Chairman

When Jerome Powell speaks, markets listen. As well they should. Powell serves as the chair of the Federal Reserve Board. As part of this role, he also leads the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets the monetary policy of the U.S.

Powell recently hinted at a monetary policy change that seems positive for the stock market. But should investors actually be worried?

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell answers reporters’ questions at the FOMC press conference on Sept.17, 2025. Official Federal Reserve Photo.

Good news for investors?

Powell spoke last week at the National Association for Business Economics conference held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of his key points in his address was an update on the status of the Fed’s “quantitative tightening” approach.

Quantitative tightening is the term used to describe when the Federal Reserve reduces the size of its balance sheet. To accomplish this goal, the Fed allows assets such as government-issued bonds to mature, or it actively sells those assets. This usually results in higher long-term interest rates, lower inflation, and a cooling down of an overheated economy.

The opposite of quantitative tightening is quantitative easing. With this approach, the Fed increases the size of its balance sheet. Quantitative easing is an expansionary policy that’s usually associated with a rising stock market.

In his recent remarks, Powell hinted that the Fed is close to ending its program of quantitative tightening. He said:

Our long-stated plan is to stop balance sheet runoff when reserves are somewhat above the level we judge consistent with ample reserve conditions. We may approach that point in coming months, and we are closely monitoring a wide range of indicators to inform this decision.

Powell always chooses his words deliberately and can often be somewhat ambiguous. However, the takeaway from his comments is that the Fed’s quantitative tightening policies could be almost over. This would seem to be good news for investors.

A more complicated picture

I chose those words deliberately and left room for ambiguity just as Powell likes to do. Why? Because there’s a more complicated picture if the Fed stops its quantitative tightening policies.

For one thing, the end of quantitative tightening doesn’t necessarily mean a return of robust quantitative easing. Some saw quantitative easing as something akin to steroids for the economy and stock market, while quantitative tightening was like a depressant. Using that analogy, discontinuing taking a depressant doesn’t boost strength in the same way as frequently taking a steroid might.

It’s also important to understand that the end of quantitative tightening could be a warning sign about the economy, and by extension, corporate earnings. The Fed doesn’t reduce the size of its balance sheet when the economy is weak. Powell’s remarks, indicating that quantitative tightening could soon taper off, might reflect significant underlying concerns by the Fed about the health of the U.S. economy, despite his seemingly positive statement last week that the economy “may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected.” As the economy goes, so goes the stock market — usually.

Finally, there is a real risk that ending quantitative tightening could backfire. One of the main goals of the policy is to fight inflation. If the Fed returns to expanding its balance sheet, inflation could roar back. The effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs could add fuel to the fire, at least initially. Powell acknowledged in his speech at the National Association for Business Economics conference, “There is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate the tension between our employment and inflation goals.”

The Fed could find itself in a situation where it has to reverse tactics, which would likely create significant uncertainty for the stock market. If there’s anything investors hate, it’s uncertainty.

Should investors worry?

I think celebrating the Fed bringing its quantitative tightening policies to a halt is premature. However, it’s also too soon to worry about the potential impact on stocks from the decision.

We don’t know yet how quickly the Fed will begin increasing the size of its balance sheet. We don’t know how aggressively it will move if and when quantitative tightening comes to an end. We don’t know what else will be happening with the economy or the stock market.

What we do know, though, is that the stock market rises over the long term. Anyone with an investing time horizon measured in decades shouldn’t have anything to worry about, regardless of what the Fed does or doesn’t do in the near term.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says talks have taken place with Oliver Glasner about extending the contract of the Eagles manager as the two parties look to “align their interests”.

Glasner will be out of contract at the end of the season and there is uncertainty about the 51-year-old’s future at the club.

Sources have told BBC Sport the Austrian was offered a new deal earlier this summer, but he has yet to sign the contract.

“We’ve had some early conversations,” Parish told Talksport. “We would love to keep Oliver, we’re building something. I think for Oliver it’s about the conditions being right.”

Glasner took over as Palace boss in February 2024 and guided them to victory in last season’s FA Cup – the club’s first major trophy.

Their triumph meant they qualified for the Europa League, but they were demoted to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules – American businessman John Textor owns a stake in the Eagles and is the majority owner of French club Lyon, who had also qualified for the Europa League.

Glasner also led Palace to victory against Liverpool in the Community Shield in August and has steered them to sixth in the Premier League following a promising start to the season – four points off top spot.

“It’s about everything being in a way that he enjoys his work and he finds the conditions favourable to achieve,” added Parish.

“Oliver wants to win things, he makes no secret of that. That’s what he’s in football for.

“So if we can align those interests then hopefully we can make something happen.”

It wasn’t a big surprise that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cut interest rates at the Fed’s September meeting on Wednesday. In July, he implied in no uncertain terms that a rate cut was coming, and the likelihood was that it was going be a quarter of a point. That’s what has happened. The governing body also signaled that two more cuts would come at its next two meetings, in October and December.

Powell noted that there are mixed signals in the economy, which made it a difficult decision. Normally, the Fed keeps rates high until inflation backs down, and right now, inflation is higher than the Fed wants it to be. Nonetheless, the once-strong job market is beginning to falter, and a reduction in interest rates should stimulate the economy and employment opportunities.

A more active economy with more jobs and money flowing is great news for most businesses, and some companies will feel the change more acutely. Visa (V 1.19%), SoFi Technologies (SOFI 4.96%), and Carnival (CCL -2.86%) (CUK -2.67%), are three stocks that should benefit in a big way.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Visa: The best indicator of spending habits

Visa is the largest credit card company in the world, and its performance tells the story of the economy to some degree. Because it’s a credit card network, its processed volume is a strong indication of how people are spending. And because it targets a wide range of demographics, its message is fairly universal.

The purpose of cutting interest rates is to boost the economy, and Visa is a major beneficiary of higher spending. Visa’s core business is providing the network, or infrastructure, that moves money from a customer’s partnering bank to a merchant, taking a small cut of each transaction. Although it has branched out to other services, they mostly center around different ways of moving money. More money flowing means more money for Visa.

It has been performing well despite the higher interest rates. In the 2025 fiscal third quarter (ended June 30), revenue increased 14% year over year, and payments volume was up 8%. It’s highly profitable, since it has a simple, low-cost model, and net income increased 8% over last year in the quarter.

Lower interest rates should further boost Visa’s earnings, benefiting this Warren Buffett-backed stock. Visa is a solid long-term investment, offering value to most portfolios.

2. SoFi: A young bank disruptor

Banks have a two-sided relationship with interest rates. They make more money on net interest income when rates are higher, but they also suffer from higher default rates because consumers struggle to pay back loans. They also take out loans at lower rates for that reason, and altogether, banks usually do better with lower rates.

That goes for the industry as a whole, but I’m picking SoFi in particular partly because of its large lending segment, and partly because it’s growing much faster than almost any other bank, which means it stands to gain a lot from an improving economy.

SoFi is a neobank, a cadre of digital banks that have no physical branches and offer a modern take on financial management. In addition to student, personal, and home loans, it offers a broad array of standard banking services and typically beats out national averages on savings rates for deposits.

It also offers non-standard services like cryptocurrency trading on its app, and it recently said it would offer international money transfers on a Blockchain network. That could offer real value, since sending money internationally is often a complicated, expensive, and long process.

SoFi’s lending segment struggled last year when interest rates were at a high, and it has already benefited from lower rates with accelerated revenue growth and better credit metrics. Even lower rates should help all of its segments, which, aside from lending, include financial services, like bank accounts and investing, and tech platform, which is a business-to-business financial infrastructure.

As it becomes a larger and more formidable player in finance, it should be able to weather future uncertainty even better.

3. Carnival: Great performance, high debt

Carnival is sailing through smooth seas as customers continue to sign up for its cruises. Demand is at historical highs, operating income is at a record, and the company is ordering new ships and launching new destinations to meet all of this demand.

There’s only one kink in the business: it has massive debt. It’s been paying it off responsibly, but it’s still more than $27 billion. This year, it has refinanced $7 billion at better rates, saving millions on interest. It will now be able to refinance more of its debt at lower rates.

Outside of the debt, the investment thesis for Carnival is strong. It’s the largest global cruise operator, and demand has stayed healthy despite high inflation. That’s resiliency.

Carnival stock is still cheap today due to the concerns about the debt, but as it pays it down and becomes more profitable, expect the stock to keep climbing.

Warner Bros. Discovery stock jumped more than 25% Thursday morning after a report that the Larry Ellison-backed Paramount was preparing a cash bid to buy the company that owns HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. studio.

The Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners acquired Paramount a month ago, and has signaled that it would take bold steps as it tries to rebuild Paramount to its former glory. David Ellison, Larry’s 42-year-old son, serves as chairman and chief executive of Paramount.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount’s bid would be for the entire company, including its movie studio, streaming assets and cable networks. Warner Bros. Discovery is in the process of spinning the cable channels into a separate company, a transaction that Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said would be complete by next April.

Representatives of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

Warner Bros. Discovery stock closed at $12.54 on Wednesday. It had soared to around $16 a share in Thursday mid-day trading.

Paramount Skydance shares also climbed 7% to around $16.30.

This is a developing story.

A mixed martial arts fight card to be held next summer at the White House is “absolutely going to happen,” Ultimate Fight Championship Chief Executive Dana White said Tuesday.

White said the UFC will stage the event July 4 to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. He added that he spoke to President Trump on Monday and is scheduled to meet with him and his daughter Ivanka in two weeks to solidify the plan.

Trump mentioned last July 4 during a kickoff of events centered on the country’s 2026 birthday celebration that he wanted to stage a UFC match on the White House South Lawn with 20,000 spectators.

“We have a lot of land there,” said Trump, who has attended several UFC matches and considers White a friend.

Now it has gone from a notion into the planning stages, which is the second thrill of the week for White. On Monday he announced that the UFC has finalized a seven-year streaming agreement with Paramount worth an average of $1.1 billion a year. The deal represents a departure from UFC’s traditional pay-per-view model.

Thirteen marquee UFC events and 30 fight nights will be televised on the Paramount+ streaming platform, with some events also planned to simulcast on CBS. Plans for UFC events in other countries are also on the table, according to Paramount.

“You have the NFL, the NBA, the UFC and soccer globally,” White told the Associated Press. “We’re coming. We’re coming for all of them.”

White, 56, has been the driving force behind the enormous growth of the UFC, which he purchased in 2001 for $2 million. He negotiated broadcast-rights deals with Fox and ESPN, then spearheaded a $4-billion sale in 2016 to TKO Group Holdings, a group led by the Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG. White remained as president and retained a stake in the new company.

The Paramount-UFC deal came on the heels of Skydance and Paramount closing their $8-billion merger — a complicated negotiation that resulted in the creation of an entertainment giant. White said he was impressed with Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison’s vision for UFC and how the plans could be activated now that Ellison is chairman and chief executive of Paramount.

“Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy — driving engagement, subscriber growth, and long-term loyalty,” Ellison said in a statement. “The addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win.”

The debut Paramount fight card is in the planning stages, with UFC officials meeting this week to arrange bouts. White said it is too early to discuss a main event for the White House card.

United States President Donald Trump arrived at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington to tour the site of a $2.5bn renovation of two historical buildings, which the White House criticises as overly costly and ostentatious, as tensions escalate between the administration and the independent overseer of the nation’s monetary policy.

Thursday’s rare presidential visit to the Fed is happening less than a week before the central bank’s 19 policymakers gather for a two-day rate-setting meeting, where they are widely expected to leave the US central bank’s benchmark interest rate in the 4.25-4.50 percent range.

Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed lower rates by 3 percentage points and has frequently raised the possibility of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, though the president has said he does not intend to do so.

On Tuesday, Trump called the Fed chief a “numbskull”.

On Thursday, Trump publicly scorned Powell for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.

Trump said the project cost $3.1bn, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5bn figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head.

“This came from us?” Powell said, before he figured out that Trump was including the renovation of the Martin Building, which was finished five years ago.

“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked.

“Don’t expect them,” Powell said.

Trump said in his career as a real estate developer, he would fire someone for cost overruns. The president joked that he would back off Powell if he lowered interest rates.

“I’d love him to lower interest rates,” Trump said, as Powell stood by, his face expressionless.

Powell typically spends the Thursday afternoon before a rate-setting meeting doing back-to-back calls with Fed bank presidents as part of his preparations for the session.

Elevated by Trump to the top Fed job in 2018, and then reappointed by former President Joe Biden four years later, Powell last met with Trump in March when the Republican president summoned him to the White House to press him to lower rates.

The visit takes place as Trump battles to deflect attention from a political crisis over his administration’s refusal to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing a campaign promise. Epstein died in 2019.

White House officials have ramped up Trump’s pressure campaign on Powell in recent weeks, accusing the Fed of mismanaging the renovation and suggesting poor oversight and potential fraud.

White House budget director Russell Vought has pegged the cost overrun at “$700m and counting”, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for an extensive review of the Fed’s non-monetary policy operations, citing operating losses at the central bank as a reason to question its spending on the renovation.

Those losses stem from the mechanics of managing the Fed’s policy rate to fight inflation, which include paying banks to park cash at the central bank. The Fed reported a comprehensive net loss of $114.6bn in 2023 and $77.5bn in 2024, a reversal from years of big profits it turned over to the Treasury when interest rates – and inflation – were low.

Renovations in the spotlight

The Fed, in letters to Vought and lawmakers, backed up by documents posted on its website, says the project – the first full rehab of its two buildings in Washington since they were built nearly a century ago – ran into unexpected challenges, including toxic materials abatement and higher-than-estimated materials and labour costs.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, Fed staff escorted a small group of reporters around the construction sites. They wove around cement mixers and construction machines, and spoke over the sound of drills, banging and saws. Fed staff pointed out security features, including blast-resistant windows, that they said were a significant driver of costs, in addition to tariffs and escalations in material and labour costs.

The renovation project started in mid-2022 and is on track to be completed by 2027, with the move-in planned for March 2028. A visit to the roof of the Eccles Building – a point of particular scrutiny by White House critics that the renovations were ostentatious – revealed an impressive view of the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall, the pool report said.

Staff explained that rooftop seating, although inexpensive, had been removed because of the appearance of it being an amenity and was one of only two deviations from the original plan. The other was the scrapping of a couple of planned fountains.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a Republican who sent Powell a letter on Wednesday asking a series of questions about the cost and other details of the renovation, as well as Powell’s own statements about it, is part of the visit as well.

Market reaction to Trump’s visit was subdued. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds ticked higher after data showed new jobless claims dropped in the most recent week, signalling a stable labour market not in need of support from a Fed rate cut. Stocks on Wall Street were mixed.

Trump’s criticism of Powell and flirtation with firing him have previously upset financial markets and threatened a key underpinning of the global financial system: that central banks are independent and free from political meddling.

His visit contrasts with a handful of other documented presidential visits to the Fed. Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the central bank in 1937 to dedicate the newly-built headquarters, which is one of the two Fed buildings now being renovated. Most recently, former President George W Bush went to the Fed in 2006 to attend the swearing-in of Ben Bernanke as Fed chief.

Central bank independence critical

“I think it’s important that he send a signal that he really isn’t happy with how things are going at the Fed,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee. She said the visit was a “good decision” by Trump.

Senator Mike Rounds, another Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said on Thursday he also saw no problem with Trump’s visit, though he added that Powell’s independence as Fed chief is “critical for the markets. I think he’s done a good job of that”.

“I think the more information the president can glean from this, probably the better off we are in terms of resolving any issues that are outstanding,” Rounds said, noting that Powell had indicated “that they have had a significant amount of money, just in terms of foundation work and so forth, that was not anticipated to begin with”.

Former Fed chiefs Janet Yellen and Bernanke this week wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times warning that the public’s belief that the US central bank is willing to make hard decisions based on data and independent of politics “is an important national asset. It is hard to acquire and easy to lose”.

Economic experts widely agree.

“As we’ve seen through the disinflation process that has been taking place over the last few years, the credibility of central banks around the world has been instrumental in anchoring inflation expectations and in bringing down inflation across many countries in the world,” International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday.

“And it is also important that independence, of course, must coexist with clear accountability to the public.

At a time when it is trying to figure out a way to attract a larger share of moderate whites in presidential elections, the national Democratic Party is facing a tough decision.

Its leading candidate for party chairman is a black man who has been close to two of the party’s liberal icons, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Ron Brown, a 47-year-old Washington lawyer, once served on Kennedy’s Senate staff and last summer managed Jackson’s forces during the Democratic National Convention.

He is vying for the Democratic chairmanship with four other men: Michigan Democratic Chairman Richard Wiener and former U. S. Reps. Michael D. Barnes of Maryland, James R. Jones of Oklahoma and James V. Stanton of Ohio.

The 404 Democratic National Committee members will choose the new chairman in February. Although a political insider’s job, the post is always crucial to the direction of the party and the kind of presidential nominee it chooses at the end of the chairman’s four-year term.

Big Names

Brown’s four competitors have significant support, but it is Brown who is picking up the big names.

Two potential presidential candidates–New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley–have endorsed him, and a major Democratic moderate, former Gov. Bruce Babbitt of Arizona, is working hard on his behalf.

Brown also has strong support among organized labor and is popular with the large bloc of Democratic National Committee members from California.

“You’re going to see a consensus building for Ron in the next few weeks,” said a top Los Angeles Democrat who asked not to be identified. “You’re going to see governors coming out for him.”

Even Brown’s opponents cannot find anything bad to say about him and some acknowledge that he is the most qualified person seeking the job. He is a skilled negotiator and communicator and has worked within the party for years.

But some Democrats worry that his selection would send the wrong signal to moderates who have been deserting the party in recent presidential elections.

‘New Direction’

“We have been trying to move the party in a new direction for four years and that is not the direction of Jesse Jackson and Ted Kennedy,” said Al From, executive director of the Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of moderate Democrats, many of them Southern senators and governors.

“Ron may be in the center of the political spectrum personally,” From said, “but the baggage he carries is that the two politicians he is most associated with are liberals. At some point this party has to recognize the fact that the liberal message is not winning presidential elections.”

Some Democrats also worry that Brown is a stalking horse for Jackson, who may run again for President in 1992. But Babbitt said in an interview that theory was off base.

“I know Ron Brown and I can tell you he is not a stalking horse for Jesse. I made this mistake four years ago when I opposed the selection of (Paul G. Kirk Jr.) for Democratic chair on the ground that he was a stalking horse for Ted Kennedy.

“That not only turned out to be false, (but) Paul Kirk has been an outstanding chairman for the last four years. He has greatly improved the party. Ron Brown will do the same thing.”

Jewish Supporters

Some Democrats also worry that because Brown advised Jackson, if only briefly, his selection to head the Democratic Party could alienate some Jews who are major financial supporters of the party and who have quarreled with Jackson in the past.

Edward Sanders, a former president of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, acknowledged that was a problem Brown had to surmount.

“But I am convinced Ron is his own man,” said Sanders, who arranged a meeting for Brown with some Jewish leaders recently in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. John Emerson, a former DNC member, said: “The next chairman of the Democratic Party has to be someone who can deal with Jesse Jackson. Ron is his own man and Jesse really respects him. It’s Ron’s asset not his liability.”

California has 23 votes on the Democratic National Committee and longtime party adviser Mickey Kantor believes “Ron can get 16 to 18 of those votes from what I have been able to determine.”

Brown said in an interview that he finds himself in a strange position: When Democratic leaders were worried about what Jackson would do at the national convention last summer, Brown agreed to help things go smoothly and ultimately won high praise.

“Now,” said Brown, “some people are worried that I am too close to Jesse. But anybody who knows me knows that isn’t so. I think my strongest point, in fact, is that I can be someone all sides can turn to.”

July 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said he won’t fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell but will replace him within the next year when his four-year term ends.

A reporter asked Trump about rumors of his pending firing of Powell while the president fielded media questions prior to a luncheon and meeting with the Bahrain Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House on Wednesday.

“He’s always been too late, hence, his nickname ‘Too Late,'” Trump said of Powell.

“He should have cut interest rates a long time ago,” Trump continued. “Europe has cut them 10 times in the short time that we have cut none.

“The only time he cut them was just before the election to try and help Kamala [Harris], but, obviously, that didn’t work,” Trump said.

“He does a terrible job,” Trump continued. “He’s costing us a lot of money, and we fight through it.”

He said the nation’s economy is strong enough that the Federal Reserve’s lending rate of between 4.25% and 4.5% doesn’t affect the nation.

Instead, Trump said, it hurts those who want to buy a house by saddling them with a higher mortgage rate.

“He’s a terrible Fed chair, Trump said. “I’m surprised that [President Joe] Biden extended him, but they did.”

“We’re not planning on doing anything,” Trump said, but “we’re very concerned.”

Instead of firing Powell, Trump said his administration can “make a change in the next eight months or so.”

Powell initially became the Federal Reserve chairman in 2018 after Trump nominated him for the position during the president’s first term.

Biden nominated Powell for another four-year term, for which he was sworn in on May 23, 2022, and ends on May 15, according to the Federal Reserve.

Trump has denied he is planning to fire Powell, unless evidence of fraud arises, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

But on Tuesday, he asked some House Republicans if he should fire Powell and was told he should, CNBC and The Hill reported.

An unnamed participant said Trump told the group he would fire Powell, media reported.

Trump later denied he would fire Powell and said he has not drafted a letter to remove Powell from his chairmanship.

Trump on Wednesday acknowledged he asked the group of House Republicans “about the concept of firing” Powell, CBS News reported.

He said it only would happen if there were some cause, such as possible fraud involved in a $2.5 billion improvement project for the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“He’s already under investigation,” Trump said of Powell. “He spent far more money than he was supposed to rebuilding.”

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought last week accused Powell of undertaking a renovation project that has lasted for years that might run counter to federal law, CBS News reported.

Powell in June told a Senate panel some of the criticisms of the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Washington, D.C., headquarters are “misleading and inaccurate.”

Trump has criticized Powell for the Federal Reserve not lowering interest rates.

Powell has cited Trump’s often-changing tariff policies as the reason for not lowering the Federal Reserve’s lending rate.

Powell also has said he won’t let politics influence the decisions of the independent Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The president’s frequent attacks against Jerome Powell have sparked concerns about the independence of the central bank.

United States President Donald Trump has again attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, stepping up criticism that has sparked concerns over efforts to undermine the independence of the country’s central bank.

In remarks before religious figures at the White House on Monday, Trump called Powell a “knucklehead” and insisted that he should lower interest rates.

“He’s a knucklehead. Stupid guy. He really is,” Trump said, insisting that inflation is not currently a serious concern for the economy and that interest rates should be brought down to one percent.

The US president’s frequent barbs and threats to replace Powell have previously spooked markets, wary of what some investors see as an effort to bring the central bank and the crafting of monetary policy under greater political control.

The central bank chief has thus far refused to budge on the question of interest rates, saying that it is still too early to bring them down given sources of potential disruption such as changing tariff policy.

Trump said over the weekend that he is planning to place important US trading partners such as the European Union and Mexico under a 30 percent tariff starting on August 1, and has warned other countries they could face similar rates or worse if they do not swiftly come to individual agreements with the US.

Kevin Hassett, an economic adviser to Trump, also stated over the weekend that the president might be able to fire Powell for cause, citing higher-than-expected expenses for the renovation of the bank’s headquarters.

The Fed has been in the process of renovating two buildings for its offices in Washington, DC for several years, with a current cost estimate of $2.5bn, about $700m more than originally anticipated.

Such cost overruns are far from atypical in Washington, but officials in the Trump administration have pounced on them as a potential door to firing Powell, whom Trump has long criticised.

Trump’s top budget adviser Russell Vought said last week that the White House is “extremely troubled” by the expense of the project, which critics saw as an effort to pile additional pressure on the central bank. Vought played an important role in the controversial conservative blueprint for a second Trump term known as Project 2025, which envisions a radical restructuring of government and consolidation of greater power in the executive branch.

A spokesperson for the US Inspector General, a nonpartisan government watchdog, says that Powell has requested a review of the cost overruns.

Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter and Lakers president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss broke their silence Wednesday on a blockbuster deal that shocked many in and outside of the Los Angeles.

A news release issued by Walter’s team confirmed his acquisition of majority ownership stake of the Lakers, with the transaction expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

During the sale talks, the valuation of the Lakers was placed at $10 billion, a record for a professional sports team, people with knowledge of the deal not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times. ESPN reported it is possible the value could swell to $12 billion before the transaction is complete.

Buss, whose family has had control of the Lakers for 46 years, will remain governor of the team and “continue to oversee all team operations on a day-to-day basis for the foreseeable future,” the statement confirmed.

Walter and Todd Boehly — a partner in the Dodgers ownership group — became the Lakers’ largest minority shareholders in 2021 when they bought 27% of the franchise, a stake previously held by Phil Anschutz.

Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss’ father, bought the team for $67.5 million in 1979 in a deal that included the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988.

“The Buss family is deeply honored to have looked after this incredible organization for almost half a century,” Jeanie Buss said in the statement. “From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning — relentlessly — and to doing so with passion and with style.”

Buss said she felt confident Walter would lead the franchise to success. During his tenure, the Dodgers signed a collection of stars headlined by two-way wonder Shohei Ohtani. The team won the World Series last year, their second championship and fourth World Series appearance in the last eight years.

“I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and been delighted to learn how he shares those same values,” Buss said. “For the last four years, Mark has been an excellent partner to us, and we are thrilled to keep working with him to continue the Lakers’ extraordinary legacy.”

Walter, the chairman and CEO of TWG Global, has ownership stakes in the Dodgers, the WNBA’s Sparks, the Billie Jean King Cup, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

He said the Lakers “have long been one of the most iconic franchises in sports.”

“Since Dr. Jerry Buss first purchased the team in 1979, they have truly set the standard for basketball in one era after another, which is why you can find people anywhere in the world wearing Lakers shirts and jerseys,” Walter said.

Control of the Lakers went into a family trust after Buss died in 2013, with daughter Jeanie Buss operating as the team’s governor. The structure of the trust meant the majority of Buss’ six children — Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, Janie, Joey and Jesse — had to agree to the deal for a sale to occur.

The structure of the family trust, according to people familiar with it, doesn’t allow for ownership to pass down to heirs after death, meaning the split among the siblings would go from being shared six ways down to five and so on.

“I admire what [Jerry Buss,] Jeanie and the Buss family have built, and I know how much this special organization matters to Southern Californians and to sports fans everywhere,” Walter said. “I also have tremendous respect for Jeanie’s continued commitment to maintaining the Lakers’ long-term vision and elite status, and I’m excited to work with her on the next era.”

Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong continues to hold a minority owner share of the Lakers.

The agreement for the sale of the Lakers came about three months after Bill Chisholm agreed to buy the Boston Celtics with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion — which was going to be a record, topping the previous mark of $6.05 billion sale for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

The Lakers transaction was viewed as a massive surprise in NBA circles.

The Celtics’ sale is not yet finalized, pending final approval by the NBA’s board of governors.

The Lakers, led on the court by stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic, are preparing to start their 78th season later this year. The team has reached the postseason 65 times in franchise history, including 32 trips to the NBA finals and 17 championships.

The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

A California Democratic Party employee sued the organization in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, alleging he was repeatedly groped and sexually assaulted by former Chairman Eric Bauman.

William Floyd, who served as Bauman’s assistant from March 2016 until November 2018, claims in the suit that Bauman performed oral sex on him without his consent on at least three occasions. He said he became fearful of Bauman after the party leader allegedly told him, “If you cross me, I will break you.”

Floyd, 28, is seeking damages for lost income, emotional distress and pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. The complaint names Bauman, 60, and the state and Los Angeles County Democratic parties as defendants, alleging that the two organizations failed to prevent Bauman’s harassing behavior and retained him in “conscious disregard of the rights and well-being of others.”

“We have not yet been formally served with this lawsuit and have only learned about the filing of it through media inquiries this evening,” said Neal S. Zaslavsky, Bauman’s attorney. “As with the other pending matter, Mr. Bauman will not be trying this case in the media. Mr. Bauman denies the allegations in the complaint and looks forward to complete vindication once the facts come out.”

Mark Gonzalez, chairman of the L.A. County Democratic Party, said the group was “reviewing the allegations of the complaint” and had no further comment.

Lawsuit against California Democratic Party details alleged harassment by former chair Eric Bauman »

Alexandra “Alex” Gallardo Rooker, who stepped in as acting chairwoman of the state party after Bauman’s resignation, said in a statement that the allegations “are very serious and deserve a hearing. The most appropriate venue for us all to learn the truth, whatever it may be, is ultimately in the courtroom where we can let the sun shine in.”

The lawsuit comes amid continued turmoil in the party after the resignation of Bauman, who stepped down in November following claims of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior toward party staff members and activists.

At the time, Bauman said that he planned to seek treatment for health issues and alcohol use.

“I deeply regret if my behavior has caused pain to any of the outstanding individuals with whom I’ve had the privilege to work. I appreciate the courage it took for these individuals to come forward to tell their stories,” Bauman said.

“In the interest of allowing the CDP’s independent investigation to move forward, I do not wish to respond to any of the specific allegations. However, I will use the time I am on leave to immediately seek medical intervention to address serious, ongoing health issues and to begin treatment for what I now realize is an issue with alcohol,” he added.

Bauman and the party were earlier sued by three other employees in January, who alleged discrimination and a culture of harassment and sexual misconduct that was “well-known and apparently tolerated” by top officials.

According to the new lawsuit filed Wednesday, Floyd first met Bauman in 2015 while he was interning for the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. By then, the complaint says, “Bauman had a reputation for excessive drinking, making crude sexual comments to LACDP and CDP employees and volunteers, and engaging in unwanted sexual touching and/or physical intimidation” in professional settings.

In an June 2016 incident in Long Beach, Floyd alleges, he was in Bauman’s hotel room with other members of the L.A. County party and fell asleep after having too much to drink. When he woke up, the complaint alleges, he found Bauman performing oral sex on him and quickly pulled up his pants and fled the room. The lawsuit alleges that in later conversations, Bauman implied that he had penetrated Floyd during the incident.

On two other occasions alleged in the suit, Floyd said “felt he had no choice” to comply with Bauman’s demands and allow him to perform oral sex.

The lawsuit says that on Nov. 1, just days before the 2018 midterm election, Floyd told a senior party staffer that Bauman had sexually assaulted him. Several days later, the complaint says, Floyd was contacted by the party’s human resources director, Amy Vrattos.

California Democratic Chairman Eric Bauman accused of sexually explicit comments, unwanted touching »

But officials with the party “looked the other way, and failed to confront Bauman” because of his success helping Democratic candidates across the state, the lawsuit alleges.

“Maybe I was naive, but I really thought that, by working for the Democratic Party, I could advance the causes I believed in,” Floyd said in a statement provided by his attorney. “Most of us lived in fear of [Bauman].”

Floyd’s attorney, Scott Ames, said the party has “stonewalled” his client and has “not done anything to rectify the situation.”

After Bauman resigned, the suit says, Floyd met with the state party’s investigator, who was examining allegations against Bauman. Less than a week later, the complaint alleges, state party officials told Floyd that they were closing the organization’s Los Angeles office and that he would be terminated unless he agreed to work at Sacramento headquarters.

Floyd agreed to move to Sacramento in January 2019 to keep his job, the complaint says. He is still employed by the party but plans to move back to Los Angeles County this year for graduate school.

The suit is the latest in a series of blows to the fractured California Democratic Party, which despite historic wins in last year’s elections has faced a reckoning in the #MeToo era. In addition to fallout from Bauman’s resignation, Rooker was criticized for firing two colleagues who helped file a sexual harassment complaint against Bauman.

“This is not unusual when there is a change in leadership,” Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the party, said in a statement. “These moves are not necessarily a reflection upon the work of each of the individuals involved, but are part of a desire by the acting chair to start fresh and keep the party moving in the right direction.”

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For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc.

Zia Yusuf, a self-described ‘British Muslim patriot’, leaves a party accused of fuelling Islamophobia after 11 months.

The Muslim chairman of the United Kingdom’s radical right-wing Reform UK party has quit after denouncing a call from within party ranks to ban the burqa as “dumb”.

“I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office,” Zia Yusuf announced on X on Thursday, hours after hitting out at Reform UK lawmaker Sarah Pochin for asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether his government would consider banning the burqa.

Pochin won her seat in a by-election last month that saw the anti-immigration party, some of whose members have been accused of Islamophobia, make significant gains in a political landscape traditionally dominated by the governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives.

The new lawmaker had urged Labour’s Starmer during her debut appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday if he would consider the move “in the interests of public safety”, according to the BBC.

“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do,” Yusuf said on X amid an ensuing flare-up over whether banning the burqa should be party policy.

Yusuf, a former banker and self-described “proud British Muslim patriot”, became Reform UK chairman after last year’s general election, having jumped ship from the Conservative Party.

Reform UK, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, won four parliamentary seats in a breakthrough result last year, going on to gain a fifth parliamentary seat, its first mayoralty and a number of council seats in local elections last month.

It currently leads national opinion polls, ahead of the Labour Party.

Farage said on X that Yusuf was “a huge factor in our success on May 1st and is an enormously talented person”.

Divisions in the party’s upper ranks have been made public before.

In March, Reform referred one of its lawmakers, Rupert Lowe, to police over a number of allegations, including threats of physical violence against Yusuf.

Prosecutors later said they would not bring charges against Lowe, who was suspended by the party.

REFORM was plunged into a chaotic civil war last night after its chairman Zia Yusuf announced he’s quitting the party.

Mr Yusuf announced on social media that after 11 months in the job “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time”.

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Insiders said that the chairman had felt “shafted” into running the party’s DOGE efficiency unit, aimed at slashing waste in local authorities.

He also earlier on Thursday clashed with Reform’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, over the idea of a burqa ban.

Mr Yusuf said: “Eleven months ago I became Chairman of Reform.

“I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.

“I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.”

Mr Yusuf was seen as a rising star in the party and close ally of Nigel Farage.

While not an MP, the entrepreneur fronted several of the parties press conferences.

He worked as chairman in a voluntary capacity.

Cracks in Mr Yusuf’s relationship with the wider Reform party started show months ago – but a major row over banning face coverings brought simmering tensions to boiling point.

Responding to Ms Pochin’s demand for a burqa ban, Mr Yusuf blasted: “Nothing to do with me.

“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something party itself wouldn’t do.”

The comment contradicted strong statements in favour of a ban from Deputy Leader Richard Tice and whip Lee Anderson.

Reform is riding high in the polls but behind the scenes, it’s been no stranger to bloodletting.

Earlier this year, a brutal row saw MP Rupert Lowe suspended after Mr Yusuf reported him to police for alleged threats and bullying – claims later dropped by prosecutors.

Mr Lowe denied everything, accused party bosses of smearing him with “vexatious” claims, and said Mr Farage had stabbed him in the back for daring to push internal reforms.

Ben Habib, former deputy leader, backed him and blasted Mr Yusuf’s handling of the row, accusing Mr Farage of running Reform like a dictatorship.

The chairman’s resignation is just the latest bust-up in a long line of power struggles under Mr Farage’s watch, echoing the UKIP years when infighting over Islam, immigration and leadership led to splinter groups and walkouts.

This comes after Farage earlier this week blasted “net stupid zero” for obliterating the UK’s oil industry, ahead of a showdown Scottish by-election on tomorrow.

The Reform chief drew battle lines against the SNP as he warned Scotland is “literally de-industrialising before our eyes”.

In Aberdeen Mr Farage slammed the nats, led by First Minister John Swinney, for sacrificing an entire industry and thousands of jobs at the alter of green diktats.

He claimed neighbouring Norway is “laughing” as it watches ministers import Scandinavian fossil fuels while dismantling local industry.

Against the shouts of protesters, at a posh fish and chips restaurant the Reform leader said: “We can con ourselves as much as we like.

“There will be more coal burned this year than ever before in the history of human kind. The same applies to oil and gas.

“Even the most adren proponent of net zero has to accept the world will still be using oil and gas up until 2050 and beyond. 

“And yet we’ve decided to sacrifice this industry as a consensus around Net Zero has emerged.”

Mr Farage added that the fight to save oil and gas is “almost the next Brexit“.

He said: “Believe me, the scales are falling from the eyes of the public when it comes to Net Zero.

“They realise we are putting upon ourselves a massive cost, let alone the opportunity cost of what we’re missing…

“When we closed down refineries.. and steelworks… all we’re doing is exporting the emissions of CO2 with the goods then being shipped back to us.

“The public are waking up to this.”

It comes ahead of a Hoylrood by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse on Thursday, described by Reform Deputy Leader Richard Tice as an “absolute cat fight” with the SNP and Labour.

Mr Farage acknowledged it would be an “earthquake” level shock if Reform’s candidate wins the seat.

But activists have reported being surprised at levels of support on the doorstep.

Mr Farage insisted the Reform “can replicate success in Scotland”.

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Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings is joining the board of San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

Anthropic, valued at $61.5 billion after its most recent funding round in March, is known for its AI chatbot model Claude.

“Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social, and safety challenges,” Hastings said. “I’m joining Anthropic’s board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress.”

Netflix is one of the world’s most prolific producers of movies and TV shows, known for its content recommendation algorithm.

Hollywood is grappling with the implications of generative artificial intelligence, which studios believe could save money and time, but also comes with downsides. Labor groups fear job displacement, and there are also concerns about the use of copyrighted material when training AI models.

Hastings was selected by Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust, which the company describes as “five financially disinterested members” that can select and remove a portion of the board.

The group selected Hastings because of his leadership experience, philanthropic work and “commitment to addressing AI’s societal challenges makes him uniquely qualified to guide Anthropic at this critical juncture in AI development,” said Buddy Shah, chair of Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust, in a statement.

Hastings will join the company’s five-member board, which includes Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei, President Daniela Amodei, investor Yasmin Razavi and Jay Kreps, CEO of Mountain View-based data streaming firm Confluent.

Hastings served as CEO or co-CEO of Netflix for 25 years until 2023. He currently serves on the boards of other organizations including Bloomberg, the financial data and media company.

He has donated money to charter school networks serving low-income U.S. communities and recently gave $50 million to Bowdoin College to establish the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity that aims to help the school provide ethical frameworks for AI and examine AI’s impact on work and education.

May 15 (UPI) — Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the agency will do more to promote economic activity and protect consumers than it did under the Biden administration.

The challenges before the FTC “are as formidable as ever,” Ferguson told the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee’s FTC budget hearing on Thursday morning.

“Our resources have been spread thin by the previous administration’s mismanagement,” Ferguson said, but he “resolutely believes” in the FTC’s mission.

The FTC chairman said the agency must undertake measures to address its resource constraints to ensure it operates as efficiently and effectively as possible while fulfilling its mission.

“No economic system in history has better promoted the common good than the American free-enterprise system,” he said. “No economic system has contributed more to human flourishing.”

The nation’s free-enterprise system “promotes the common good of all Americans only if we protect it from anti-competitive business practices, anti-competitive consolidation and fraud,” Ferguson told the subcommittee.

Focus on ‘vigorous law enforcement’

He said the Trump administration has taken the FTC back to its “roots,” and “vigorous law enforcement” is the agency’s focus.

The FTC is the only federal agency that protects consumers and promotes competition in most economic sectors, Ferguson explained.

“Congress established the FTC to be a cop on the beat for our markets, not to make the rules,” Ferguson told the subcommittee.

“We don’t get to pick and choose what laws we like and what laws we don’t,” he said. “We enforce the laws that the people, through their representatives in Congress, have decided best promote competition and fairness.”

The FTC’s current budget is $425.7 million, and costs for its 1,221 personnel account for about two-thirds of its budgetary expenses, Ferguson said.

The agency recently eliminated 94 full-time employees to reach its current number of full-time employees.

Ferguson said more reductions will be made until the agency has its fewest full-time employees in a decade.

Eliminating an ‘ideological bent’ against mergers

The FTC under the Biden administration “took an aggressive and unprecedented approach” to rule-making” and “stretched its statutory authority” and at times “took a hostile view of mergers and acquisitions,” subcommittee Chairman Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, said.

He asked Ferguson how the FTC would take a different approach under his leadership.

Ferguson said the FTC had an “ideological bent against mergers and acquisitions” under the Biden administration.

“Mergers and acquisitions are a very critical part of how the economy grows and how we get innovation,” he said. “At the same time, protecting Americans from monopolies and anti-competitive conduct is very important.”

If the FTC thinks a deal is anti-competitive and it can win in court, “we’re going to go to court,” Ferguson said.

If the FTC decides it can’t win in court, he said, “we’re going to get out of the way quickly.”

The FTC under the Biden administration prohibited remedies or negotiations to address complications arising from proposed mergers and acquisitions, Ferguson said, but it will under his watch.

“The remedies have to be real. They have to be enforceable,” he explained, “and we have a strong preference for structural remedies over behavioral remedies.”

He said it’s possible to address anti-competitive aspects of a proposed merger instead of blocking it.

Such an approach is the primary difference in how the FTC will work now compared to how it handled such matters under the Biden administration, Ferguson said.

Addressing problems for workers, small businesses

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., raised several issues that he said “hamstring” workers, small businesses and consumers.

Such issues include right-to-repair equipment by small businesses, click-to-cancel provisions among online businesses, and non-compete clauses that could stop workers from moving on to other employment.

Ivey said he hopes the FTC will address such matters and then pivoted to the recent and unexpected firings of two Democratic commissioners in the FTC by the Trump administration.

The two filed legal challenges to their removals and say there was no reason for their firings.

Ivey said it’s important to ensure independent commissions remain independent and have a partisan balance.

Thorough review of prescription drug prices, pharmacy closures

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, addressed pharmacy closures and said a solution is needed to ensure people have access to prescription drugs and pay fair prices.

She asked if the FTC intends to complete a study on pharmaceutical costs and the effect on consumers that was started under the Biden administration.

Ferguson said the FTC needs to produce a “very, very thorough accounting” of the matter and is “promoting a ton of resources” to the issue so federal and state governments have a full understanding of what is being done.

“I want it done as quickly as possible,” he said, “but I do not want speed to be the enemy of thoroughness.”

During additional testimony, Ferguson said the FTC is working to prevent illegal telemarketing calls, fraud that targets older Americans and service members, deceptive billing and cancellation policies, and unlawful ticket practices.

The FTC also is working to prevent unlawful data security and privacy practices while protecting American consumers.

The Trump administration is requesting another $425.7 million FTC budget for fiscal year 2026.

Ferguson said the FTC returned $333 million in value to consumers during the 2024 fiscal year.

The nearly two-hour hearing concluded just before noon EDT.

Bob Worsley has solid conservative credentials. He’s anti abortion. A fiscal hawk and lifelong member of the Mormon Church. As an Arizona state senator, he won high marks from the National Rifle Assn.

These days, however, Worsley is an oddity, an exception, a Republican pushing back against the animating impulses of today’s MAGA-fied Republican Party.

Here’s how he speaks of immigrants — some of whom entered the United States illegally — and those who seek to demonize them.

“We have people that are aristocratically living in another world,” Worsley said. “Maybe they work for you, but you haven’t really lived with them and understand they’re not criminals. They are good people. They’re family people. They’re religious people. They are great Americans…. So I think that’s a problem if you don’t live with them and you’re making policy.”

If that line of reasoning is too mawkish and bleeding-heart for your taste, Worsley makes a more pragmatic argument for a generous, welcoming immigration policy, one unsentimentally rooted in cold dollars and cents.

“The Trump Organization needs workers, hospitality workers, construction workers,” Worsley said. “The horse-breeding industry, the horse-racing industry, they need these people. The pig farmers, the chicken farmers.”

Worsley owns a Phoenix-based modular housing firm and is chairman of the American Business Immigration Coalition, an organization representing more than 1,700 chief executives and business owners nationwide. Their exceedingly ambitious goal: to find compromise and a middle ground on one of the most contentious and insoluble issues of recent decades — and to bring some balance to a Trump policy that is almost wholly punitive in its nature and intent.

“We are employers … and we don’t have a workforce. We need this workforce,” Worsley said. “And building a wall and stopping all immigration is not going to work, because the water will rise until it comes over.”

A serial entrepreneur before he entered politics, Worsley doesn’t favor throwing the U.S.-Mexico border open to all comers. The “lines between countries” should mean something, he said. But now that America’s borders have been practically sealed shut, fulfilling one of President Trump’s major campaign promises, Worsley suggests it’s past time to address another part of the immigration equation.

“What we need is bigger portals, bigger legal openings to come through the border,” Worsley said, likening it to the way a spillway releases pressure behind a dam. “We need a secure workforce as much as we need a secure border.”

The immigration issue was Worsley’s impetus to enter politics. Or, more specifically, the scapegoating and vilification of immigrants that prefigured Trump and his “poisoning the blood of our country” Sturm und Drang.

Worsley, speaking at a 2017 legislative meeting in Phoenix, entered electoral politics to fight anti-immigrant policies

(Bob Christie / Associated Press)

Worsley, whose ventures included founding the SkyMall catalog — a pre-Amazon everything store — was coaxed into running to thwart the return of former Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, who was recalled by voters in part for his fiercely anti-immigrant lawmaking. (Worsley beat him in the 2012 GOP primary, then won the general election.)

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Worsley did his youth missionary work in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. “I developed a certain level of comfort and love for the people down there,” Worsley said.

Moreover, the experience colored his perspective on those impoverished souls who traverse borders in search of a better life. A person can’t empathize “unless you’ve actually walked in their shoes, lived in their homes, eaten their food and socialized with them,” Worsley said via Zoom from his home office in Salt Lake City. “And I think that’s a problem.”

He left the Arizona Senate — and electoral politics — in 2019, vexed and frustrated by the rise of Trump and the anti-immigrant wave he rode to his first, improbable election to the White House.

“It was really irritating because I had fought this in Arizona a decade before,” Worsley said. “And so to have this kind of comeback on a national stage was incredibly frustrating.”

He moved part time to Utah, to be closer to his extended family. He wrote a book, “The Horseshoe Virus,” about the immigration issue; the title suggested the convergence of the far left and far right in the country’s long history of anti-immigrant movements.

He became involved with the American Business Immigration Coalition, recruited by Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, whom Worsley knew through politics and a mutual friendship with Arizona’s late senator, John McCain. Worsley became the board’s chairman in January.

He’s still no fan of Trump, though Worsley emphasized, “I am still a Republican and would vote for a Mitt Romney or John McCain kind of Republican.”

That said, now that the border is under much tighter control, Worsley hopes Trump will not just seek to round up and punish those in the country illegally but also focus on a larger fix to the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system — something no president, Democrat or Republican, has accomplished in nearly 40 years.

It was 1986 when Ronald Reagan signed sweeping legislation that offered amnesty to millions of long-term residents, expanded certain visa programs, cracked down on employers who hired illegal workers and promised to harden the border once and for all through stiffer enforcement — a pledge that, obviously, came to naught.

“Once you’ve secured the border and you don’t have caravans of people coming toward us, then you can address [the question of] what’s the pragmatic solution so that this doesn’t happen again?” Worsley asked. “We’re hopeful that’s where we’re going next.”

It’s long overdue.