Balance of Power

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. US payrolls rose in January by the most in more than a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market continued to stabilize at the start of 2026. Employers added 130,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Wednesday. That followed revisions to the prior year, which showed a marked slowdown in hiring. Job gains averaged just 15,000 a month last year, down from the initially reported 49,000 pace. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Senior US immigration officials told House lawmakers that officers involved in federal operations in Minnesota were trained on constitutional limits, crowd control and the use of force, as Congress scrutinizes two fatal shootings that occurred during enforcement actions earlier this year. At a House Homeland Security Committee oversight hearing, Chairman Andrew Garbarino questioned ICE Director Todd Lyons about whether officers are trained to distinguish between lawful protest activity and conduct that unlawfully interferes with enforcement. Lyons said deportation officers and special agents are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in “defensive tactics and personal safety,” as well as laws including key Constitutional amendments relating to speech, firearms, searches, citizenship and other rights before being deployed, with additional training once in the field. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Congress has less than five days for a bipartisan deal to avert yet another partial shutdown — and questions abound on what that would look like. Funding will lapse for the Department of Homeland Security Friday night unless Congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump and at least some Senate Democrats can find agreement on immigration enforcement. Or perhaps a plan to fund everything in the agency except ICE. Lawmakers return today after leaving town miles apart after Democrats laid out their longer list of demands, and Republicans quickly rebuffed them. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A discussion of President Donald Trump's path on affordability -- including a look at housing-related legislation that could pass the House as soon as this week -- led Bloomberg Intelligence's Feb. 9 edition of the Washington Policy Pulse. A potential antitrust probe into US homebuilders by the Trump Administration is likely more bark than bite. We also discussed the likelihood of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security -- which in our view is unlikely to have any impact on markets or equities. Finally, we gave a status update on cryptocurrency legislation and tariffs. The Bloomberg Intelligence Financial Policy weekly call is designed to provide investors an opportunity to learn about the most recent relevant policy research, information regarding forthcoming political catalysts and other on-goings within Washington DC. The call is open to all and is held every Monday at 10:00 a.m. EST. You can register for the call here: https://bloomberg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__PqCkwY-S2m3hbQqvVC1_Q#/registration See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed Democrats’ list of demands to curb the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement posture as political messaging rather than an opening bid in negotiations on a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security. The two parties have just eight days to reach an agreement or risk a shutdown at the department at the center of the ongoing immigration crackdown. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries listed 10 restrictions they want placed on federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol in a letter late Wednesday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Thune. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. The Department of Homeland Security will immediately pull 700 officers from Minneapolis, a reduction of about a quarter, amid efforts to deescalate tensions after federal agents killed two US citizens. White House border czar Tom Homan, who President Donald Trump sent to Minneapolis as part of an effort to ease pressure amid local outrage, emphasized a shift to more targeted enforcement after a surge of immigration agents sparked widespread protests. Homan also said cooperation with local authorities to detain immigrants with criminal records had improved. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. The partial US government shutdown is on track to end later Tuesday after the House passed a funding deal President Donald Trump negotiated with Senate Democrats, overcoming opposition from both ends of the political spectrum. The spending package, which Trump has said he wants enacted quickly, now goes to the president for his signature. The House vote was 217 to 214. Still, a more limited funding lapse looms since the Department of Homeland Security would only be funded through Feb. 13 while Trump negotiates with Democrats over their demands for new restraints on immigration enforcement agents. The rest of the government would be funded through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our view that the US government partial shutdown will likely end this week -- with the bulk of the US government funded for the rest of the fiscal year -- led Bloomberg Intelligence's Feb. 2 edition of the Washington Policy Pulse. We also discussed the confirmation process and how it could play out for President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve, especially in light of Senator Thom Tillis's desire to block the nomination at the Senate Banking Committee. Finally, we discussed upcoming testimony from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on regulation for banks like Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. The Bloomberg Intelligence Financial Policy weekly call is designed to provide investors an opportunity to learn about the most recent relevant policy research, information regarding forthcoming political catalysts and other on-goings within Washington DC. The call is open to all and is held every Monday at 10:00 a.m. EST. You can register for the call here: https://bloomberg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__PqCkwY-S2m3hbQqvVC1_Q#/registration See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. House leaders are scrambling to pass a bipartisan deal to end a partial government shutdown by funding the majority of agencies through September with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security. The House Rules Committee will meet at 4 p.m. today on the latest version of the spending measure blessed by President Donald Trump, but it will be a heavy lift. The five full-year funding bills in the deal — Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Transportation-HUD, Financial Services-General Government, and National Security-State — passed the House last month by a bipartisan vote of 341-88. But the circumstances are different this time around with the inclusion of the two-week DHS stopgap. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, ending months of speculation over who’d take charge of US interest rates as the president pushes for big cuts. Trump elevated Warsh, who’s advised him on economic policy and previously served as a Fed governor, to succeed Jerome Powell when his term at the helm ends in May. It marks a comeback for Warsh, 55, who’s called for a major overhaul of the Fed but was passed over for the top job in 2017 when Trump opted for Powell. If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh will take the reins at a time when many economists and investors see the Fed’s traditional insulation from elected officials as being under threat from the White House. Warsh aligned himself with Trump in 2025 by arguing publicly for lower rates, going against his longstanding reputation as an inflation hawk. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall is in for Kailey. Joe and Tyler speak with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill. Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats are nearing a deal to avert a US government shutdown as the White House negotiates with Democrats to place new limits on immigration raids that have provoked a national outcry. The talks between top Senate Democrats and the Trump administration aimed at averting a government shutdown have moved closer to Democrats’ demands, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. “I think we’re getting close,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting Thursday morning. “We’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown.” Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the two parties are in talks with the White House over US government funding as Democrats threaten to force a partial US government shutdown following a mounting public backlash over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. The fatal shooting of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on Saturday quickly led to a Senate Democratic revolt against funding the Department of Homeland Security without new safeguards. Funding for several other agencies, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Treasury and Education, could become a casualty of the dispute as a Jan. 30 funding deadline nears. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Donald Trump said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would remain in her post despite the president’s decision to reshuffle the leadership running his deportation effort in Minnesota following widespread outcry over the killing of two US citizens by federal agents. “I think she’s doing a very good job,” Trump told reporters Tuesday as he departed the White House for a trip to Iowa. “The border is totally secure.” The public vote of confidence came a day after the president ordered the shakeup in the aftermath of the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent during an enforcement operation. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. President Donald Trump indicated he’ll make changes to his administration’s deportation crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of two US citizens during immigration raids sparked nationwide uproar. The president said he was sending US border czar Tom Homan — who is seen as relatively measured compared to rivals, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — to Minneapolis in a bid to deescalate tensions. Trump also spoke with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, telling the Democrat who he has derided as “grossly incompetent” that he would consider independent investigations into the shootings and reducing the number of federal agents in his state. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Snow and dangerously bitter cold have begun to spread from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes as a massive storm pushes toward the US Northeast, disrupting travel and threatening power outages for much of the nation. The storm is expected to span nearly 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers), bringing heavy snow, crippling ice and subzero wind chill to some of the biggest US cities. Natural gas prices surged on concern iced-over equipment will choke supplies. Airlines have already canceled more than 3,000 flights and Amtrak has pulled dozens of trips from its schedule. Chicago schools were closed Friday as the third-largest US district braced for wind chills of -30F (-34), while ski resorts in Michigan took the unusual step of shutting slopes because of the extreme cold. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Oil fell as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed plans for trilateral meetings with the US and Russia. West Texas Intermediate traded below $60 a barrel on Thursday. Any breakthrough to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine could iron out supply disruptions and end sanctions on Russian crude in an already oversupplied global market, sapping a longstanding geopolitical risk premium. Signs of ample supply were evident in a US government report that showed US crude stockpiles rose 3.6 million barrels last week, while fuel stocks rose across the board. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. President Donald Trump said he was seeking immediate talks on the US acquiring Greenland while saying he did not plan to use force, during an address to the world’s business and political elite in Davos on Wednesday. “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history,” Trump told attendees of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Along the illustrious Davos Promenade, the US administration has taken over a 19th century church that’s been reconsecrated for the week as a shrine to business and politics. On the eve of President Donald Trump’s arrival, a banner hangs behind USA House spelling out, “House of God.” It’s as good a visual cue as any for the power plays ahead as Trump descends on the Swiss Alps for the first time since 2020 in the final year of what was, with the benefit of hindsight, a more restrained first term. That goes for European leaders as well as the gullible billionaires duped into buying fake tickets for access to Trump’s entourage. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Iran may have averted US strikes for now by pledging not to execute protesters after pressure from President Donald Trump. Trump told reporters Wednesday he had been informed the “killing in Iran is stopping,” adding he would be “very upset” if the crackdown continued. That was a marked shift from earlier in the week, when he urged Iranians to keep demonstrating and vowed that “help is on the way.” Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.