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Trump’s trade war escalates: Why the president is tariff-focused
It is another week of President Trump’s tariffs taking focus in the news as the commander in chief issues new threats against Canada and the EU. On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Madison Mills, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman talk about the tariff news coming out of Washington D.C this week and its impact on the economy. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas also joins the show to discuss the latest on the budget resolution bill. Watch more episodes of Capitol Gains here. Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Trump tariff turmoil: Breaking down president's trade moves
Tariffs take focus in Washington D.C. again this week as President Trump’s taxes on foreign imports went into effect on Tuesday, beginning a trade war against Canada, China, and Mexico. Following the implementation, various actions were taken by all nations involved. The United States announced a number of tariff exemptions and delays. Canada, China, and Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs. On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Madison Mills, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman cut through the tariff news bluster and break down what matters most to Americans. “Trump went forward with these tariffs on Tuesday. In the immediate days, the economic cost of them became very evident,” Werschkul says. "The CEOs and business leaders were getting to anyone they could at the White House, and they're clearly getting through in the sense that there certainly has been a walk-back [on tariff policy]. The question is what this looks like in a month when the big tariffs are in place.” Werschkul also breaks down why Trump is so hyper-focused on tariffs in this new administration. “It's a way to raise revenue. It's a way to get what he wants on the negotiating stage. It's a way to, sort of, have America first, and it can't be all those things at once,” Werschkul explains. "What exactly are the goals here of tariffs? Because at different times, even in the same speech from Trump or from Trump's aids, you hear different things.” American Action Forum president and former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin also joins the show to provide further insight on the budget resolution bill and the economic outlook based off on President Trump’s handling of the economy thus far. Watch more episodes of Capitol Gains here. Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Why Trump’s tax cut bill is a bigger deal than DOGE budget cuts
It was quite the week to be in Washington DC. The Department of Government Efficiency remains in focus as DOGE and Elon Musk continue cutting from the federal budget to help curb government spending. Meanwhile, President Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax cut bill made it through the House. Though the legislation still has a ways to go, we take a look at the bill, how it’s impacted by DOGE, and what it all means for your bottom line. On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Madison Mills, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman look at DOGE’s impact over the Federal government thus far while also breaking down Trump’s budget reform. “The real action here is with the tax cut bill. You could almost argue that DOGE is a bit of a sideshow,” Newman says. “The stakes with the tax cut bill are huge, literally in the trillions of dollars. The stakes with the Government Efficiency Commission, even though it’s getting minute-by-minute headlines, the stakes are actually pretty small.” Newman attributes the “small stakes” to the fact that firing government employees and cutting back on the federal budget will not actually move the needle to fix federal spending and the federal debt as much as Musk touts it will. The former House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady also joins the show to provide further insight on tax policy in the United States and whether or not Congress is ok with the ways Elon Musk and DOGE have inserted themselves into the country’s spending process. “I think Congress sees this as pulling the curtain back on what Congress has been trying to get from the Executive Branch for an awful lot of time,” Brady explains. “It’s actually generating conversations in Congress about how you rightsize it the right way, keeping Congress's priorities in place… for looking for those programs that are either wasteful or really just no longer priorities for a government that is this big and growing bigger.” Watch more episodes of Capitol Gains here. Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Musk & DOGE budget cuts begin: Will they hit their target?
Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are in focus this week as DOGE claims it has already cut $55 billion in spending in the first month of the new Trump administration. Where are the areas DOGE is cutting and are they hitting their targets? We get into it. On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Madison Mills, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman break down the data and budget cut numbers coming from the Department of Government Efficiency and explain why they are likely not going to hit their savings goals. “Elon Musk originally said he wanted DOGE to come up with $1 trillion in annual savings. He backtracked a little bit. The target is now between $500 billion and $1 trillion [per year],” Newman explains. “You're never in a million years going to get that number by cutting DEI training. If you fired everybody in the federal workforce and nobody worked for the government, you still wouldn't come close to $500 billion. The only way to get that is [cutting funds from] Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans benefits and defense.” Pangaea Policy Founder Terry Haines joins the show to provide further insight on DOGE, Trump’s future tax bill, and whether or not the commander in chief will uphold his tax cut promises to Americans. Watch more episodes of Capitol Gains here. Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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What you need to know about Trump’s newest tariffs
Tariffs are once again at the forefront of the news cycle this week. On Thursday, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs against foreign trading partners, though it could take months to actually implement due to trade negotiations with the aforementioned nations. This all comes after the president signed an executive order imposing 25% blanket tariffs on steel and aluminum earlier this week. What does all this mean for the economy and your bottom line? We get into it. On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Madison Mills, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman talk about the latest tariff news, breaking down what the legislation means and how they will directly impact the American people. Tax Foundation Policy Analysis Director Garrett Watson joins the show to provide insight on the latest tariff news and look ahead to Trump’s future tax bills. The team also takes a look at DOGE following the latest press conference between President Trump and Elon Musk and the steps the government is taking to reduce the $36 trillion federal debt. Watch more episodes of Capitol Gains here. Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About Capitol Gains

Welcome to Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line. Our bottom line? It’s still the economy, stupid! We look at the big issues: from inflation, to taxation and everything in between. We’ve got team coverage from New York to Los Angeles, but we start at the heart of the action here in Washington DC.