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Consumer spending was weaker than expected again in February while a key inflation metric picked up, in a double whammy for the economy before the brunt of tariffs.

Inflation-adjusted consumer spending edged up 0.1%, on the low end of economists’ estimates, after a slump January that analysts mostly blamed on bad weather. Notably in February, Americans reduced spending on services for the first time in three years in the face of higher prices — including on dining out.

“Consumers are resistant to price increases,” Neil Dutta, head of US economics at Renaissance Macro, said in a note. “Ultimately, inflation boils down to a household’s budget constraint and conditions are deteriorating here.”

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Stuart Paul and Anna Wong of Bloomberg Economics about the latest US inflation data.
• Former Chief Economist at the National Economic Council Joe Lavorgna ahead of the April 2nd tariff deadline from the Trump Administration.
• Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Europe Center Rachel Rizzo as Vice President JD Vance visits Greenland.

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President Donald Trump signed an order to slap a 25% tariff on auto imports, expanding his trade war designed to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US.

Trump said the tariffs would go into effect on April 2. The administration projects that the tariffs would result in $100 billion of new annual revenue to the US. Wednesday’s move comes before a broader announcement of reciprocal tariffs expected April 2.

“What we’re going to be doing is a 25% tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years.”

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Detroit Bureau Chief David Welch about the Trump Administration's planned tariffs on auto imports.
• Former Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein about the impact of tariffs on the US economy.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributor Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Republican Strategist Chapin Fay about the immigration policies of the Trump Administration.
• Bloomberg News SEC and CFTC Reporter Lydia Beyoud as Trump's SEC pick undergoes his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
• Former Republican Congressman and Former Air Force Intelligence Officer Denver Riggleman about the continued fallout from the Signal group chat.

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President Donald Trump and top allies struggled to fend off criticism over the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist in a Signal chat discussing military attacks in Yemen, after newly disclosed texts showed how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed specific operational details.

Trump and senior administration officials on Wednesday ratcheted up criticism of Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg — who National Security Advisor Mike Waltz mistakingly added to the chat — and maintained that specific timing of planned strikes, US weapons systems and targets contained in text messages did not amount to “war plans” or classified information.

“It had no impact on the attack, which was very successful,” Trump said during an appearance on a conservative talk radio show.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Politics Editor Laura Davison about the latest developments from the Trump Administration.
• American Action Forum President and former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin as the CBO announces that the federal government could run out of enough money to pay all of its bills on time as soon as August if lawmakers fail to raise or suspend the debt limit.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino about the latest tariffs announcement from Trump.
• Ritholtz Wealth Management Founder Barry Ritholtz about his new book "How Not To Invest."
• Bloomberg Pentagon Reporter Tony Capaccio as The Atlantic released the transcript of a group chat between top US officials on Signal.

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Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio warned House Republicans of the dangers of rising US deficits and urged them to cut the budget deficit to just 3% of gross domestic product or risk debt service costs squeezing government spending.  

Dalio’s message of austerity comes as House and Senate Republicans battle over the size of spending cuts to be paired with a giant tax cut coming later this year. The US budget deficit was 6.6% of GDP in 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Capitol Influence Team Lead Megan Scully.
• Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributor Rick Davis and Democratic Strategist Roger Fisk.
• Professor at the University of Virginia's Miller Center and former US Diplomat Mara Rudman.

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Congressional Republicans returning to Washington on Monday will tackle their toughest test yet, negotiating a massive tax bill package to deliver President Donald Trump a signature legislative victory.

Efforts to renew Trump’s landmark 2017 tax cuts and secure additional reductions he’s promised were temporarily sidelined while lawmakers worked to narrowly avert a government shutdown earlier this month.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump’s National Economic Council director, Kevin Hassett are set to meet Tuesday with House and Senate Republican leaders and their top tax writers to try to resolve differences over the scale of cuts and ways of paying for them, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Republican Congressman Bill Huizenga of Michigan as lawmakers return to Washington to kickoff reconciliation negotiations.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting Monday at the White House.
• Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin interviews Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran about the Trump economic agenda.

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Boeing Co. won a contract to design and build the US’s next-generation stealth fighter jet, beating out rival Lockheed Martin Corp. for the multibillion dollar program aimed at preparing the military for possible conflict with China.

The new sixth-generation fighter jet, whose overall cost is expected to run in the hundreds of billions of dollars, “will ensure that the USA continues to dominate the skies,” President Donald Trump said in an unveiling at the White House. Trump, the 47th president, said with a smile that it will be dubbed the F-47.

The award caps more than two years of competition between the defense giants for the full-scale development phase of the Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter, or NGAD. The jet, which will replace the F-22 Raptor, is envisioned to operate in tandem with drones, which are being developed in a separate program.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Julie Fine speak with:

• Former RNC Communications Director Lisa Camooso Miller.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Bloomberg White House Correspondent Josh Wingrove.
• American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Mackenzie Eaglen.

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President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive action formally asking officials to take steps to largely dismantle the Department of Education, his latest effort to reduce the size of the federal government and its workforce.

Trump is slated to sign the order on Thursday, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them. The order directs the secretary of education to take steps to close the department and “return education authority to the States,” according to a White House fact sheet on the order.

It also mandates that programs and activities receiving any remaining department funds not be used to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Julie Fine speak with:

• Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall.
• Former Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
• Senior advisor at Razom for Ukraine Melinda Haring.
• Bloomberg Senior Editor for Technology and Strategic Industries Michael Shepard.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed to a proposal to halt strikes on energy assets as an initial step in President Donald Trump’s effort to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago. 

“One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskiy said in a statement on X after a call with Trump on Wednesday. “I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”

Trump, who had stormy exchanges earlier with Zelenskiy, described their call as “very good,” and top US officials called it “fantastic.” Trump, who at one point cut off weapons shipments and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine promised fresh support, according to a statement on the call from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Global Situation Room President and CEO Brett Bruen as President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke on the phone Wednesday morning.
• Lexington Institute Vice President of Defense Programs Rebecca Grant as Zelenskiy agreed to halt strikes on energy assets as an initial step to end the war with Russia.
• Bluestack Strategies Founder and Republican Strategist Maura Gillespie and Democratic Strategist Roger Fisk about the future of Democratic leadership in the Senate.

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Vladimir Putin committed in a phone call with Donald Trump to limit Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days but declined to accept the broader ceasefire that the US sought.

The Russian and US presidents agreed that the two sides would begin negotiations on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as a “full ceasefire and permanent peace,” the White House said in a statement after the call ended. Those talks will begin “immediately” in the Middle East, the White House said, without saying who would lead the negotiations.

The Kremlin’s account of the call said Putin imposed several conditions for a lasting ceasefire, including the suspension of arms and intelligence support for Ukraine. Ukraine must also stop mobilizing new recruits, it said. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Politics Contributor Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Republican Strategist Ashley Davis as US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin conclude their phone call Tuesday.
• Bloomberg News Correspondent Tyler Kendall from the White House as the US says work for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately.
• Bloomberg News National Security Reporter Dan Flatley as Putin agrees to limit attacks on Ukraine.
• Former Commanding General for US Army Europe Ben Hodges about the European reaction to talks between Trump and Putin.

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Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump’s administration is being accused of defying the judiciary after swiftly deporting hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members in an assertion of sweeping power to pursue hard-line immigration policies.

Two groups suing the administration alleged in a court filing Monday that the government may have violated a federal judge’s order halting the expulsions. That judge set a hearing for Monday afternoon, when he ordered government lawyers to provide answers.

The Justice Department filed a defiant response Monday afternoon, saying it was abiding by the order from US District Judge James Boasberg. The government called on Boasberg to cancel the hearing, saying it “is not prepared to disclose any further national security or operational security details to plaintiffs or the public.” Boasberg quickly denied the cancellation request.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Politics Contributor Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Republican Strategist Jon Seaton as President Donald Trump’s administration is being accused of defying the judiciary after deporting hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
• Constitutional lawyer Robert McWhirter about the latest legal questions from actions taken by the Trump administration.
• Director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Gregory C. Allen about his latest research on Huawei, DeepSeek and US export controls.
• Center Forward CEO Cori Kramer about their new Voter Research Journal.

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