Trump starts a new Ukraine countdown

And the Fed's fresh interest rate deliberations begin today

Listen View Online BGOV Starting Line By Katherine Rizzo | Tuesday, July 29, 2025 Putin's Revised Deadline President Donald Trump has decided that he gave Vladimir Putin to much leeway on working out a ceasefire in Ukraine. Russia now has less than two weeks to nail down a truce or face potential "secondary sanctions," Trump said yesterday. "We have such nice conversations, such respectful and nice conversations, and then people die the following night," he told reporters during a visit to Scotland. If the threat sticks, it will shorten Moscow's window for compliance by about three weeks. After Trump's previous edict, instead of ending the fighting, Putin stepped up missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Read More The declaration was met by silence from the Kremlin so far, though analysts say it won't pressure the Russian president into changing course. Read More Minibus Time Our budget team reports that senators appear to have given up on trying to get the legislative branch appropriation out the door before their recess. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has placed a hold on the bill, demanding it go up for a vote on its own rather than including it in a mini omnibus. "I want a separate vote on that so I can vote against it for reasons that I've made very clear. There's been no effort in my opinion to try to reduce spending," Kennedy said. Leaders are now prepping for a fiscal 2026 appropriations bundle of three bills: Military Construction-VA, Agriculture-FDA, and Commerce-Justice-Science. If they can pass that package, committee leaders plan to work over the recess on resolving differences with the House versions of those bills. In today's BGOV Budget, Ken Tran and Jack Fitzpatrick describe some of the stumbling blocks the leaders and appropriators will have to navigate, including a trust deficit on the part of minority party senators who just got rolled on rescissions, backtracking on the location of the next FBI headquarters, and concern about the agriculture bill's language on THC levels in hemp products. How the Senate handles the minibus should foreshadow the chances of a shutdown at the end of September, Jonathan Tamari writes in Congress Tracker. Eye on the Economy Policy makers meet today for a new round of discussions about how the US economy may react to the latest trade-war landscape. It's the start of a two-day meeting that will end with a vote tomorrow on whether to lower interest rates or continue the Federal Reserve's don't-risk-inflation path for the rest of the summer. The consensus among Fed-watchers has been that they'll probably lower rates at their next meeting, in September, despite Trump's demands that interest rates come down right away, because they want to see the impact of tariffs on consumer prices. Against the backdrop of that political pressure, there was unsuccessful legal action that sought to force the interest rate discussions out in public. The founder of a political action committee called Full Support for Donald asked a judge to force the meeting into the open so that Americans could see whether interest rate decisions were being based on politics. The request was denied. Trade Talks This is the second day of scheduled negotiations between top US and Chinese officials. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are leading the meeting in Stockholm. Among the agenda topics are extending the current tariff truce beyond Aug. 12, US levies tied to fentanyl trafficking, and Chinese purchases of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wouldn't be surprised to see a 90-day extension of the countries' trade truce, telling Fox News "Is that a likely outcome? Sure, it seems that way, but let's leave it to President Trump to decide." China negotiations are on a different track than the ones with other nations, which are working against a Friday deadline. Another Kind of Chinese Business Deal: Chinese cryptocurrency company Bitmain says it's deciding between Texas and Florida for a new headquarters and assembly line. Bitmain had previously announced that it planned to have a US facility. Now it has added the location targets for what's being characterized as a 250-job investment. Read More See Also: Trump Official Says More Talks Needed to Clinch India Deal Trump to Resume Thailand, Cambodia Trade Talks After Truce US, China Start Second Day of Talks for Tariff Truce Extension CDC Nominee The Senate's on track to vote later today on confirming Susan Monarez to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During her nomination hearing, senators had expressed frustration about staffing cuts leaving in the lurch communities that rely on federal grants. Monarez threaded the needle and made no promises beyond taking a look at the issues. Read More Before You Go Judging the Judge: The Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg, who has lambasted the conduct of government attorneys in a deportation case. CBS News reports that the complaint accuses Boasberg of "making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration" at a March Judicial Conference of the United States meeting where he said the administration could "disregard rulings of federal courts" and trigger a "constitutional crisis." Interstate Commerce: Texas lawmakers are gearing up to pass first-of-its kind legislation increasing penalties for mailing abortion medication after a federal appeals court backed states' authority to regulate the drugs. Celine Castronuovo takes a deep dive into the new legislative landscape. Read More Legal Exodus: Prosecutors are leaving the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, where multiple lawyers with knowledge of the matters say Trump appointee Bill Essayli has ignored and overruled the recommendations, instructed staff to disregard Justice Department policies, and forced lawyers to redo indictment failures before new grand juries, Ben Penn and Maia Spoto report. Read More NYC Shooting: A gunman who killed at least four people and himself at a Midtown Manhattan office tower was targeting the National Football League. Police said a manifesto and notes found on him indicated a fixation with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, caused by head trauma. Read More If You Like Starting Line You don't have to wait for it to be forwarded by a friend. Get it in your inbox for free every weekday by signing up here. This newsletter was edited by Rachel Leven  and Herb Jackson . 1801 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202 Copyright 2025 BGOV LLC. All Rights Reserved. Unsubscribe Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Service BGNW_NL