dual role he had held since he joined the central bank in September,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The move allows Miran to keep his promise to step down from the White House if his time at the Fed were to extend past Jan. 31, when his term at the central bank expired. Miran can stay in place on the Fed’s board of governors until a successor is confirmed.”
President Trump joked during a speech Saturday night that he would sue Kevin Warsh, his nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, if he didn’t lower interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Investors seemed broadly unfazed with the nomination of Kevin Warsh to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, with muted reaction in stock and bond markets after his announcement,” the New York Times reports.
Paul Krugman: “So Kevin Warsh will be the next Fed chair. The silver lining to his appointment is that he shouldn’t be able to do much damage… The Fed is a republic, not a dictatorship; key decisions are made by a committee in which the chairperson has only one vote. Fed chairs can only drive policy through persuasion — and Warsh lacks the intellectual and moral credibility to be effective on that score. But God help us if we enter a crisis that requires decisive Fed leadership, the kind Fed chair Ben Bernanke showed during the financial crisis, or Jay Powell is now showing against Trump’s attacks.”
“Absent a crisis, my prediction is that the majority of Warsh’s colleagues will largely ignore him, albeit without expressing their contempt openly. Even a coalition among the Trump appointees to the Board of Governors – Warsh, Bowman and Miran – won’t be enough to overturn the responsible monetary policy stewardship of the other governors.”
President Trump announced that he had selected Kevin Warsh, a conservative economist and former Federal Reserve official, as the next chairman of the central bank, the New York Times reports.
Rachel Bade: “President Donald Trump has narrowed his choice for the next Federal Reserve chair to two candidates and has signaled to allies that he’s likely to choose Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.”
“No official offer has been given, I’m told. But the president has ruled out naming White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett for the job, these people said. And today he met at the White House with Warsh and has been in contact with Wall Street veteran and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, Trump’s other finalist, one administration official said.”
President Trump said at his Cabinet meeting that “next week” he’ll announce his choice to replace Jerome Powell as the chair of the Federal Reserve, the AP reports.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he has “nothing for you” on whether he will leave the Fed board when his term as chair is up in May, Bloomberg reports.
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to take a break from a recent run of interest rate cuts, as the central bank navigates questions about its independence and awaits a new leader,” CNBC reports.
The Federal Reserve has not yet complied with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., CNBC reports.
“The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause interest rate cuts this week after three reductions in the final months of 2025. Less clear, however, is just how long that pause will last,” the New York Times reports.
“Fed officials, once worried about a weakening labor market, no longer appear to be in as much of a rush after bringing rates down to a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent. A steadily growing economy and low layoffs have given them some comfort that they can afford to take their time with further cuts, especially as they stare down the prospects of another year of inflation well above their 2 percent target.”
“What lies ahead for the Fed is a tenuous balancing act. Policymakers do not want to jeopardize the labor market by keeping rates too high for too long, but they also want to ensure they are restraining the economy enough to stamp out any lingering price pressures.”
“The stock market in President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House was the weakest of any president’s first year of a new term since 2005, when George W. Bush started his second term,” CNN reports.
“From Trump’s inauguration day to January 20, 2026, the S&P 500 rose 13.3% — healthy gains by any standard. But it was the worst start to a presidency in 20 years.”
“In a three-day period this week, President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan and its chief executive, snubbed the head of Bank of America and doubled down on capping credit card interest rates, an industry cash cow,” the Financial Times reports.
“The chaotic week encapsulated the experience of U.S. lenders in Trump’s second term: executives are caught in a jarring contrast, balancing the constant risk of his ire against the benefits of the most bank-friendly policy agenda since the financial crisis.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon criticized President Trump’s proposal to impose a 10% cap on credit card rates, saying it would cause an “economic disaster,” Bloomberg reports.
President Trump said he’s “down to maybe one” candidate for Fed chair, CNBC reports.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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