— A man after learning how much his childhood Pokémon cards were worth. You’ll never guess what he used the money for…
Politics
Congress Was Busy Yesterday
What's going on: Congressional committees had their hands full with Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Here’s what went down...
The Fed files: At Warsh’s hearing, many senators had the same question: Would he be a “sock puppet” for President Donald Trump?Lawmakers have speculated about whether he’ll keep the Federal Reserve neutral or slash interest rates to bolster Trump’s agenda. The Wall Street financier doubled down, saying he’ll be “strictly independent” if confirmed. He told the senators he wants to keep money and politics separate (because that famously works). But some of his comments veered political, like declining to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. He also called for a “regime change” at the central bank, where he once served. Though Trump thinks Warsh already looks the part, analysts don’t expect him to be confirmed before Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends on May 15.
Public health tab: The hearings with RFK Jr. turned out to be much more heated than the bro-to-bro chats on his new podcast. Lawmakers grilled him on his budget request for the next fiscal year, vaccines, Medicaid cuts, and vaping. While he vowed to throw an extra $1 billion to vaccine research, he wouldn’t commit to supporting the new CDC director’s future immunization recommendations. RFK Jr. also defended his response to the measles outbreaks. When it comes to women’s health, he sidestepped questions about cuts to Title X reproductive health funding — but said women have a right to birth control. He also announced plans for food labels that indicate “healthiness” with a stoplight-color system, similar to what Chile does. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) looked firmly in the red.
