So much for that lame duck in the White House. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tour the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project on July 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. The possibilities may appear tantalizing to the White House. Still, as CNN reported last week, Trump’s power to order up primary opponents is keeping a lid on more expansive Republican defections. Yet his aggression raises an increasingly urgent question: Is he pushing the country and the global system to a breaking point?

Source: CNN January 12, 2026 06:34 UTC