The U.S. economy has shown signs of strain as President Trump has leveled steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and prepares to enact “reciprocal” tariffs on countries around the world.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced plans to reduce defense spending, under orders from the Trump administration, projecting an 8% budget cut for the US military over the next five years. Veda Partners Managing Partner and Director of Economic Policy Henrietta Treyz joins Catalysts to analyze this development and broader federal spending plans.

Republicans could be preparing to add more than $5 trillion in new debt to avoid painful healthcare cuts Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump are hurtling toward a collision over tax reform, exposing a growing ideological rift over healthcare spending that could threaten the president's legislative agenda in its entirety.

Henrietta Treyz, Director of Economic Policy Research at Veda Partners, discusses the government’s efficiency efforts and Senate pushback. The House proposes a $4.5 trillion tax cut, funded by tariffs, Doge, and Medicaid cuts. There’s tension between deficit hawks and moderates, and controversy over Elon Musk accessing Social Security data for taxpayer information.

With President Trump starting his second term, what can investors expect from the White House, Congress and the regulators in 2025? Will Congress be able to pass a bill that extends the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts? Will we have a debt ceiling crisis? How will regulators “de-regulate” in their sectors?

A menu of $5.7tn in potential federal spending cuts that is under consideration by House Republicans includes more than $3 trillion in healthcare cuts. The 50-page, untitled document obtained by LFI, is one of several outlines circulating among GOP lawmakers across congressional committees as they gear up to execute an agenda for President Trump.

Conservative healthcare wonks accuse states and providers of gaming the system. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans entered office on promises to enact trillions of dollars in new tax cuts at a time of record federal budget deficits, rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation.

Trump has promised to “knock out” drug-industry middlemen, a potential disaster for pharmacy benefit managers. He named prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services, which could wreak havoc on shot developers.