Economy and Politics

In an interview broadcast Sunday night on "Axios on HBO," the South Carolina Republican -- who has continued to support Trump, even after blaming him for the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob -- said the former president has a "dark side" and "some magic," and he's trying to "harness the magic."

The U.S. added a robust 379,000 jobs in February and the economy is primed to take off, but improved growth prospects might come with a cost in the short run: Rising inflation.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump sent cease-and-desist letters Friday to three Republican organizations, asking them to stop using the former president's name and likeness in fundraising appeals and merchandise, a Trump adviser told NBC Saturday. Politico had first reported the action. The letters were reportedly sent to the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senate Committee, which raise money and shape messaging, including as part of the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. Ten House Republicans voted with Democrats to impeach Trump, and seven Senate Republicans voted to convict him on charges of inciting the deadly mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 intent on disrupting the electoral vote count formalizing Joe Biden's win.

President Joe Biden, speaking Saturday after Senate passage of a COVID-19 stimulus bill, said he anticipated relief checks and deposits for Americans to be sent out yet this month. Biden also said passage of the bill that now returns to the House next week, where it is largely expected to earn final approval before being sent for the president's signature, speeds up the availability of vaccinations to all American adults who want the shots to the middle of May. That is slightly sooner than his most recent target date. The Senate narrowly approved the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on a 50-49 party-line vote.

New York state lawmakers on Friday moved to curtail management powers granted to Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the coronavirus pandemic, as he faced bipartisan rebuke over changes his administration made to a report on COVID-19 nursing home deaths.

What Democrats had billed as the last step before Senate passage of the massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus economic package — a lengthy series of rapid-fire amendment votes called vote-a-rama that was expected to last into Saturday — stalled out on the first tally, raising questions about the bill's fate.

New rapid-reaction force, Capitol Police reforms, an increased National Guard presence and new mobile fencing reportedly among the task-force report's recommendations.

Federal Reserve officials on Friday reinforced the dovish message Fed Chairman Jerome Powell delivered 24 hours earlier.

Peloton Interactive Inc. has set up a formal lobbying operation in Washington, after previously not reporting lobbying the federal government.

As long as unemployment is high, all Americans should keep getting the help they need.

How $20 billion would get handed out to Native American tribal governments could hurt Democrats' chances of wooing an Alaska Republican to support the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill.

Apple is set to face antitrust charges in the European Union over a competition complaint made by Spotify about App Store rules.

This is the first use of new rules established by the European Union in January to better control the sourcing of COVID-19 vaccine doses within the bloc.

Consumer credit increased $1.3 billion in January, up 0.4% from the prior month, but credit card borrowing slumped for the fourth straight month, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

President Joe Biden on Friday called his nearly $2 trillion COVID relief plan an urgent priority as the Senate was aiming for a vote on the sweeping measure as soon as this evening or Saturday morning --- but was slowed down by a disagreement over unemployment.

As people and markets around the world adjust to having Joe Biden as U.S. president, a key factor is what the veteran Democratic politician aims to accomplish without having to work with Congress.

The White House on Friday announces that prominent Big Tech critic Tim Wu is joining its National Economic Council, with the move following reports last week that said the Biden administration would hire him.

The European Union said on Wednesday that it would take legal action against the unilateral decision of the U.K. government to extend a grace period for checks on food imports from Britain into Northern Ireland

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said Americans should take any one of three approved COVID-19 vaccines after she was asked about Detroit’s mayor rejecting thousands of doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine. "There are three approved vaccines from the FDA. They all are safe. They are effective. They prevent severe disease and death," Psaki told reporters during a briefing. Everyone "should take whatever vaccine they have access to," she added.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to $68.2 billion in January on rising consumer demand, the Commerce Department said Friday.