Senate Democrats move to stall Trump’s ‘absurd’ bid to install new Fed chair
Democrats have moved to stall Donald Trump’s effort to exert greater control over the US Federal Reserve, condemning the president’s “absurd” bid to install a new leader of the central bank while it is targeted with criminal investigations.Democratic lawmakers on the Senate banking committee urged its Republican leadership on Thursday to postpone the planned confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, the financial executive and former Fed governor Trump has nominated to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair.In a letter to banking committee chair Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, the 11 Democrats called for a hearing currently scheduled for Tuesday to be delayed until investigations into Powell and Lisa Cook, a current Fed governor, are closed.Powell – whom the president has frequently and publicly chastised over his refusal to dramatically lower interest rates – is facing a criminal investigation into the renovations of the central bank’s headquarters, which he dismissed as a “pretext” tied to the Fed’s refusal to bow to Trump’s demands.The Trump administration also tried to fire Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, for alleged mortgage fraud.
Cook has denied wrongdoing, and the president’s attempt to fire her has made its way to the US supreme court, where justices appeared skeptical of the case for terminating Cook.The Democratic senators wrote in their letter to Scott: “It would be absurd on its face to allow President Trump to handpick the next chair of the Federal Reserve as his Department of Justice actively pursues criminal investigations of not one, but two sitting members of the Federal Reserve board.It would also be inappropriate to move forward with Mr Warsh’s nomination as the president publicly threatens the federal judge who found the DoJ’s probe to lack merit.”Meanwhile, Trump has continued to rail against James Boasberg, the chief judge of the DC district court, who blocked the US justice department from seeking testimony from Powell over his remarks to Congress on the Fed’s renovation project.Boasberg said in his 27-page ruling last month: “A mountain of evidence suggests that the government served these subpoenas on the board to pressure its chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.
”In response, Trump on Truth Social called Boasberg “wacky, nasty, crooked, and totally out of control”.In a statement to the Guardian, the White House said that it was focused on working with the the Senate to “swiftly confirm” Warsh to lead the Fed.“[His] academic credentials, private sector success, and prior experience on the Fed Board of Governors make him eminently qualified to restore confidence and competence in Fed decision-making,” said Kush Desai, a spokesperson.Elizabeth Warren, the banking committee’s top Democrat, told reporters that she still had “deep concerns” that Warsh, if confirmed, would be a “sock puppet” for the president.Following a meeting with Warsh on Thursday, Warren also expressed concern that he appeared in the Epstein files, although he “claims to have zero knowledge of anything related to this”.
Inclusion in the files does not imply wrongdoing.In February, a trove of documents released by the justice department related to the late sex-offender included a list shared with Epstein titled “St.Barth’s Christmas 2010”, where Warsh and his wife, Jane Lauder, are named.Warsh’s nomination also faces hurdles from within the president’s own party.The outgoing GOP senator Thom Tillis, a deciding vote on the banking committee, has said repeatedly he would not support any nomination as long as there is an investigation into Powell.
John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader, even called on the justice to “wrap up” its inquiry into the Fed chair,“I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to wrap up the investigation,” he said,Trump, however, went on a lengthy tangent during a Fox Business interview this week about the Fed’s renovations, alleging without evidence that it “is probably corrupt, but what it really is is incompetence”,He seemed unfazed by the possibility that Tillis could block Warsh’s confirmation,
Future of the NHS, saviour of the high street? High hopes for health hub in a Barnsley shopping centre
It is a revolution that might just save the NHS – and the high street. Imagine being able to have your eyes tested, mole examined or get an appointment with a consultant without going to your local hospital – and maybe fit in some shopping or a cinema visit afterwards.That, increasingly, is what people in Barnsley are doing after an unprecedented relocation of medical services from the district general hospital into a purpose-built outpatients centre in the Alhambra shopping centre, which is getting a new lease of life thanks to the experiment.Those involved say the initiative – the first of its kind in the NHS – is trailblazing and revolutionary. After a recent visit, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, described it as “really inspiring”
Effect of ‘gamechanger’ Alzheimer’s drugs ‘trivial’, review concludes
Drugs that have been hailed as a gamechanger for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease make no noticeable difference to patients, according to an extensive review.The analysis of clinical trials in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia found that the effects of anti-amyloid drugs on cognition and dementia severity over 18 months were “trivial”, with improvements in functional ability “small at best”.The verdict is a blow to the new wave of drugs that are designed to slow Alzheimer’s by clearing clumps of amyloid protein that build up in the brain. Amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, along with another protein called tau which forms toxic tangles in neurons.The Cochrane review drew on gold standard methods to assess data from published clinical trials, but was criticised by some researchers and charities for combining results from older, failed drugs with those from newer, more effective medicines
People in north of England twice as likely to be killed in accidents as Londoners, report finds
People in the north of England are twice as likely to be killed in accidents than Londoners, with accidental deaths clearly linked to deprivation, a report has found.The research, from safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), highlights vast regional differences in accidental deaths, which have also seen an overall increase.The north-east is the most dangerous region for accidents in England, with a death rate of 44 per 100,000 people, compared to an average of 32 across the country, with the north-west in second place with a death rate of 38 per 100,000 people.Scotland was the most dangerous of the devolved UK nations, with an even higher accidental death rate of 51 per 100,000, while Wales equalled the north-east of England, and Northern Ireland’s rate of 39 per 100,000 was also above the England average.Meanwhile, London was the safest place to live in the UK, with an average of 19
Sexual harassment is rife on comedy circuit and women lack protections, MPs told
Sexual harassment and abuse on the comedy circuit is persistent and under-reported, with protections available to women often limited or absent, a comedian has told MPs.Performers and campaigners said many female comedians are left to rely on informal warning systems to try to keep themselves safe but added that these systems can expose women to further risks.“Female comedians rely on so-called ‘whisper networks’, a shadow safeguarding system where warnings and experiences are shared on private WhatsApp threads,” Nina Gilligan, a comedian and the co-founder of the industry body Get Off Live Comedy, which provides HR support to those working in the industry, told the cross-party women and equalities committee on Wednesday.Chaired by the Labour MP Sarah Owen, the committee explored the experiences of women in live comedy, the representation of women across the sector and the barriers they face in building a career.The committee has been examining how employment protections apply in freelance and gig-economy sectors, where traditional safeguards are harder to enforce
Why we washed our hands of Izal | Brief letters
In the 1970s, to save money, a London psychiatric hospital replaced soft toilet tissue with Izal medicated toilet roll (Letters, 13 April). Therapists conducting successful sessions for outpatients with compulsive disorders were surprised by a sudden increase in relapse rates, until they realised that each sheet contained the exhortation “Now wash your hands”. Its use was discontinued. Prof David C SandersMortain, France Izal toilet paper made excellent tracing paper, but it also made a superb sound in a comb and paper. One member of a jokey interval band at the original Concorde Jazz Club in Southampton played an Izal bumphone to great effect!David WittMalmesbury, Wiltshire It’s not all doom and gloom when products are discontinued
Government’s 1.5m housebuilding target in England is suffering from subsidence | Nils Pratley
This is what the government didn’t want to hear when its target to build 1.5m homes in England during this parliament already looked out of reach. The country’s biggest housebuilder is trimming its purchases of new land because the Iran war has created “a less certain backdrop”.Barratt Redrow’s “disciplined approach” isn’t a downing of tools, it should be said. The company had previously expected to buy between 10,000 and 12,000 plots; now it will acquire between 7,000 and 9,000
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