EconoFact Chats regularly hosts a panel of distinguished economic journalists to take stock of key issues affecting the U.S. economy. Since the panel last met in September, the U.S. has been through the longest government shutdown on record, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments on the legality of the Trump administration's tariffs, and the Democrats outperformed expectations in a few elections.

This week, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Binyamin Applebaum of The New York Times, Larry Edelman of The Boston Globe, Scott Horsley of NPR, and Claire Jones of The Financial Times to discuss these events, as well as recent shifts in consumer sentiment, Fed independence, inflation, and the impact of tariffs and lower immigration on the economy.