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00:00You're listening to Time's D.C. Brief Newsletter from April 11, 2025.
00:05This audio was produced by Eleven Labs for Time, using an A.I. voice.
00:10Our top story today is called
00:12Senator Jackie Rosen, Democrats are starting to find their footing,
00:16by senior correspondent Charlotte Alter.
00:19In the hours before President Trump abruptly dialed back his sweeping reciprocal tariffs,
00:24Senator Jackie Rosen led her Democratic colleagues
00:27in sending a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
00:30Warning about the tariffs' impact on small businesses.
00:34Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, was re-elected to her second term last November,
00:38even as Trump won the state for the first time.
00:41She talked to Time about how the tariffs will be felt back home,
00:45why Nevada is a bellwether for national trends,
00:47and why Senator Cory Booker's filibuster-style speech was so important.
00:52This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
00:57What do you think will be the implication of these tariffs?
01:00Really, what they are is a national sales tax.
01:03What all of this comes down to is,
01:06where does everyone manage their lives from?
01:09The kitchen table.
01:12Everywhere I went, I heard about the price of food.
01:15Well, I can tell you that food is going to go through the roof.
01:18The price of gas, the price of affordable housing,
01:22all the things that go into building a home or apartment,
01:25every little nail and insulation and lumber, all of that.
01:30So everybody is going to get squeezed.
01:32And of course, Nevada, we're going to get double-squeezed,
01:35because when people are uncertain about their future
01:37or how they're going to pay for things,
01:39do you think they go on vacation?
01:42They do not.
01:43We've already seen a reduction in visitors from Canada.
01:46We've seen a 70% drop.
01:48My friends, my community, my state,
01:51we're going to get hit with the higher prices and lower tourism,
01:54and we're going to get squeezed from both ends.
01:57And that's going to hurt our businesses.
02:01You won re-election last year in Nevada,
02:03a state Trump won after losing it
02:06in the previous two presidential elections.
02:08What went wrong for Democrats there?
02:10And what did you do differently?
02:13Nevada is the most working-class battleground state.
02:16We are a pragmatically purple state.
02:18Independent-minded people look for pragmatic problem-solvers.
02:22It's why I won.
02:23Hard-working families are hurting from the high cost of living.
02:27They wanted change.
02:28At the national level,
02:30I think Democrats have done a poor job
02:32talking to working-class voters
02:33and addressing the issues that they care about most.
02:37We saw pretty significant losses in 2024
02:40with working-class voters,
02:42particularly in our Latino communities,
02:45our Asian communities,
02:46and those were the key places
02:48that I actually overperformed on the ticket.
02:51Voters want a leader
02:52who's going to listen
02:53and going to stand up
02:54to the corporate special interests.
02:57Can you be more specific?
02:59What were you doing that Kamala Harris wasn't?
03:01I think that I focused on specifics.
03:04Go back to the kitchen table.
03:05What's the first thing people think about?
03:08They have to buy food.
03:09In Nevada,
03:10they have two primary grocery store chains,
03:12Kroger and Albertsons.
03:13They wanted to merge.
03:16Now what does that mean?
03:17In some of our rural communities,
03:20they were the only two stores in town.
03:22So if they merge,
03:23you think they're going to keep both stores?
03:26Certainly not.
03:28That means they're going to lose jobs.
03:31And then what else does it mean?
03:32Well, there's only one store in town.
03:34Do you think they're going to lower the prices?
03:36Certainly not.
03:37And so we blocked that Kroger-Albertsons merger,
03:40which meant a lot to Nevada.
03:42We have an affordable housing crisis.
03:45Particularly in southern Nevada,
03:47we have these corporations
03:48who come buy up homes and apartments.
03:50So we have legislation
03:51trying to block those corporate investors
03:53from price-gouging folks.
03:55We ran TV ads on both of those issues.
03:57I talked about it everywhere.
03:59I think too many Democrats in D.C.
04:02just spent time trying to convince people
04:04that maybe inflation wasn't as bad in America
04:06as other places,
04:07or that they were doing better
04:08than they actually were doing.
04:10And that's not how people were feeling.
04:13And it made our party, I think,
04:15seem out of touch.
04:17Do the Democrats have a plan to counter Trump?
04:20What is it?
04:21The losses in the last election and Trump winning,
04:24it was a little shocking to everyone.
04:27And it's no secret
04:28that we're in the minority in Congress,
04:30and the levers are few and limited.
04:32It hasn't even been 100 days.
04:34I think we're starting to find our footing now
04:36of what the levers are that we can pull here.
04:39I think a real turning point
04:40was Cory Booker's speech.
04:42I think a lot of people went into it thinking,
04:45who's going to tune in at two in the morning?
04:47It's just another speech.
04:48I will tell you, by the end of it,
04:50all of the Democrats came that last hour,
04:53and there were tears and clapping,
04:55like this emotional response.
04:57Then we go into all of those hands-off demonstrations,
05:00and people started calling us saying,
05:02you guys all stood up.
05:04You used your voice.
05:05We aren't powerless.
05:07We're going to use ours.
05:09I didn't expect it to be such a powerful moment.
05:12The tears and applause were coming out
05:13in this cathartic moment of,
05:15we may not have all the legislative tools,
05:18but we are not powerless.
05:20Now let's get to work.
05:21It was kind of a call to action.
05:23I think I feel kind of a renewed purpose.
05:27Up next, we have an article called
05:29In Congress, Trump's Tariff Pullback Sparks Relief,
05:33Frustration, and Suspicion,
05:34by Time Politics reporter Nick Popley.
05:38President Donald Trump's decision to pause
05:40most of his newly announced tariffs for 90 days
05:43sparked a wave of mixed reactions on Capitol Hill.
05:47Jubilation among Republicans,
05:49deep skepticism among Democrats,
05:50and a fresh round of questions
05:52about the president's motivations and methods.
05:55The pause, which maintains a 10% global tariff
05:59and ratchets up duties on China to 125%,
06:03sent markets soaring,
06:05with the S&P 500 jumping 9.5%,
06:08its sharpest single-day gain since 2008.
06:12But while some lawmakers called it
06:14a prudent course correction,
06:16others saw chaos masquerading as strategy.
06:18Senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat,
06:23tells Time of Trump's latest reversal,
06:26It's like he wakes up every morning
06:27and has a different plan for what to do.
06:30A Time analysis in February
06:33found that the Trump administration
06:34has already reversed itself
06:36more than a dozen times
06:37in high-profile decisions.
06:39The surprise announcement,
06:42made via Trump's Truth Social account
06:44while top trade officials
06:45were testifying before Congress,
06:46left many lawmakers scrambling for details.
06:50U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer
06:53was defending the tariffs
06:54in the middle of a House Ways and Means Committee hearing
06:56when the news of Trump's reversal came to light.
07:00Greer told the committee
07:00he was learning of the pause,
07:02quote,
07:03in real time.
07:04I understand it's 90 days.
07:06I haven't spoken to the president
07:07since I've been in this hearing,
07:09he said.
07:10Despite the lack of clarity,
07:12Republican lawmakers appeared largely relieved.
07:14GOP senators described cheering and clapping
07:18during a closed-door lunch
07:19as the news broke.
07:21Senator John Cornyn of Texas
07:22described a room full of lawmakers
07:24checking their retirement accounts.
07:27Jubilation is too strong a word,
07:29he told reporters.
07:30It was positive.
07:32Senator Ted Cruz,
07:33a Texas Republican
07:34who had publicly raised concerns
07:36with Trump's tariff strategy,
07:38framed the reversal
07:39as what he hoped
07:39was part of a broader plan
07:41to use tariffs as leverage
07:43to reduce trade barriers
07:44and boost U.S. businesses.
07:46President Trump has an opportunity
07:48to achieve one of the most
07:49extraordinary economic successes
07:51for America in history,
07:53Cruz tells Time.
07:55Today's announcement was terrific.
07:57It proves that Trump's a good deal maker,
08:00added Senator Chuck Grassley,
08:02an Iowa Republican
08:03who introduced a bill last week
08:04that would limit the president's authority
08:06to unilaterally impose tariffs,
08:09a bill that Trump has threatened
08:10to veto if passed.
08:13I think it brings predictability,
08:15it shows moderation,
08:17it shows that there's kind of an endgame,
08:19and I think it's going to bring credibility
08:21to his whole process.
08:24Senator Rand Paul,
08:25a Kentucky Republican
08:26who has long opposed tariffs,
08:29welcomed the rollback
08:30but questioned why it had taken so long
08:32and at such cost.
08:35When you add a bunch of tariffs,
08:36you'll lose $6 trillion
08:38in the marketplace, he said.
08:40When you get rid of the tariffs,
08:42guess what, it comes pounding back,
08:44he added.
08:45I hope there's a lesson learned.
08:47Trump's latest tariff policy
08:48draws a sharp distinction
08:49between adversaries and allies,
08:52dialing back taxes on imports
08:53from Europe and North America
08:55while doubling down
08:56on punitive measures against Beijing.
08:59Under the revised structure,
09:00Chinese goods will face tariffs
09:02as high as 125%.
09:04Administration officials say
09:06the move is a deliberate effort
09:08to isolate China's practices,
09:10currency manipulation,
09:12IP theft,
09:13and forced technology transfers
09:15as uniquely harmful.
09:18Senator Lindsey Graham,
09:19a South Carolina Republican,
09:20tells Time,
09:22somebody has finally called
09:23the question on China.
09:24They manipulate their currency,
09:27they steal our intellectual property,
09:29and now they're going to have to answer for it,
09:31Graham said.
09:33But for all the relief,
09:34the reversal also underscored
09:36the very instability
09:38that has unsettled global markets
09:40and strained relationships
09:42with U.S. allies.
09:43While some Republicans cast the pause
09:47as a sign of Trump's flexibility,
09:49others quietly acknowledged it
09:51as evidence of a reactive,
09:53improvisational approach
09:54that is making it harder
09:55to plan for the future
09:56on Wall Street or in Washington.
09:59Democrats were far less forgiving.
10:02Many accused Trump
10:03of playing games with global markets
10:04and destabilizing the economy
10:06for political gain.
10:08Senator Tim Kaine,
10:10a Virginia Democrat,
10:12tells Time that Trump
10:13needs to end the emergency,
10:15he declared to enact his tariffs
10:17and start over.
10:18The chaos he's injecting
10:20in the economy is horrible,
10:22Kaine adds.
10:23Right now,
10:23he's put tariffs on nations
10:25who have trade surpluses,
10:27tariffs on nations
10:28that have no trade barriers
10:29at all with the United States.
10:31It's just a nonsensical policy.
10:33Smith,
10:34the Minnesota senator,
10:35described a constituent
10:37who sold some investments
10:38after panicking
10:39over their falling retirement savings,
10:41only to watch the market rebound
10:43after Trump's announcement.
10:45She said Trump
10:46should fully reverse
10:47his tariff policy
10:48and pause the 10% rate
10:50he's imposed on most countries.
10:52Other Democrats
10:53raised more serious concerns.
10:56Senator Adam Schiff
10:57of California
10:58told Time
10:59that Congress
10:59should investigate
11:00whether Trump engaged
11:01in insider trading
11:03or market manipulation.
11:04Finally,
11:08Time reporter
11:08Rebecca Schneid writes,
11:10breaking down
11:11the insider trading accusations
11:12leveled at Trump
11:13after tariffs' U-turn.
11:15It's been a volatile few days
11:17for the stock market
11:17since President Donald Trump's
11:19April 2 announcement
11:20of 10% baseline tariffs
11:22on all imported goods,
11:24as well as additional import taxes
11:26on 60 countries.
11:27On April 9th,
11:28Trump went on to pause
11:29most of his tariffs
11:30for three months,
11:31while keeping in place
11:32the 10% baseline
11:33and significantly increasing
11:35the tax on imports from China.
11:37The stock market
11:38immediately surged
11:39after Trump announced
11:40his 90-day pause.
11:42The S&P 500
11:43rocketed more than 9%
11:45Wednesday afternoon,
11:46though the Thursday
11:47saw a return
11:48to extreme volatility
11:49as the Dow
11:50dropped 1,900 points
11:53and the S&P 500
11:54dipped 5%.
11:56Hours before he announced
11:57the pause,
11:58as stocks were still
11:59in negative territory
12:00over an intensifying trade war.
12:03Trump posted messages
12:04on his social media platform,
12:06Truth Social,
12:08that seemed to be
12:08addressed to investors.
12:10This is a great time to buy,
12:12the President wrote,
12:13signing off with his initials
12:15DJT,
12:16which also serve
12:17as the stock symbol
12:18for his company,
12:19Trump Media
12:20and Technology Group Corp.
12:22It was noticeable
12:23that Trump signed the post
12:24with his initials,
12:26something he does not
12:27always do.
12:27Trump Media
12:29and Technology Group
12:30saw its stocks
12:30shoot up nearly 22%
12:32after the announcement
12:33of the tariff reversal
12:34on Wednesday,
12:36and they were up
12:36a further 5%
12:37in pre-market trading
12:38early Thursday morning.
12:40Trump had said
12:41in another post,
12:42as the markets opened
12:43on Wednesday morning,
12:44just a few hours
12:45before he posted
12:46his decision
12:47to pause his tariffs
12:48for 90 days,
12:49quote,
12:49Be cool.
12:51Everything is going
12:52to work out well.
12:53The USA will be bigger
12:54and better than ever before.
12:56Lawmakers have made
12:57accusations
12:57of insider trading.
12:59Senator Adam Schiff,
13:00a California Democrat,
13:02called on Wednesday
13:03for an investigation
13:04into Trump's
13:05Great Time to Buy post,
13:07flagging it as potential proof
13:08of insider trading
13:09or stock market manipulation.
13:12Family meme coins
13:13and all the rest of it
13:14are not beyond
13:15insider trading
13:16or enriching themselves.
13:17I hope to find out soon,
13:19Schiff told Time.
13:21Trump previously
13:22received criticism
13:23over the launching
13:24of his Trump meme coins
13:25in January.
13:27According to the U.S.
13:28Securities and Exchange Commission,
13:30market manipulation
13:31is when
13:32someone artificially affects
13:34the supply or demand
13:35for a security,
13:36which can include
13:37spreading false information
13:38or rigging quotes,
13:40prices,
13:41or trades
13:41to make it look like
13:42there is more demand.
13:44Insider trading,
13:45on the other hand,
13:46is described as
13:47buying or selling
13:48a security
13:49in breach of a fiduciary duty
13:51or other relationship
13:52of trust and confidence
13:53on the basis of material,
13:55non-public information
13:57about the security.
13:59A classic example of this
14:00would be
14:00if someone privy
14:01to information
14:02that would change
14:03a volatile stock market
14:04let their close family
14:06or friends know
14:06so that they could
14:08either sell or buy stocks
14:09in the hopes
14:10of turning a profit.
14:12Schiff and other Democrats
14:13in Congress argue
14:14that the timing
14:15of Trump's post
14:16raises legal
14:17and ethic concerns
14:18and that Trump
14:19should make clear
14:20who knew about
14:20his tariff reversal decision
14:22before he announced it
14:23and if any of those people
14:24let others know
14:25about Trump's decision.
14:27When asked about
14:28the timing of his decision
14:29to pause most tariffs
14:30and when he had settled
14:32on that,
14:33Trump said in the Oval Office
14:34on Wednesday
14:35that he had been
14:36considering it
14:36for a period of time.
14:38He explained,
14:39I wouldn't say this morning
14:41over the last few days
14:43I've been thinking about it.
14:45I think it probably
14:46came together
14:46early this morning.
14:49A letter sent
14:50to Trump's
14:50White House Chief of Staff
14:52Susie Wiles
14:52and Jameson Greer
14:54acting director
14:55of the U.S. Office
14:56of Government Ethics
14:57on Thursday
14:58by Schiff
14:59and Senator Ruben Gallego
15:00an Arizona Democrat
15:02addressed a number
15:03of concerns.
15:04They called for
15:05a review of quote
15:06any communications
15:07between White House
15:08and Executive Branch
15:09agency employees
15:10and external parties
15:12including financial institutions,
15:14brokers,
15:14dealers
15:15that may have included
15:16non-public information.
15:18As a senator,
15:20Schiff can investigate
15:21these claims
15:21but lacks the subpoena power
15:23that a congressional committee
15:24might employ
15:25in such an investigation.
15:27Representative Alexandria
15:29Ocasio-Cortez
15:30a New York Democrat
15:31also spoke out
15:32calling for all members
15:34of Congress
15:34to disclose
15:35any stocks
15:36they had bought
15:36in the past 24 hours.
15:39I've been hearing
15:40some interesting chatter
15:41on the floor,
15:42she wrote on X
15:43on Wednesday night.
15:45Disclosure deadline
15:45is May 15th.
15:47We're about to learn
15:48a few things.
15:49It's time to ban
15:50insider trading
15:51in Congress.
15:53In Schiff's
15:53letter of inquiry,
15:54he singles out
15:55Elon Musk
15:56who's played
15:57a high-profile role
15:58in the Trump administration
15:59through the Department
16:00of Government Efficiency,
16:02Doge.
16:03Schiff wrote,
16:04stock in Elon Musk's
16:06company,
16:06Tesla,
16:07increased 18%
16:08immediately following
16:10the president's announcement
16:11to pause most tariffs,
16:13which Mr. Musk
16:14had publicly opposed.
16:16Meanwhile,
16:17House Minority Leader
16:18Hakeem Jeffries,
16:20a New York Democrat,
16:21said on Thursday
16:22that House Democrats
16:23will be launching
16:23investigations
16:24into possible
16:25stock manipulation.
16:28What are experts saying
16:29about the insider trading
16:31accusations leveled
16:32at Trump?
16:33Karen Woody,
16:34professor of law
16:35at Washington
16:36and Lee School of Law,
16:37says that an investigation
16:38into whether the president
16:39or others in his circle
16:41engaged in insider trading
16:42or other illegal
16:43financial transactions
16:44is valid.
16:45Woody says,
16:46this isn't a witch hunt
16:48where it seems like
16:49allegations that have
16:50come out of thin air.
16:52This is a pretty clear
16:53example of what we would
16:54say is some potential
16:55of real market manipulation
16:57by someone who has
16:58the ability to move
16:59the markets.
17:01Typically,
17:02the next steps,
17:03according to Woody,
17:04would be for the SEC
17:05to investigate
17:06these accusations,
17:08given that the SEC
17:09is sort of the market
17:10watchdog.
17:12However,
17:12Adam Pritchard,
17:13law professor
17:14at the University of Michigan,
17:16says that Trump's
17:16truth social post itself
17:18was, quote,
17:19pretty clearly
17:20not insider trading,
17:22unless there is evidence
17:23that Trump himself
17:24was trading
17:24or providing
17:25more detailed information
17:26to others privately.
17:28Pritchard said,
17:29if he the president
17:30says things,
17:31you know,
17:32to Donald Trump Jr.,
17:33and then Donald Jr.
17:34goes and trades
17:35on those things,
17:36when he was the only one
17:37who heard about it,
17:38then we've got an issue,
17:39right?
17:41But when Trump
17:42says things
17:42at a press conference
17:43or on social media,
17:44then no,
17:45it's not insider trading.
17:48Insider trading law
17:49can make violations
17:50of it difficult
17:50to identify,
17:52says Kevin Douglas,
17:53an assistant law professor
17:54at Michigan State University,
17:56who notes
17:57there are no federal statutes
17:58that explicitly prohibit
18:00insider trading
18:01and current case law
18:02doesn't provide a roadmap.
18:04The Stock Act,
18:05which prohibits
18:06the president
18:07and federal employees
18:08from trading
18:08on non-public information,
18:11defines non-public information
18:12in a way that keeps
18:14the law fatally ambiguous,
18:16Douglas tells Time
18:17in an emailed statement,
18:19highlighting how the lack
18:20of a clear definition
18:21can complicate matters.
18:25Thank you for listening
18:26to Time's DC Brief.
18:28For more news and politics,
18:29visit time.com.