Markets had a lot to contend with over the past 12 months: tariffs, White House attacks on the U.S. Federal Reserve, and rising tensions with key trading partners, to name a few issues. But it seems “peak Trump” may now be over, as the Republican party must find a game plan to win the midterm elections, according to investment management firm Pimco.
The company’s head of public policy, Libby Cantrill, wrote in a note to clients this week that we have already seen and moved through “‘peak Trump’—effectively the apex of President Donald Trump’s presidential power.” Cantrill wrote that last year, Trump was “able to impose policies with a compliant Congress and with very little pushback from the courts (partly due to ideological agreement, but often because the courts are just slow in terms of adjudicating issues).”
However, roadblocks are now beginning to appear: The White House is still waiting on the judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025 are legal. A decision has been expected since January. While the White House has made it clear that if the ruling doesn’t come down in its favor, another route would be pursued, the administrative hiccup is nevertheless a drag on one of the White House’s key policies.
Likewise, Trump is also facing a snag around his push for a more dovish Fed. Having nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, Senate Banking Committee Democrats have now said they’ll refuse to move forward with nomination proceedings unless a Department of Justice investigation into current chair Jerome Powell is dropped.
