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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law new regulations for a type of cryptocurrency, a major milestone for an industry that has spent heavily to strengthen its legitimacy and political might.

The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, which are tied to assets like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility compared with other forms of cryptocurrency. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins.

The new law is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the crypto industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to massive campaign donations and spending on lobbying. Its passage comes as Trump had repeatedly pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

“For years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump told crypto industry executives at a White House bill signing attended by about 200 people, including several top GOP lawmakers. “This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit.”

The crypto industry has long complained it was unfairly targeted by former President Joe Biden’s administration and spent heavily to help Trump win last year’s election.

The president lavished praise on crypto leaders during his speech Friday, saying “nobody has gained the respect in such a short period of time.”

Trump said helping the cryptocurrency industry was “good for the dollar and it’s good for the country.”

“That’s why I backed you at an early stage,” said Trump, who had previously been a skeptic of cryptocurrency before embracing it. His administration has taken several early steps to boost the crypto industry, including the Securities and Exchange Commission dropping several enforcement actions against large crypto companies.

Trump then added a candid admission about the political calculus of his support for the crypto industry: “And I also did it for the votes,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The president also joked that lawmakers had named the GENIUS Act after him. The acronym stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”

The use of stablecoins has grown dramatically in recent years. Circle, the U.S.-based issuer of one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year and quickly saw its value soar amid heavy interest from crypto enthusiasts and investors. Stablecoin issuers make profits by collecting the interest on the assets they hold in reserve to back their stablecoins.

A provision in the GENIUS Act bans members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But that prohibition does not extend to the president and his family, even as Trump builds a crypto empire from the White House. His family holds a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that launched its own stablecoin earlier this year and received an early boost from an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates.

The House also passed two other bills Thursday that are meant to help the crypto industry. One creates a new market structure for cryptocurrency, and the other bans the Federal Reserve from issuing a new digital currency. Both measures now go to the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official said late Thursday that the central bank should cut its key interest rate later this month, carving out a different view than that of Chair Jerome Powell, who has been harshly criticized by the White House for delaying rate cuts.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s governing board, said in a speech in New York City that the economy is showing signs of weakening, with consumer spending slowing and job gains cooling. The Fed should reduce borrowing costs to shore up spending and growth before the job market weakens further, Waller said.

“The economy is still growing, but its momentum has slowed significantly,” he said, adding that the slowdown threatens the Fed’s goal of maximum employment.

At the same time, President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are likely to only lift inflation temporarily and aren’t a reason to postpone rate cuts, Waller said.

“Tariffs have boosted, and will continue to boost, inflation a bit above the (Fed’s) 2% objective this year,” Waller said, but policymakers should “look through tariff effects and focus on underlying inflation,” which he said is nearing the 2% goal.

Waller has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Powell when the current chair’s term expires in May 2026, or perhaps earlier if Trump takes the unprecedented step of firing Powell. Trump has threatened to fire Powell this year but on Wednesday said it was “highly unlikely” he would take such a step.

For his part, Powell has said the Fed wants to see the impact of the duties on prices and the economy before making any moves.

Waller, a Trump appointee, has previously said that he would support a rate cut in July. Michelle Bowman, also a Trump appointee, has also spoken in favor of a cut.

Minutes to the Fed’s June 17-18 meeting said that only “a couple” of the 19 members of the central bank’s interest-rate setting committee supported a cut in July.

Other participants — the minutes didn’t say how many — said that the Fed should keep rates unchanged this year, since inflation remains above 2%. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year ago, the fastest pace in four months.

Other potential replacements for Powell have also publicly expressed support for cutting rates soon, including Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Fed’s board who stepped down in 2011. Warsh, currently a fellow at the Hoover Institution, said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” earlier this week that he supported rate cuts.

“The president’s right to be frustrated with Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve,” Warsh said.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Anyone firing up the grill this summer already knows hamburger patties and steaks are expensive, but the latest numbers show prices have climbed to record highs.

And experts say consumers shouldn’t expect much relief soon either.

The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound.

But this is not a recent phenomenon. Beef prices have been steadily rising over the past 20 years because the supply of cattle remains tight while beef remains popular.

In fact, the U.S. cattle herd has been steadily shrinking for decades. As of Jan. 1, the U.S. had 86.7 million cattle and calves, down 8% from the most recent peak in 2019. That is the lowest number of cattle since 1951, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many factors including drought and cattle prices have contributed to that decline. And now the emergence of a pesky parasite in Mexico and the prospect of widespread tariffs may further reduce supply and raise prices.

Here’s a look at what’s causing the price of beef to rise.

The American beef industry has gotten better at breeding larger animals, so ranchers can provide the same amount of beef with fewer cattle, said David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M.

Then in 2020, a three-year drought began that dried out pastures and raised the cost of feed for cattle, according to the American Farm Bureau. Drought has continued to be a problem across the West since then, and the price of feed has put more pressure on ranchers who already operate on slim profit margins.

In response, many farmers slaughtered more female cattle than usual, which helped beef supplies in the short term but lowered the size of future herds. Lower cattle supplies has raised prices.

In recent years cattle prices have soared, so that now animals are selling for thousands of dollars apiece. Recent prices show cattle selling for more than $230 per hundredweight, or hundred pounds.

Those higher prices give ranchers more incentive to sell cows now to capture profits instead of hanging onto them for breeding given that prices in the years ahead may decrease, Anderson said.

“For them, the balance is, ‘Do I sell that animal now and take this record high check?’ Or ‘do I keep her to realize her returns over her productive life when she’s having calves?’” Anderson said. “And so it’s this balancing act and so far the side that’s been winning is to sell her and get the check.”

The emergence of a flesh-eating pest in cattle herds in Mexico has put extra pressure on supply because officials cut off all imports of cattle from south of the border last year. Some 4% of the cattle the U.S. feeds to slaughter for beef comes from Mexico.

The pest is the New World screwworm fly, and female flies lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals. The larvae that hatch are unusual among flies for feeding on live flesh and fluids instead of dead material. American officials worry that if the fly reaches Texas, its flesh-eating maggots could cause large economic losses as they did decades ago before the U.S. eradicated the pest.

Agricultural economist Bernt Nelson with the Farm Bureau said the loss of that many cattle is putting additional pressure on supply that is helping drive prices higher.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to have a major impact on beef prices but they could be another factor that drives prices higher because the U.S. imports more than 4 million pounds of beef every year.

Much of what is imported is lean beef trimmings that meatpackers mix with fattier beef produced in the U.S. to produce the varieties of ground beef that domestic consumers want. Much of that lean beef comes from Australia and New Zealand that have only seen a 10% tariff, but some of it comes from Brazil where Trump has threatened tariffs as high as 50%.

If the tariffs remain in place long-term, meat processors will have to pay higher prices on imported lean beef. It wouldn’t be easy for U.S. producers to replace because the country’s system is geared toward producing fattier beef known for marbled steaks.

It’s the height of grilling season and demand in the U.S. for beef remains strong, which Kansas State agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor said will help keep prices higher.

If prices remain this high, shoppers will likely start to buy more hamburger meat and fewer steaks, but that doesn’t appear to be happening broadly yet — and people also don’t seem to be buying chicken or pork instead of beef.

Nelson said that recently the drought has eased — allowing pasture conditions to improve — and grain prices are down thanks to the drop in export demand for corn because of the tariffs. Those factors, combined with the high cattle prices might persuade more ranchers to keep their cows and breed them to expand the size of their herds.

Even if ranchers decided to raise more cattle to help replace those imports, it would take at least two years to breed and raise them. And it wouldn’t be clear if that is happening until later this fall when ranchers typically make those decisions.

“We’ve still got a lot of barriers in the way to grow this herd,” Nelson said. Just consider that a young farmer who wants to add 25 bred heifers to his herd has to be prepared to spend more than $100,000 at auction at a time when borrowing costs remain high.

There is typically a seasonal decline in beef prices as grilling season slows down into the fall, but those price declines are likely to be modest.

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Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report from Detroit.

President Donald Trump reportedly floated the idea of dismissing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell during a meeting with House Republicans this week. According to two individuals briefed on the meeting who spoke with the New York Times, Trump showcased a drafted letter to fire Powell and sought advice from roughly a dozen lawmakers, indicating he was leaning toward action.

The meeting in the Oval Office was initially intended to address concerns over cryptocurrency legislation, but Trump shifted focus to express dissatisfaction with Powell — whom he appointed in 2017 during his first term. Trump’s push for lower interest rates contrasts with Powell’s cautious approach amid inflation concerns.

While Trump appears determined, some within his orbit have reportedly warned him about the significant risks of firing Powell. Such a move could be calamitous and trigger wide-ranging consequences, they have cautioned, highlighting potential financial and political fallout that Trump might not fully anticipate.

Trump’s consideration of Powell’s removal has set off a wave of speculation. Whether he will act on his grievance against the Fed chair remains uncertain, but the possibility has reignited debates about the independence of America’s central bank and the broader implications of political intervention in economic governance.

The U.S. dollar $USDX experienced volatility in response to the news this week, reflecting market unease. While Trump later suggested firing Powell was “highly unlikely,” speculation intensified following an X post by Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, who wrote on Tuesday night that she was “hearing” that the Fed chair would be fired, and his sacking would be “imminent”.

Meanwhile, criticism of a costly Fed headquarters renovation has fueled tensions further. Wall Street leaders, including JPMorgan Chase’s $JPM CEO, Jamie Dimon, have cautioned against giving Powell his marching orders.

“I think the independence of the Fed is absolutely critical,” Dimon told media members in a call after the bank’s earnings announcement this week.

Powell has a constitutional mandate to stay in his job until 2027 and has declined comment on the reports.

—BBTW editor Peter Green is away, so Cheddar’s VP of Content, Lauren Babbage, is filling in.