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Since taking office in late January, the Trump administration has been working at a galloping pace to reshape the government and economy. We at Planet Money, The Indicator and the Planet Money newsletter have been doing our best to keep up and keep you informed.
Here's a roundup of some of our recent coverage of the Trump administration's econ-related actions.
Downsizing Of The Federal Workforce
The Trump administration and DOGE have been seeking to downsize the federal workforce, and our short daily show The Indicator has been covering the story. In "A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees," The Indicator takes a look at what's happening to government workers over the last few weeks. The administration sent a memo to nearly 2 million workers that offered them a deal: resign and you will get paid until September. However, can the administration just do this? They didn't go to Congress to get them to fund these severance packages. The Indicator talks to an employment lawyer, Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, who says that, under existing law, federal employees usually can get only ten days of administrative leave, not many months. "There's concern that paying individuals to be in a paid administrative leave status beyond 10 days is unauthorized and illegal," Pitts-Wiley says. These are just some of the issues that The Indicator reveals in its reporting on federal workforce downsizing.
The Dismantling Of USAID
The Indicator has been covering the Trump administration's actions to try and dismantle USAID. In their first episode on this issue, "The gutting of USAID," the show looks at the history of the agency and the fallout from it's recent disruption. The Indicator reports that the US has actually spent less than many other rich countries on foreign aid as a percentage of its economy. But the US economy is so big that the US is still the biggest foreign aid donor in absolute spending terms. Shuttering USAID and slashing foreign aid spending could have huge effects on poor nations.
"We are talking tens of millions of people who are alive because of USAID, rather than dead. And we do it for this teeny amount of money," Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, told The Indicator. The agency also may have helped U.S. national security and diplomatic interests. Some worry that, if U.S. foreign aid is slashed, China will fill the vacuum.
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But, at the same time, The Indicator reports, USAID has also faced criticisms in the past about wasteful spending and questions whether its work — and, more broadly, foreign aid — really helps economic growth in poor countries.
In another episode focused on the Trump's Administration's USAID cuts, The Indicator looks at another historic beneficiary of US foreign aid: American farmers (the episode is titled "How USAID cuts hurt American farmers"). The abrupt cuts to USAID has affected almost $500 million worth of American wheat, soybeans, and other commodities grown in the US that were set to be distributed as aid overseas. The Indicator reports that foreign aid, and specifically a program called "Food for Peace ," has been a small but significant source of revenue for farmers in the US. USAID had been this program's administrator. But, now that the agency's future is in question, some U.S. Senators are now working to try and transfer "Food For Peace" to the US Department of Agriculture.
Spending freezes and cuts
Housed in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, there's a gigantic money pipe through which hundreds of millions of dollars flow everyday. It's known as "the Secure Payment System," and it's how the federal government pays for most things. Recently, the Trump administration partially froze funds that flow through this pipe. The courts blocked the freeze, but, as Planet Money's reporting suggests in our recent episode " The Big Government Money Pipe Freeze," certain parts of the government may not be seeing this pipe flow dollars to them anymore.
Tariffs
President Trump has been raising tariffs, threatening to raise more tariffs, and in the process sparking what could prove to be a trade war bigger than his first term. The Indicator has been on the story.
Trump's tariff role model — President Trump speaks fondly of William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was a strong advocate for tariffs. He's credited with helping to protect the fledgling tinplate industry in the late 19th century. But did the tariff work? The Indicator takes a closer look at McKinley's tinplate tariff and if it was worth the cost.
The U.K.'s tariff balancing act — President Donald Trump has already made noise with tariff threats against the United States' North American trading partners. And soon, the United Kingdom could become another target which has a chance to drive a wedge between the U.K's trade relationship with the EU. The Indicator explores what the U.K. could possibly offer the United States to ease trade tensions.
Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war — The Indicator talks to a business journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on why oil would be the "biggest arrow in the quiver" should Canada and the U.S. descend into a trade war.
Immigration
After the incoming Trump administration announced that Chicago would be one of the first places targeted by raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Planet Money traveled there to get a sense of what it looked like on the ground. And they dived into an economic study that looked at the effect of mass deportations. "We find that mass deportations do not have a positive impact for the U.S. labor market as a whole or for U.S.-born workers," says Chloe East, who conducted the study. The episode is called "The 'chilling effect' of deportations."
Impoundment
Last week, the Planet Money newsletter covered the constitutional conflict over "impoundment." That's when the president refuses to spend money appropriated by Congress. Well, we also recently released an episode that dives into all this. The episode is called, "Can the president override Congress on spending?" Check it out here
We'll keep covering the economic policies of the Trump administration. And we'd love to get your thoughts. Is there stuff that's confusing? Is there stuff you want clarified? Send us your questions and ideas: planetmoney@npr.org.
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