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"He had an old-fashioned sense that the people who funded the US military, and their elected representatives, had every right to know how their money was being spent. "
Rest in peace #whistleblower Earnest “Ernie” Fitzgerald.
“a strong swimmer against the tide of conventional thinking, one who believed that smarter spending would benefit both troops & taxpayers”
Thank you @MarkThompson_DC @POGOBlog @ChuckGrassley.
pogo.org/analysis/2019/02/re…
Nan Swift retweeted
New from me: The US has faced a higher cost than any other country from the global Hormuz oil shock, with the crisis adding $160 billion to its fuel bill — or $471 per person on average — despite being the world’s largest oil producer.
How nice for farmers. No one else has been dealing with high fuel prices and the downstream effects.
President Trump announces at his Kansas rally that USDA is rolling out $8 billion in fuel relief payments for farmers amid high diesel prices.
USDA tonight says it’s tapping an internal (much fought over on Capitol Hill) fund to provide the payments - which are structured like disaster aid.
Farm state GOP lawmakers are still pushing for another +$11 billion in aid for farmers hit by tariffs and high fuel costs in a separate year-end package.
Nan Swift retweeted
On a nominal dollar basis, this is only the third time in history the deficit has hit $2 trillion in one year.
The other two times: 2020 and 2021, when emergency spending surged and tax revenues plunged during the COVID pandemic.
The federal budget deficit totaled $2.0 trillion in fiscal year 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, $218 billion more than the deficit recorded in fiscal year 2025. cbo.gov/publication/61985
Nan Swift retweeted
Tariffs were supposed to “fix” the trade deficit.
Instead, the U.S. trade deficit jumped 13.7% in August to $105.6B as imports hit a record $420.8B.
But here’s the bigger point: a trade deficit is not a scoreboard showing America “losing.” Many of those imports are capital goods, semiconductors, machinery, and inputs Americans use to invest and produce. It’s not a zero-sum game.
Stop trying to centrally plan trade flows. End tariffs. Lower barriers. Let Americans buy and sell freely.
👀 bea.gov/data/intl-trade-inve…
Nan Swift retweeted
More gasoline has been delivered to Puerto Rico by ships operating under the Jones Act waiver in seven months than the Jones Act fleet delivered to the island in the last 8 years combined (4,986,000 barrels vs 4,812,000 barrels). – at Washington, DC
A thoughtful read on a complicated issue. Pocket rescissions certainly violate the intention of the Impoundment Control Act (and Congress' Power of the Purse), but the TEXT is shoddy on this count. Instead of moaning, Congress should fix it and cut the waste. We can have both!
President Trump announced the cancellation of nearly $1 billion in spending. The items in question are wasteful and inappropriate activities for the federal government to engage in. However, the means Trump used (pocket rescissions) are a big problem. 🧵
whitehouse.gov/briefings-sta…
Nan Swift retweeted
President Trump announced the cancellation of nearly $1 billion in spending. The items in question are wasteful and inappropriate activities for the federal government to engage in. However, the means Trump used (pocket rescissions) are a big problem. 🧵
whitehouse.gov/briefings-sta…
Nan Swift retweeted
Since Trump was elected, US steel prices have increased from around $800/metric ton to $1285/metric ton, a massive 61% cost increase--crippling U.S. manufacturers who rely on steel and products like tractors that are made with steel. (Price increase circled in red below). But congratulations on opening a new taxpayer-subsidized steel factory in Iowa, I suppose.
Nan Swift retweeted
The irony of a diesel export ban?
Remember the highly ambitious 2025 U.S.-EU energy deal? The EU is supposed to import $750B of energy products from us from 2026-2028.
Good luck explaining that to Brussels and our other trading partners.
@JJensen2020 @scottlincicome
Nan Swift retweeted
New @AAF analysis:
A diesel export ban is a bad policy idea!
-U.S. diesel prices are driven by global supply and demand.
-America is a surplus diesel producer, with 5.3 million b/d in production, exceeding 3.6 million b/d in total demand.
-U.S. refining capacity concentrated in the Gulf Coast, other regions, e.g. New England, do not have easy access to domestic supply due to infrastructure and logistics constraints; they have to import some diesel.
-A sustained export ban would force refiners to cut production, which means higher prices in gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel.
-It would exacerbate the global energy shock, further driving up global diesel prices. Latin America and Europe will be hit especially hard.
✅Rather than an export ban, policymakers should ease winter supply frictions by extending the Jones Act waiver and removing burdensome preclearance rules.
Might be of interest to @scottlincicome @JJensen2020 @clark_packard @snlester @cpgrabow @bencahillenergy @gbrew24
Nan Swift retweeted
Given that farmers are on average older and wealthier, the farm subsidy system is an aspect of Total Boomer Luxury Communism. It's not the biggest part of the federal budget, but it's one of the most wasteful.
Senate Ag Republicans plan to go it alone on a partisan farm bill later today. Weird that a "conservative" bill is so far from the reforms conservatives have long fought for. washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed…
Senate Ag Republicans plan to go it alone on a partisan farm bill later today. Weird that a "conservative" bill is so far from the reforms conservatives have long fought for. washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed…
Nan Swift retweeted
Setting aside the fact that Trump was convicted of fraud, here are all the people who committed fraud and were pardoned by Trump:
Rod R. Blagojevich (Wire fraud under color of official right (8 counts)), Brian KelseyBrian Kelsey (Conspiracy to defraud the United States), Devon Archer (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; securities fraud), Trevor Milton (Securities fraud; wire fraud (2 counts)), Jason Galanis (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud (2 counts); securities fraud; investment adviser fraud), Ozy Media, Inc. (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud), Carlos Roy Watson (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud), Michele Fiore (Conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud (6 counts)), Scott Howard Jenkins (Honest services mail fraud; honest services wire fraud (3 counts)), Julie Chrisley (Conspiracy to commit bank fraud; bank fraud (5 counts); wire fraud), Todd Chrisley (Conspiracy to commit bank fraud; bank fraud (5 counts)), Lawrence S. Duran (Conspiracy to commit health care fraud; health care fraud (11 counts)), Michael Gerard Grimm (Aiding/assisting preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns), Marian I Morgan (Conspiracy to defraud the United States; wire fraud (7 counts); transfer of funds taken by fraud (5 counts)), John G. Rowland (Conspiracy to defraud the United States), Charles Overton Scott (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; securities fraud), George Anthony Devolder Santos (Wire fraud — the Party Program Scheme), Glen Casada (Conspiracy to defraud the United States; honest services wire fraud (4 counts); use of fictitious name to carry out a fraud), Cade Cothren (Conspiracy to defraud the United States; honest services wire fraud (6 counts)), Robert Henry Harshbarger, Jr. (Health care fraud), Joseph Lewis (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; securities fraud (2 counts)), David Gentile (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; securities fraud; wire fraud (2 counts)), Enrique Roberto Cuellar (Honest services wire fraud; honest services wire fraud conspiracy), Imelda Rios Cuellar (Honest services wire fraud; honest services wire fraud conspiracy), Jacob Deutsch (Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud), Adriana Isabel Camberos (Conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud; wire fraud (7 counts)), Andres Enrique Camberos (Conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud; wire fraud (7 counts)), Julio M. Herrera Velutini (Honest services wire fraud (2 counts)), David Levy (Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; securities fraud), Hollie Ann Nadel (Conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud), Mark T. Rossini (Honest services wire fraud), Wanda Vazquez Garced (Honest services wire fraud), Terren Scott Peizer (Securities fraud; insider trading (2 counts)), Timothy S. Smith (Conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service), Stephen E. Buyer (Securities fraud (4 counts)), Joshua L. Davis (Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act), Matthew Sidney Geouge (Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act; tax evasion), Adam R. Kidan (Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud; wire fraud), Danny Preston Conrad (Embezzling by postal employee), Jack Charles Harvard (False statement to a federally insured bank, and aiding and abetting), Jeremy Young Hutchinson (Conspiracy to commit bribery; aiding and abetting filing of false income tax return; conspiracy; criminal forfeiture)
