Trump Slashes Food Tariffs Amid ‘Affordability’ Worries

Good evening. With the government shutdown over, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has exploded back into the headlines. Following the release of new emails that shed more light on the relationship between President Trump and Epstein, the president on Friday sought to shift the focus elsewhere. He directed Attorney General Pam Bondi Friday to investigate links between Epstein and several prominent Democrats as well as the bank JPMorgan Chase, which says it ended its relationship with the convicted sex offender years before his arrest. On social media, Trump criticized "soft and foolish" Republicans who he claimed have fallen for a "hoax" by Democrats. He added: "don't waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!"

Trump Slashes Food Tariffs Amid 'Affordability' Worries

President Trump on Friday signed an executive order that reduces his tariffs on a variety of grocery items amid growing concerns at the White House that voter unhappiness over high and rising prices has become a serious political problem.

Goods seeing exemptions from the "reciprocal" tariffs Trump imposed on trading partners around the world in August include beef, tomatoes, coffee, bananas and avocados, and the list of newly exempted products reportedly includes more than 100 items.

The administration is portraying the shift as the logical next step now that the tariffs have achieved the president's goals, including new trade agreements with a handful of countries. But the move to reduce tariffs runs counter to one of Trump's central claims: that tariffs do not raise prices. Cutting tariffs over concerns about rising prices tacitly acknowledges what the vast majority of economists believe to be true: that import taxes raise prices for U.S consumers.

"Wait. If lowering tariffs lowers prices, what does raising tariffs do to prices?" Erica York of the Tax Foundation, who has been critical of Trump's tariff policy, wrote on social media.

Trump has tried to downplay the issue of affordability, even as Republicans worry that high prices played a central role in the losses they were dealt on Election Day. In an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News earlier this week, Trump claimed that "we are doing phenomenally well-this is the greatest economy we've ever had."

The president rejected the idea that complaints about prices have any basis in reality, though he admitted that one consumer item has seen price increases. "Their talking points, 'Oh costs are high, costs are high' - the only thing is beef," he said. "Beef is a little high because the ranchers are doing great."

But inflation has turned higher since Trump announced his tariffs in April, with the annual inflation rate hitting 3.0% in September, the most recent data available. Economists say Trump's tariffs have played a central role in the rising inflationary pressure. In one notable example, coffee prices have jumped 19%, driven in part by a 50% tariff Trump imposed on imports from Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer.

Still, Trump's move Friday may not provide complete relief on the prices of some basics, including coffee. His executive order removes only 10 percentage points from that 50% tariff rate on Brazil, since his reciprocal tariff on the country was 10%. The remaining 40% tariff, which was imposed to punish the country for its treatment of one of Trump's political allies, will reportedly remain in place.

Trump Admin Will Require 'Everyone' on SNAP to Reapply for Benefits, USDA Chief Says

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed Thursday that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is rife with fraud and abuse and that the Trump administration will require "everyone" receiving food stamps to reapply for benefits.

In an appearance on Newsmax, a conservative news channel, Rollins said that about 186,000 dead people are "receiving a check" and half a million people are receiving two SNAP payments, based on data collected from 29 states, which she said were "mostly red states."

"Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we're going to find?" she asked. "It's going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that's taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can't survive without it, and that's the next step here."

Rollins reportedly did not provide more details on when or how people on the program would need to reapply for benefits. "The president has made this a priority," she said. "We will fix this program."

Nearly 42 million Americans receive SNAP food benefits. The federal government spent about $100 billion on the program as of fiscal year 2024. Commonly known as food stamps, the program has been in the spotlight during the government shutdown as the Trump administration waged a legal fight to withhold payments that could be made using emergency funds after primary funding ran out.

SNAP spending peaked at about $125 billion in fiscal year 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and has fallen since then as pandemic-related benefits expired. "State SNAP administrators already require participants to recertify their information as often as every six months, and families that receive benefits are expected to keep their work history, income and other personal information up to date," Politico notes.

The Republican domestic policy bill enacted earlier this year also included $186 billion in cuts and enacted new work requirements and other restrictions to the program that analysts warn will make it less effective during tough economic times.

Number of the Day: $10,000

As the nation's airports gradually recover from the disruptions they saw - and continue to see - because of the government shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday that some Transportation Security Agency (TSA) officers "who went above and beyond" during the 6-week funding lapse will get a $10,000 bonus.

TSA workers were among the hundreds of thousands of essential employees required to work through the shutdown without pay, and as the shutdown dragged on and the financial strains of missed paychecks grew, absences spiked.

It wasn't immediately clear which workers now qualify for bonuses. "TSA employs approximately 50,000 transportation security officers, meaning a bonus for every officer would cost roughly $500 million," the Federal News Network noted. Noem said at a Houston news conference that that bonuses will reward officers "for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people." DHS said that the bonuses will be paid from carryover funds from fiscal year 2025.

The announcement comes after President Trump in a social media post on Monday lashed out at air traffic controllers who took time off and promised bonuses to others. "All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!" Trump wrote. "Anyone who doesn't will be substantially 'docked.' For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn't take ANY TIME OFF for the 'Democrat Shutdown Hoax,' I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country."

Flight disruptions are decreasing, but there were still more than 2,300 delays and more than 630 cancelations at U.S. airports on Friday.

Fiscal News Roundup

• Senate GOP Deeply Divided Over Next Steps on Rising Health Care Costs – The Hill
• 'A Traumatic Experience': SNAP Interruption Leaves Recipients Shaken – New York Times
• Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls for Release of Funding for Low-Income Heating 'Immediately' – The Hill
• You Can End a Shutdown Overnight - but You Can't Reopen a Government That Fast – Associated Press
• Another Shutdown in January? Some Lawmakers Are Already Bracing for It – The Hill
• Schumer Begged 2028 Dem Contenders Not to Criticize Shutdown Deal – New Republic
• Tallying Up the Cost of the Longest Government Shutdown in U.S. History – NPR
• The Government Can Now Get Back to Measuring the Economy With Shutdown Over – NPR
• Trump Tariffs Are Helping Drive U.S. Beef Prices to New Highs – CNBC
• Economic Promises Helped Trump Get Elected. Now He Has an Affordability Problem – NPR
• Trump Turns to Affordability Message Amid Economic Frustration – New York Times
• U.S. and Switzerland Reach Trade Deal to Lower Tariffs to 15% – CNBC
• EU Exports to U.S. Jump After Trade Deal – Wall Street Journal
• Markets No Longer View the December Rate Cut as a Sure Bet, With Fed Officials Casting Doubts – CNBC
• Postmaster General Says US Postal Service Needs Revenue Growth, Not Just Cuts – Associated Press
• The California Campaign to Introduce a First-of-Its-Kind Billionaire's Tax – Wall Street Journal
• Nevada Dems, GOP Battle Over 'No-Tax-on-Tips' – Politico

Views and Analysis

• Trump's Spending Abuses Are Out of Control. He Shouldn't Have That Power in the First Place – New York Times Editorial Board
• Sorry, America. Coffee Prices Probably Aren't Coming Down – Allison Morrow, CNN
• Yes, We Want No Banana Tariffs – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
• A Great Nation Is Reduced to Fanciful Hoping – George F. Will, Washington Post
• Why Democrats Keep Flailing – Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post
• An Agenda-Less GOP Congress – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
• Medicare Adds Wegovy and Zepbound. Who's Next? – Madison Muller, Bloomberg Businessweek