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good morning. Welcome to White House Watch. The US government shutdown has entered its second month. If extended until tomorrow, the shutdown would be the longest in U.S. history, surpassing the 35-day closure set during President Donald Trump’s first administration. Also in today’s newsletter:
Key races in today’s US election
Business leaders ask Supreme Court to reverse President Trump’s tariffs
Lisa Cook makes first public statement since Trump attack
US voters head to the polls on Tuesday for state and local elections, seen as the first major test of President Trump’s policies in his second term since returning to the White House in January.
In New Jersey, the close race to become the next governor is attracting attention as a barometer of the country’s political mood.
The state, which stretches from New York’s wealthy suburbs to gritty industrial cities, has historically voted Democratic.
Although Trump lost New Jersey to Kamala Harris by 6 points in the 2024 presidential election, it was one of the biggest swings against Trump in the state, significantly narrowing the 16 percentage point loss he lost to Biden in the state in 2020.
Republicans now hope to build on their momentum heading into next year’s midterm elections.
For Democrats still searching after a landslide loss to Trump last year, the New York City and Virginia elections offer two very different visions for the party’s future.
Hundreds of places are voted on across the United States, but races in five states have national significance © KJ Edelman
In New York City, democratic socialist Zoran Mamdani is expected to become the next mayor.
The 34-year-old has vowed to tackle the city’s rising cost of living by increasing taxes on the wealthy, introducing universal child care, free buses and municipal grocery stores.
His campaign, which featured slick social media videos, impressed young voters and drew global attention while also causing anxiety on Wall Street.
Mamdani’s style stands in contrast to his party’s candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA employee and congresswoman, has maintained a consistent lead over her Republican challenger, Winsome Earl Sears.
Like Mamdani, Spanberger has campaigned to address the affordability crisis, but has instead pitched himself as a pragmatic centrist.
Mr. Spanberger sought to distance himself from some of the party’s most liberal members. She made national headlines after the 2020 election, when the party lost more than a dozen seats, criticizing the party for failing to distance itself from the word socialism.
Hundreds of elections will be held today in dozens of states across the United States. The FT’s Lauren Fedor and Eva Hsiao outline the election to watch.
Are the political trends in the United States changing? Join Swamp Notes Newsletter’s Edward Luce and Rana Foroohar for the latest Ask An Expert Q&A on Thursday, November 6th at 1pm GMT. Submit your question here.
latest headlines
Dick Cheney, the former Republican vice president who defended the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks and then became a fierce critic of Donald Trump, has died at the age of 84. There is also a complete obituary.
Business leaders are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse President Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers ahead of a landmark hearing on the issue tomorrow.
In the wake of the Trump administration’s attacks on American universities, there has been a surge in the number of American academics applying for grants in the EU.
The Trump family tapped two little-known specialized banks to help fund their crypto empire. Here’s why:
Miami real estate agents hope to cash in on the exodus of wealthy New Yorkers seeking refuge in the Sunshine State if Mr. Mamdani wins the New York mayoral race.
The Trump administration has been accused of using “bully” tactics in an attempt to block a historic climate deal on shipping.
what we are hearing
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said yesterday, in her first public remarks since President Trump tried to remove her from the central bank’s board, that a December interest rate cut is not a certainty.
“Policy doesn’t follow a predetermined path,” Cook told a crowded room at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.
“If you raise interest rates too high, you increase the chance of a sharp deterioration in the labor market. If you lower interest rates too much, you increase the chance that inflation expectations will become unfixed,” Cook said in his speech.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook addresses her lawsuit against the US president and says she is “extremely grateful” to those who have offered to help © AP
In August, President Trump attempted to fire Cook, who had called on the Fed to lower interest rates, in an unprecedented attack on his independence. His administration has accused her of mortgage fraud, a charge she denies.
Cook sued Trump in August, and a federal court in Washington reinstated her. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case in January.
After finishing his prepared remarks on Monday, the Fed chief addressed his allegations against the U.S. president. Cook said many people have reached out to her about President Trump’s treatment of her, adding that she is “extremely grateful” to those in the audience who have offered their support.
Asked what he thought about the administration’s frequent attacks on the Federal Reserve to set interest rates in its favor, Cook quipped: “I’m not going to say much, but I support it.” [the Fed’s independence]”.
Asked afterwards if it was worth running for public office, Cook said it was, and that he was motivated by his family’s work in the civil rights movement and his own activism.
“I have learned to have a thick skin if the principles are worth pursuing,” he said, adding that central bank independence is one such principle.
“This too shall pass,” she said. “I will continue this work on behalf of the American people.”
—Additional contribution by Claire Jones, FT’s US economics editor
perspective
In the face of a rapidly changing world order, American conservatives should embrace, rather than reject, the contributions women bring to the workplace, writes the FT’s Rana Foruher.
The anti-Semitic threat in America today comes primarily from the right, argues Edward Luce.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping may have agreed to de-escalate tensions last week, but tensions between the United States and China are likely to continue.
Tej Parikh offers a “dissenting consensus analysis” of the economic turnaround during President Trump’s second term.
Elon Musk has launched his own online encyclopedia powered by AI. Jemima Kelly writes that Tesla’s chief executive scored a major own goal instead of mounting a serious challenger to Wikipedia.
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