Trump has been described as trying "to achieve most of his policy goals through threats and attacks, not a meaningful dialogue on policy with Congress".[1]
On January 16, 2025, Bessent appeared before theSenate Committee on Finance and defended Trump's tariff strategy and said he favored extensions on tax cuts and harsher economic policies against China and Russia.[31] TheU.S. Senate voted 68–29 toconfirm Bessent as treasury secretary on January 27.[32][33] TheSenate Committee on the Budget approved Vought's nomination on January 30 in an 11–0 vote that wasboycotted by all nineDemocratic Party members and the oneindependent on the committee.[34] The full Senate voted 53–47 on February 6 to confirm him as the OMB director.[35] On February 18, the Senate voted 51–45 to confirm Lutnick as the commerce secretary,[36] and he was sworn in to the role three days later, on February 21.[37]
Trump and DOGE have attempted to dismantle the vast majority of theUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID).[51] USAID, which employed around 10,000 people, was originally tasked to carry out and monitor worldwide humanitarian projects,[52] though some have criticized it for contributing to projects that are not humanitarian in nature and for mismanaging its funding.[53] Vought was also made the acting director of theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) upon becoming OMB director, and he worked to shut down much of the CFPB's operations.[54][b] In February 2025, Trump directed the treasury secretary to end production of theU.S. penny.[59]
On January 27, 2025, the OMB issueda temporary pause to all grants and loans from the federal government to 2,600 programs, in order to "determine the best uses of the funding" that was "consistent with the law and [Trump's] priorities".[65][66][67] The OMB later said that the pause would exclude "any program that provides direct benefits to Americans", such asMedicaid, theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,Pell Grants, and funding for small businesses and farmers.[68][69] The pause created uncertainty among government employees, lawmakers, and other organizations,[70] and the OMB rescinded the memo authorizing it on January 29.[65] The federal grant pause was blocked by afederal judge in February following lawsuits against it.[71][72][73] A judge ordered the Trump administration to "immediately restore frozen funding" on February 10, finding that the government had "improperly" frozen them.[74]
Trump says "the word affordability is a con job by the Democrats (...) the word affordability is a Democrat scam"
Trump has often confused a decrease in the rate of inflation (disinflation) with prices decreasing (deflation).[75]
Starting in November 2025, Trump increased attention on affordability while being described as out of touch, "On social media, Mr. Trump posted incessantly about the new Lincoln bathroom, remodeled in black and white marble with gold faucets and light fixtures, and on renovations at the Kennedy Center, which he said would be outfitted in marble and "magnificent high end carpeting.""[76]
In early January 2026, President Trump called for capping credit card interest at 10%. In contrast,Reuters reports that the average American consumer pays more than 19% interest.[77][78]
However, Wall Street analysts say that such a cap would require legislation from Congress which they estimate has “slim odds” of passing. Furthermore, this might lead to a pullback in credit card lending.[77]
Trump sought an unprecedented amount of control over US business, publicly attacked companies and their executives, demanded firings of corporate leaders who criticized or contradicted him, and demanded cuts of business profits by the federal government.[79] His administration confirmed that it maintained a loyalty scorecard of 553 American companies based on their "support of present and future administration initiatives".[80]
Trump abandoned traditional Republican orthodoxy about protecting and promoting the free market,[81][82][83] and sought greater and direct government control over private business which was widely described by academics, economists, commentators, and former corporate CEOs as an embrace ofright-wing socialism,[84]Chinese Communism,[85][86][87] orstate capitalism.[88][89][90] His demand and agreement withNVIDIA andAMD to provide the government with 15% of all overseas chip sales to China were described by critics as a "shakedown" and as potentially illegal and unconstitutional.[81][86] In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon became the largest shareholder ofMP Materials, bypassing US procurement and contracting laws in the process.[91] As part of an agreement to allow Japan-basedNippon Steel buyUS Steel, Trump was granted a personal, not governmental,golden share in US Steel, allowing him to influence board decisions and maintain veto power over certain decisions set to expire at the end of his presidential term, after which the Treasury and Commerce Departments would exercise control under all future presidents.[92]Intel agreed to grant the government a 10% equity stake in its company with no power to influence board decisions "with limited exceptions" in whatNBC News described as "the president's latest extraordinary move to exert federal government control over private business".[82]
Writing forTime magazine in 2024,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld described Trump's moves against capitalism from his first term as sharing "more in common with far-left progressive positions than with traditional GOP views, and are often far more progressive than the Biden Administration" and wrote that he expected such attacks to continue into his second term.[93]
In order to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts,Republican Party members inCongress began considering cuts to various social programs, includingMedicare.[94][95] In January 2025, theCongressional Budget Office estimated than a 10-year extension of the tax cuts would increase the U.S. federal government deficit by over $4 trillion if not offset by spending cuts, and the elimination of federal taxes on Social Security benefits, tips, and overtime income would further increase the national debt.[96][97][98] Trump's proposal of enacting much of his legislative agenda with a single bill has led to resistance in Congress, withfiscally conservative Republicans objecting to the tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts,[99] andmoderate Republicans opposing any bill with significant cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.[100] In February 2025, Trump signed anexecutive order directing the creation of a U.S.sovereign wealth fund before 2026, though such funds are typically funded by budgetary surpluses, which the U.S. does not have.[101]
Upon imposing the highest U.S. tariffs since the Great Depression (called "Liberation Day" in April 2025), Trump claimed that "jobs and factories will come roaring back". However, manufacturing employment declined every month for the rest of the year.[102]
Though Trump claimed in December 2025 that "inflation has stopped", theconsumer price index (CPI) began increasing in the months following his April 2025 announcement of tariffs.[103]
Trump asserted tariffs on Chinese goods in February and April 2025, igniting a trade war that injected uncertainty as China turned to other sources.[104]
In January 2026, the US dollar reached its lowest point in four years.[105] A lower dollar makes US goods less expensive abroad, but it also makes foreign products more expensive in the US and thus tends to increase inflation.[106]
Trump presenting a chart detailing "Liberation Day" tariff rates for many countries in April 2025Talks between U.S. delegation headed by Trump and Chinese delegation headed by Xi at theAPEC summit inBusan, October 2025
Trump also imposed a universal 10 percent tariff on China in February 2025,[117] which were raised to 20 percent in March, escalating theChina–United States trade war.[118][119] On March 12, he imposed 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum entering the United States,[120][121] and later that month the announced universal 25 percent tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts, which came into effect on April 3.[122]
On April 2, 2025, Trump announceduniversal 10 percent tariffs on nearly every country, with higher rates on 57 other countries.[123] The 10 percent tariffs took effect on April 5,[124][125] and the variable tariffs on other countries took effect on April 9, but were delayed for 90 days shortly after they entered force for all countries except for China, which Trump further raised tariffs on.[107] China responded with retaliatory tariffs of 84 percent on American goods.[126] By April 11, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods reached 145 percent,[126] while Chinese tariffs on American goods reached 125 percent.[127] That day, Trump announced that U.S. tariffs on all countries would exclude consumer electronics, though electronics from China would retain a 20 percent tariff.[128]
The U.S. dollar has experienced a significant decline since March 2025, primarily due to tariffs negatively impacting economic growth.Trump's announcement of "Liberation Day" in April contributed to a further decrease in its value. Since mid-May, the dollar's decline has persisted, with some attributing this trend to the appointment of a new Federal Reserve chairman and Trump's advocacy for reduced interest rates.[129]
On March 9, 2025, Trump declined to say whether his policies could lead to arecession in the United States.[130] He said in an interview withFox News that it would take time to see the payoff from his policies, but that they would ultimately be worthwhile, saying "If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective. We have a quarter. We go by quarters, and you can't go by that. You have to do what's right."[131] In the following days, theS&P 500,Nasdaq-100, andRussell 2000 indices enteredcorrections, which are defined as a fall in astock market index of over 10 percent from its peak.[132][130] After Trump's April 2 tariffs, the S&P 500 fell over 10 percent in two days, in its worst week since theCOVID-19 recession of 2020.[133][134]Markets worldwide dropped substantially at the same time in response to Trump's tariffs,[135][136][137] causing the Russell 2000 to enter abear market[138] and the U.S.bond market suffered a sell-off resulting from a loss in investor confidence in the stability of the U.S.stock markets.[139]
Trump promised to deregulatecryptocurrency in the United States, and turn the U.S. into the "crypto capital of the planet".[140][141][142] After his 2024 election victory, the price ofBitcoin reached an all-time high.[143] In March 2025, at a "crypto summit" hosted by Trump,David O. Sacks—who Trump named his administration's "cryptoczar", said that the cryptocurrency industry had been "subjected to prosecution and persecution".[144] Trump namedPaul S. Atkins as chair of theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[145] Under Trump, the SEC filed to dismiss its lawsuit againstCoinbase that charged it with operating as an "unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency",[146] requested a 60-day pause in its lawsuit againstBinance for violating securities laws,[147] and asked that its case against Chinese cryptocurrency billionaireJustin Sun, a Trump associate, be put on hold.[148][149] The SEC also said it would not exercise any regulatory authority overmemecoins, or cryptocurrency originating frominternet memes.[150]
On January 17, 2025, three days before his inauguration, Trump had launched and promoted$TRUMP, a memecoin that soared to a market valuation of $5 billion in a few hours,[151] becoming the 19th most valuable cryptocurrency in the world by January 19.[152] Trump personally benefitted from the trade of $TRUMP,[153] potentially increasinghis net worth by over $50 billion[154] and drawing criticism from ethics experts and government watchdogs.[152]
In March 2025, Trump established the United Statesstrategic Bitcoin reserve, funded by Bitcoin already owned by the U.S. federal government and U.S. treasury.[155] The U.S. is the largest known state holder of Bitcoin in the world, largely due to seized assets.[156] Trump also created a U.S. government stockpile of non-Bitcoin digital assets.[157][158][159][160]
In February 2025, Trump signedExecutive Order 14209 (PausingForeign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security). The administration has weakened theCorporate Transparency Act and stopped a crackdown ontax havens by the IRS.[161] A Reuters examination found "Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades".[162] In June 2025, the senate confirmedKen Kies to be the Treasury’s assistant secretary for tax policy. Kies was described as having "played an instrumental role in enabling some of the most lucrative and most important tax avoidance strategies used by multinational companies and the wealthiest Americans".[163] The "administration is rapidly gutting"[164] the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) created by theInflation Reduction Act.[165][166]
The administration proposed withdrawing a Biden administration proposal to require airlines to pay passengers for flight disruptions "consistent withExecutive Order (E.O.) 14192".[168][169][170]
^Horsley, Scott; Simon, Scott (January 25, 2025)."Trump inherits a strong economy by the numbers. What's his plan to lower prices?". National Public Radio.Mark Zandi: The numbers speak for themselves. Growth is strong. Lots of jobs. Unemployment is low. If you take the economy on the whole, it really is about as good as it gets. So President Trump is inheriting a fantastic economy.
^Charalambous, Peter (February 17, 2025)."Contradictory statements about Musk make it unclear who runs DOGE". ABC News.In his role as senior advisor to the President, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors. Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions.
^Tanis, Fatma (2025-03-18)."A federal judge says the USAID shutdown likely violated the Constitution".NPR. Retrieved2025-04-28.In a 68-page opinion Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang, an Obama appointee, wrote that "the Court finds that Defendants' actions taken to shut down USAID on an accelerated basis, including its apparent decision to permanently close USAID headquarters without the approval of a duly appointed USAID Officer, likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways, and that these actions harmed not only Plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public's elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress."
^Stein, Jeff; Arnsdorf, Isaac; Alemany, Jacqueline (January 31, 2025)."Senior U.S. official exits after rift with Musk allies over payment system".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286. Archived fromthe original on 2025-02-09. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2025.Musk has sought to exert sweeping control over the inner workings of the U.S. government, installing longtime surrogates at several agencies, including the OPM, and the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages real estate.
^Bridgeman, Tess (February 1, 2025)."Can the President Dissolve USAID by Executive Order?".Just Security.Those are the words Congress uses to establish an agency within the executive branch. It would take an act of Congress to reverse that – simply put, the president may not unilaterally override a statute by executive order.
^Jacobson, Louis (February 7, 2025)."Can DOGE close agencies, cut spending without Congress?".PolitiFact.Under existing laws, such as the Impoundment Control Act, "there are certainly instances in which a president could stop particular payments for particular reasons or for short periods," said Frank O. Bowman III, a University of Missouri law professor. "But it is absolutely clear that a president cannot constitutionally, unilaterally shut down an entire congressionally created agency and all its programs."
^Sanger, David E. (December 9, 2025)."Trump Says Americans Are Doing Great, Even as Views on the Economy Sour".The New York Times. Archived fromthe original on December 10, 2025.The president repeatedly confused slowing inflation down with bringing down prices — which would be deflation, with its own risks. "Our prices are coming down tremendously," he insisted, before wandering off topic. Later, he said that "inflation is stopped." His own Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that as of September, inflation was running close to 3 percent, almost exactly where it was at the end of the Biden administration.
^Green, Erica L. (November 10, 2025)."Trump Tries to Seize 'Affordability' Message".The New York Times. Archived fromthe original on November 10, 2025.Trump has mentioned the word affordability as much in the last week as he has in the past nine months. His renewed attention to the issue comes after weeks in which he faced mounting criticism for appearing out of touch with everyday Americans.
^abWile, Rob (August 22, 2025)."U.S. takes 10% stake in Intel as Trump flexes more power over big business".NBC News. RetrievedAugust 24, 2025.Trump continues to bulldoze through long-held norms regarding government and business, departing from the free-market ethos that has long prevailed in both major U.S. political parties.
^Sutton, Sam; Guida, Victoria (August 22, 2025)."Trump is turning the government into an investment firm".Politico. RetrievedAugust 24, 2025.From tariff carveouts to pro bono legal work from white-shoe law firms, Trump is exerting power over U.S. businesses in ways that go beyond even Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) aspirations. His ability to inject his agenda into private enterprises and dealmaking has shaken the guardrails that protect businesses from sudden political shifts and defied the free-market orthodoxy that was a hallmark of Republican economic policymaking.
^ab"Trump wants to command bosses like Xi does. He is failing".The Economist. August 13, 2025. RetrievedAugust 24, 2025.Ignore for a moment Donald Trump's shakedown of Nvidia, in which he has allowed the world's most valuable firm to resume limited exports of its artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to China in return for giving a 15% cut of the proceeds to Uncle Sam.
^Morrow, Allison (August 13, 2025)."Trump is tightening his grip on the economy, taking a page from China".CNN. RetrievedAugust 24, 2025.Trump's realignment of American business also bears similarities to China's model of 'state capitalism' — a mix between socialism and classic free-market capitalism in which the state is involved in, but doesn't directly own, private businesses.
^Northey, Hannah (August 18, 2025)."Trump's mineral megadeal is bypassing US laws".E&E News. RetrievedAugust 24, 2025.It's an unprecedented, though legally defensible, strategy that invites both risk and reward, said Joel Dodge, director of Industrial Policy & Economic Security at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.
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