Trump responds to market meltdown

Business & Economy

The Big Story

White House touts record after Trump demurs on recession

The Trump administration is attempting to restore confidence in the economy after a brutal day for Wall Street.

President Trump is facing mounting concerns about the economy as the stock market bleeds and the costs of his trade war pile up.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, the White House sought to highlight various reasons to feel confident in the economy amid a steady drumbeat of concern.

“Since President Trump was elected, industry leaders have responded to President Trump’s America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy with trillions in investment commitments that will create thousands of new jobs," the White House said.

"President Trump delivered historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term, and is set to do so again in his second term."

The White House statement was a notable shift in tone from Trump's remarks in a Sunday interview with Fox Business News, in which he demurred on the potential for the U.S. to hit a recession.

“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” when asked if he expected a recession this year.

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of — it takes a little time. It takes a little time. But I think it should be great for us. I mean, I think it should be great.”

Trump's comments follow mounting concern on Wall Street and among Senate Republicans about the impact of his economic agenda.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, I'm Sylvan Lane — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:

Musk claims ‘massive cyberattack’ behind X outage came from ‘Ukraine area’

Elon Musk said his social media platform X was targeted in a “massive cyberattack” Monday and later claimed the attack was traced back to “the Ukraine area,” prompting outages for thousands of users.

Full Story

Trump economic adviser: ‘First quarter is going to squeak into the positive category’

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Monday the “first quarter is going to squeak into the positive category,” even as anxieties around the economy rise nationwide.

Full Story

Dow plunges 890 points after Trump declines to rule out recession

The stock market kicked off the week with steep losses Monday after President Trump declined Sunday to rule out the U.S. economy slowing into recession.

Full Story

Ontario premier says he needs ‘to sit down as quickly as possible’ with Trump on tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that he needs “to sit down as quickly as possible” with President Trump regarding tariffs.

Full Story

Tax Watch

Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.

Tax committee endorses current law baseline for Trump tax extensions

The official scorer of U.S. tax legislation says it will tabulate the costs of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts based on current law despite a push from congressional Republicans to do it based on current policy.

Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) chief of staff Thomas Barthold endorsed the current law accounting baseline last week in response to a letter from five Democratic senators, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Peter Welch (Vt.).

“The Joint Committee staff would provide the estimate relative to the relevant present law baseline reporting for the 10-year budget period,” Barthold wrote.

If the JCT considered the expiring tax cuts as extending indefinitely into the future, as some Republicans have argued, it would mean that their $4.7 trillion price tag could effectively be ignored in the legislative math.

Some Republicans have cried foul on this method, with Ways and Means committee member David Schweikert (Ariz.) going so far as to label it intellectually fraudulent.

— Tobias Burns

COMING UP

The Hill's Evening Report breaks down the day's big political stories and looks ahead to tomorrow. Click here to sign up & get it in your inbox

The Ticker

Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:

The Labor Department releases consumer price index data for February on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. EST.

Good to Know

Business and economic news we've flagged from other outlets:

Delta issues a warning on the economy, slashing its profit forecast in half (CNN)
DOGE chief Musk says he’s running his businesses ‘with great difficulty’ as Tesla shares tank (CNBC)
Who Likes Tariffs? Some U.S. Industries Are Eager for Them.(NYT)

What Others are Reading

Top stories on The Hill right now:

Canada slaps electricity tariffs on New York, Minnesota, Michigan

The government of Ontario is applying a 25 percent surcharge starting Monday on electricity exports to three U.S. states in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada. Read more

Trump administration eyes 30 percent payroll reduction at National Park Service

The Trump administration is eyeing a 30 percent payroll reduction at the National Park Service, signaling big cuts at a high-profile government agency that could make headlines during the summer vacation season. Read more

What People Think

Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill:

You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!

Topics

Steve Kornacki: How the economy is responding to Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joins Meet the Press to look at how the markets are responding to President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
NBC News - 1d
Is the chip sector having a meltdown? By this measure, it’s mostly just Nvidia.

Broadcom and Marvell shares have been hit recently. But Nvidia alone is responsible for about three quarters of the chip sector’s lost market cap in the weeks since the DeepSeek news.
MarketWatch - 1d
Markets plummet after Trump doesn't rule out recession

Markets plummeted Monday as investors expressed fear of an economic slowdown. In an interview that aired Sunday, President Trump was asked point blank if he's expecting a recession this year, and ...
CBS News - 2h
White House: Stock market plunge is not as 'meaningful' as business activity

The Trump administration argues that investments and growth from top businesses means more for the economy than the recent stock market rout.
CNBC - 2h
Trump Just Gave Bitcoin Its Biggest Endorsement in History

The president signed an executive order for a strategic bitcoin reserve, but the asset responded with a whimper.
Inc. - 3d
Don’t expect Trump or Powell to bail out investors this time as stock market hits ‘danger zone’

After three weeks of unrelenting declines, U.S. stocks slid into the market’s “danger zone” on Monday.
MarketWatch - 3h
Trump’s Tariffs by Whim Keep Allies and Markets Off Balance

Investors sent stock prices down on Thursday amid the uncertainty over what President Trump’s inconstancy means for the global economy.
The New York Times - 3d
Trump’s Delay on Mexico and Canada Tariffs Came in Response to Market Revolt

With prices still high, the Trump administration is heeding the risks of fanning inflation with import duties.
The New York Times - 3d
CNBC Daily Open: U.S. markets slump as Trump dismisses economic fears

Aiming to boost the economy, U.S. President Donald Trump is firing off a salvo of policies and causing collateral damage within the country’s own borders.
CNBC - 37m