Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering economic policy and the intersection of financial issues and the nation's capital. He has covered Washington for over 20 years as a reporter and video producer, working previously at The New York Times and CNN.
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How both Biden and Trump got to 'no' on the US Steel-Nippon merger
It took several months for Joe Biden and Donald Trump to arrive at their opposition to a sale of an iconic American steelmaker to a Japanese giant.
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Both sides of the aisle are pressuring Powell on interest rates
Jerome Powell has pledged to "never" consider politics when considering the direction of interest rates. But that isn't stopping both sides of the aisle from trying.
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Why a possible TikTok ban could face an uphill climb after passing House
The House advanced a bill to give China's ByteDance six months to divest TikTok or face a US ban on the app. It likely will face more pushback in the Senate.
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The Fed’s 2% inflation target is a source of growing liberal discontent
Jay Powell is staying hyper-focused on a numeric inflation goal that originated with an off-the-cuff remark in New Zealand 36 years ago — despite pushback from Democrats.
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Biden calls for tax hikes to shore up Social Security as Trump floats entitlement cuts
A back-and-forth between Joe Biden and Donald Trump Monday showed how Social Security is likely to be a front-burner issue in the 2024 campaign.
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Biden is spreading $442 billion across the US. The impact could be greatest where he’s least popular.
Two of Joe Biden's signature laws appear all but certain to have the most impact in rural corners of the US that are far from the President's likely base of voters this November.
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How Biden riffed on the economy during a fiery State of the Union
President Biden departed from his script numerous times during a State of the Union address Thursday night to discuss economic issues.
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State of the Union: You’re going to hear a lot about ‘shrinkflation’ and taxes during tonight’s speech
White House officials are making it clear that a significant chunk of President Joe Biden's speech Thursday will be focused on kitchen-table topics, from credit card fees to drug prices.
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Rate cuts likely at 'some point' this year: Fed's Powell
Fed Chair Jerome Powell plans to tell lawmakers Wednesday that interest rate cuts are likely in 2024 but that the central bank will proceed cautiously as it evaluates whether inflation is cooling appropriately.
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How another round of government dysfunction might delay your tax refund
Tax filing season is always a harried time for millions of Americans. A potential shutdown at the IRS just weeks before April 15 could make it even more chaotic than usual.
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How Trump has talked about stocks under Biden — in 5 stages
Donald Trump has not been shy about discussing stocks since he left office in 2021, with his rhetoric changing dramatically depending on the market's ups and downs.
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Congress just averted a government shutdown this weekend. The new deadline is just a week away.
Lawmakers moved quickly Thursday to avert a weekend government shutdown, but the deal only pushes some of the funding deadlines by a single week.
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House Speaker Johnson 'very optimistic' a government shutdown can be avoided
A White House meeting between Washington’s top decision makers ended with bipartisan optimism about avoiding a government shutdown this Friday.
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Lawmakers hope to avoid a March 1 shutdown. An April 30 deadline may be more critical.
Washington is trying to avoid a government shutdown starting this Friday. But a follow-up deadline of April 30 could be even more consequential.
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Biden wants the US to make 20% of all high-end chips by end of the decade
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said 20% of "leading edge logic" chips can be made in the US by the end of the decade. The US currently makes 0%.
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Wall Street is paring its bets on ESG and DEI as political pressure rises
Big businesses keep backing away from "ESG" and "DEI" as the political heat around these buzzwords mounts in an election year.
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Nvidia’s AI mania provides new urgency to Biden’s goal of boosting US chipmakers
The growing fear that there is not enough semiconductor supply to meet the AI demand is adding new urgency to the effort to bring chipmaking back on US soil.
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Biden and Trump want to rein in Big Tech. Their campaigns can't avoid using it.
Tech giants are often a target for derision in Washington. Presidential campaigns are nonetheless sending a lot of money their way.
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Why the Fed now finds itself on a collision course with the 2024 election
Jay Powell's political conundrum is getting more challenging with each new week of 2024.
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Another government shutdown looms in March as the House heads home
House lawmakers aren't scheduled to return to Washington until Feb. 28. That's just two days ahead of yet another government shutdown deadline.