The Morning Sixpack - April 11, 2025

Tariffs, deportations, and midnight votes—because who needs boring news when you can have this much chaos?

Consumer Sentiment Dips to Three-Year Low Amid Soaring Inflation Fears

Consumer confidence in the U.S. has hit its lowest point since June 2022, with the latest University of Michigan survey showing a sharp drop in sentiment.

The preliminary April reading fell to 50.8%, a significant decrease from 57.0% in March and down 30% from December. This marks the fourth consecutive month of decline, with economists predicting a smaller dip of 54.6%.

The data reveals heightened inflation expectations, with Americans now anticipating a 6.7% increase in prices over the next year—the highest since 1981. This growing concern about rising costs is compounded by fears of a potential recession, as consumers increasingly worry about job losses and unemployment, which has doubled from November 2024 levels.

Joanne Hsu, the head of the UMich survey, highlighted that these shifting sentiments suggest a significant economic slowdown could be on the horizon. The report, which closed before President Trump’s tariff announcement, indicates that inflation fears are playing a major role in shaping public perception of the economy.

Source: MarketWatch

We are in a bad economic situation! Consumer confidence is down, prices will be rising, the debt is about to explode, and these Trump tariffs are off the rails. Buckle up!

Warren Calls for S.E.C. Investigation Into Potential Insider Trading Ahead of Trump’s Tariff Pause Announcement

Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) to investigate whether President Trump's sudden tariff reversal on Wednesday led to illegal insider trading.

The call comes after Trump posted on social media, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!", hours before announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs. This move sparked a dramatic 7% surge in the S&P 500, marking its best day since the 2008 financial crisis.

Warren expressed concerns that insiders may have had prior knowledge of the tariff pause, which sent the stock market soaring. She wrote to the S.E.C., urging an investigation into whether market manipulation occurred, especially as there was a notable spike in call option trades just before the announcement. While financial experts have not found direct evidence of insider trading, the timing and scale of the trades raise suspicions about potential advance knowledge of Trump’s plans.

This growing scrutiny is amplified by the involvement of other lawmakers, including Representative Maxine Waters, who has also called for an investigation into the unusual market activity tied to the tariff pause.

Source: The New York Times

You KNOW there was insider trading. You also know NOTHING is going to come of it. We have a fully-neutured Congress.

Kennedy Vows to Identify Autism Cause by September Amid Ongoing Controversy

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold new initiative aimed at uncovering the cause of the rising autism diagnosis rates by September 2025.

The controversial plan, revealed during a Cabinet meeting with President Trump, promises a multinational study involving hundreds of scientists from around the world. Kennedy's pledge comes despite ongoing criticism over his past mixed messages regarding vaccines and their potential link to autism, a claim that public health experts have repeatedly debunked.

While Kennedy has recently endorsed vaccines as the best prevention against measles, his continued focus on the vaccine-autism connection has raised concerns. He stated that the autism rate among children has skyrocketed to one in 31, up from one in 10,000 during his own childhood, though he did not provide sources for these figures. President Trump echoed Kennedy’s sentiments, suggesting that something artificial, possibly a vaccine, might be contributing to the increase in autism diagnoses.

Kennedy also unveiled plans for a dramatic reduction in animal testing at the National Institutes of Health and the FDA, citing AI as a more precise tool for assessing toxins in products. The shift toward AI-based methods, however, left many questions unanswered about the specifics of these toxins and their potential link to autism.

Source: Roll Call

You know what causes autism? Neither do I. And neither does RFK Jr. He just has a vendetta against vaccines. He has zero evidence.

Senate Confirms Trump’s Nominee for Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

In a late-night vote on Friday, the Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Caine, nominated by President Donald Trump in February, steps into the role nearly two months after the abrupt firing of Gen. CQ Brown Jr. Caine’s confirmation came amid political tensions, with Republicans pushing the nomination through quickly while Democrats sought to delay the process in opposition to Trump’s military leadership overhaul.

Caine, a decorated F-16 pilot with a history in special operations and the CIA, did not meet all the usual prerequisites for the role, such as being a combatant commander or service chief. However, these requirements can be waived by the president in the national interest. Caine’s confirmation was bipartisan, with some Democrats supporting the vote, despite disagreements over Trump’s military policies.

At his confirmation hearing, Caine vowed to remain apolitical, offering candid advice to the president, and reaffirmed his commitment to uphold the Constitution. When asked by Sen. Elissa Slotkin if he would push back against potentially illegal military orders, Caine responded, “I think that’s the duty and the job that I have, yes.”

Source: AP News

Why didn’t Senate Democrats BLOCK this? They could have pulled another Booker 25-hour speech, but they didn’t? Why not? I think they’ve given up already. Time for Schumer to be retired and some firebrand (AOC?) to take his place. We need an aggressive Senate Minority Leader.

US Supreme Court Orders Trump Administration to Return Mistakenly Deported Man to the US

In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the US Supreme Court has directed the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The court declined to block a federal court’s ruling, which requires the government to ensure Garcia’s release from a notorious Salvadoran mega-jail and handle his case as if he had not been improperly deported.

The Trump administration had acknowledged the deportation error but appealed the decision to bring Garcia back to the US. This ruling now mandates that the government act swiftly to rectify the situation. The case has drawn attention to the consequences of deportation errors, especially in countries with known human rights issues.

The Supreme Court’s order ensures that Garcia’s case will be handled fairly, as it would have been had he not been wrongfully sent to El Salvador.

Source: BBC News

I fear he’s dead, along with many others and Trump is just stonewalling because shit’s gonna get real—fast when we find out.

Trump Administration Uses Controversial McCarran-Walter Act to Target Immigrant Protestors

The Trump administration is invoking a controversial Cold War-era law, the McCarran-Walter Act, to target pro-Palestinian protestors, including Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student.

Khalil, who is facing possible deportation, is accused of supporting actions that allegedly contradict U.S. foreign interests. The McCarran-Walter Act, passed in 1952, allows the government to deport immigrants whose activities are believed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy, originally used to target communists during the Cold War.

Khalil’s case has sparked concerns over free speech rights for immigrants. The Trump administration argues that supporting terrorism and violence, particularly through pro-Palestinian activism, justifies stripping individuals of their immigrant status. This policy has drawn comparisons to the 1950s Red Scare, where similar ideological tests were used to justify deportations, particularly against Jewish and communist immigrants.

The case raises broader issues about the intersection of free speech and immigration status, as well as fears that the current crackdown could set a dangerous precedent that extends beyond immigrants to U.S. citizens with dissenting views.

Source: NPR