US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will begin his two days of testimony before House committees Tuesday morning, where he is likely to be questioned on the Trump administration's trade tariffs, tax policies, and deregulation.
Yahoo Finance senior Fed reporter Jennifer Schonberger previews the biggest talking points ahead of Bessent's hearings, while also weighing in on expectations for the Federal Reserve to possibly hold interest rates at its May FOMC meeting this week.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besen will testify Tuesday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee. Joining us with the details, our Fed correspondent, Jennifer Schonberger. Hey Jennifer.
Good morning. Treasury Secretary Scott Besen set to testify before the House Appropriations Committee this morning, where tariffs and taxes will be front and center. Both are part of the administration's push for what Besen calls the three-legged stool: trade deregulation and tax cuts when it comes to their plan for boosting economic growth. Now while Besen is likely to be peppered with questions on clarity when it comes to trade and tariffs, he will also be asked about questions about the administration's plans for taxes and deregulation. Recall that Besen has been one of the leads for the administration when it comes to working with Congress on the big, beautiful tax bill, and so it will be interesting to see whether we see some of those conversations with lawmakers spill out into the open. We know that Besen and the administration have been pushing for 100% expensing on factories and equipment to ignite growth. Also, no taxes on tips and overtime. A report in the Wall Street Journal this morning saying that lawmakers are considering phasing out tax breaks on those who work overtime, earning $100,000 for singles, $200,000 for married couples. We'll see if we get any clarity on that during this morning's hearing. Representative Lucas, who is a member of this committee and also the lead for the House's Task Force on Monetary Policy, is also expected to question Besen about the health of the Treasury market. As we all know, the Treasury Secretary has been pushing the narrative of a lower 10-year Treasury yield to help with borrowing costs. The Congressman is also concerned about liquidity in the Treasury market when it comes to the supplemental leverage ratio, and will be pushing Besen on that front as well. This hearing getting underway on Capitol Hill right here at 10:00 a.m. Back to you.
Jennifer, stick with us for a hot second. The FOMC's May meeting, that's beginning today. What can you tell us there?
Across town, Fed officials are gathering for the first day of their two-day policy meeting here in Washington, where they are widely expected to hold interest rates steady, even as President Trump has repeatedly pressed the central bank to cut interest rates. Though, a bit of news here this morning, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid will not be attending the FOMC meeting here in Washington because of the death of his wife over the weekend. In his absence, Kansas City Fed's first vice president will attend, and Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed, will vote in his absence. Now, the real show tomorrow is going to be Fed Chair Jay Powell's press conference, which will be front and center, where he is likely to be asked by reporters about the president's push for preemptive rate cuts, as well as Fed independence in the aftermath of President Trump's threat to potentially fire the Fed chair only to then relent. Now, the Fed officials are expected to reiterate that they need further clarity before on President Trump's, the impact of President Trump's policies, I should say, before they chart a course forward on the path for interest rates. Recall on April 16th, it was Fed Chair Powell's comments that the economy is expected to move away from the Fed's dual mandate goals for both full employment and price stability that set off President Trump. If Fed officials are expected to reiterate that at tomorrow's meeting, it'll be interesting to see how the president reacts. Brad.
Jennifer, a lot to keep tabs on there. Thanks so much for breaking this all down. We'll be checking in.