July job gains plunge to 73K as tariffs and inflation dim Trump’s midterm boom

US economic indicators showed alarming signs last week, undercutting President Trump's promise of a midterm boom. Job gains plunged to just 73,000 in July—well below last year's monthly average of 168,000—and manufacturing has shed 37,000 positions since April. At the same time, inflation ticked up to 2.6% year-over-year and GDP growth slowed to 1.3% annualized in the first half of 2024.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has unleashed a broad tariff campaign on dozens of trading partners and publicly attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates—moves that could further stoke price pressures and unsettle voters ahead of the midterms.

President Trump's confrontation with the federal judiciary has deepened on two fronts: Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a complaint against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for remarks at a private Judicial Conference warning of executive defiance, and the Senate left for its August recess without moving dozens of his nominees after Democrats blocked fast-track confirmations.

Negotiators reportedly floated a package deal trading confirmations for reversals of foreign-aid cuts, but talks collapsed when Mr. Trump told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to "GO TO HELL!" on social media. Still, the chamber narrowly approved former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for D.C., underscoring the widening partisan rift over judicial appointments.

A D.C. Circuit panel has lifted its stay on a district court injunction blocking President Trump's asylum ban, preserving migrants' right to seek protection even if they entered between ports of entry. Judges Patricia Millett, Cornelia Pillard and Gregory G. Katsas backed U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss's finding that the ban exceeds the president's authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Meanwhile in California, aggressive ICE operations are deepening a housing crisis among immigrant families. Deportations of primary earners have left households in Santa Rosa, Los Angeles and Oakland scrambling to pay rent. Experts warn that fear of detention is chilling enforcement of California's strong tenant-protection laws, pushing more undocumented renters toward overcrowding or homelessness.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into Special Counsel Jack Smith, accusing him of engaging in partisan political activity through his criminal inquiries into Donald Trump. Appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022, Smith brought two high-profile 2023 cases—one on alleged election interference and another on classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Key points:

• The OSC can impose fines or sanctions but lacks criminal enforcement power.


• Sen. Tom Cotton urged the probe, claiming Smith's actions aided President Biden.


• The watchdog office itself has been roiled by leadership changes under the Trump administration.

Infighting roils MAGA as far-right activist Laura Loomer has publicly attacked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X, branding him a "fraud" and "terrible person" after he likened her influence to "a child wielding a loaded firearm." Loomer, who claims to vet Trump administration officials and has boasted of derailing nominations for "disloyal" staffers, has positioned herself as the movement's unofficial enforcer of loyalty.

At the same time, MAGA's grassroots are issuing an early warning to any successor: personal loyalty to Donald Trump is unique, and no heir—despite the rising profiles of figures like VP JD Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio—will command the same unquestioning allegiance. The base's brief revolt over the Epstein files and sharp divisions on foreign policy underscore widening fractures beneath Trump's coalition.