The Center for American Progress (CAP) released an article earlier this month arguing that the steep tariffs on trading partners, federal agency layoffs, and frozen Congressional appropriations are set to send the U.S. economy into “a period of slower growth and higher inflation.” After only two months of the Trump Administration, there are many concerning economic signals – a 161.9% rise in the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, a 12.6% drop in U.S. Consumer Confidence from the Conference Board, the Atlanta Fed’s GDNow forecast of a projected economic contraction, a softening job market, and talk of rising prices and inflation. CAP also worries that Administration policies are set to remove social safety net programs that “are designed to give Americans stability by providing health coverage and food assistance, including during economic downturns.”
The report concludes:
To reverse these concerning economic trends, President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE would need to cease all haphazard, harmful, and unlawful cuts to government employment and programs. Congress should heed the signals of economic volatility by protecting the social safety net rather than gutting it to fund tax cuts for the richest Americans.