April 30, 2025 • 9 mins
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, says the Trump administration's tariffs have delivered a "body blow" to the US economy. Senator Warren also commented on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. She spoke to Bloomberg's Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who joins us live
from Capitol Hill.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Senator, it's great to have you back.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So here we are with our first economic contraction since
twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Are we already in a recession?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Well, some economists think we're already in a recession, and
the overwhelming majority say, if we're not already, we are
certainly sliding into one. The damage done by the chaos
around the Trump tariffs has really delivered a body blow
to our economy. And of course we've seen it in
(00:41):
the stock market, we've seen it in the bond market.
But look where we really are on this is that
families are struggling and they're delivering that message. Remember how
Donald Trump won, He said he would lower costs on
day one, those were his words. On day one he
gets elected, he immediately says that is one of the
(01:03):
main reasons he won. We are one hundred days in,
and what has happened. The economy has shrunk and the
price and groceries is up for families all across this country.
That's a bad economic outlook.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, when we consider that outlook, then Senator knowing we
are a week away from the Federal Reserve's next rate decision,
if they choose not to cut next week, to wait
till June or July or even after that, would President
Trump be right that Chairman Power risks being too late.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
The problem now is the crisis that Donald Trump has created.
Chairman Powell said as soon as Donald Trump started announcing
these red light green light tariffs that we were going
to have tariffs across the board on virtually every nation,
on virtually every product. That the consequence of that would
be to do two things. One is to drive up prices,
(01:56):
in other words, an increase in inflation, and two to
drive up unemployment. And you all know what that means.
That's stagflation, and it neuters the Fed's only tool, and
that is changing the interest rates, because if they increase
the interest traits, that will help push down inflation, but
(02:19):
it will drive up unemployment. And of course the reverse
is true. If they lower interest rates, they run the
risk of setting inflation a flame. At this point, so
Donald Trump has created a crisis, and now the tool
that the Fed would use becomes much less effective for
(02:40):
the FED to actually be able to use it.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This is Donald.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Trump's problem, and he has created it and now compounded it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, we want to get to your reaction, Congressional reaction,
democratic reaction to the terif policies, Senator, because shortly after
this interview, you're going to force a vote that our
audience should know about.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Over the president's tariff authority. Here.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I know you have a couple of Republicans on board,
but this appears to.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Be going nowhere in the House, and I.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Wonder is there anything that Democrats can do beyond a
symbolic gesture to become a check on the president's policy here.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So let's just remember, just so everyone understands, why is
it that the President of the United States can wake
up in the morning and announce one tariff policy and
by mid afternoon being a second one, and by evening
be in a third one. It's all because there is
a statutory provision that says in an emergency, the president
(03:37):
can impose sanctions, but Congress can say, hey, there's no emergency.
So we get to roll that back. And that's what
Senator Widen and I have now proposed. This is the
bill that will be on the floor later today to
just roll back Donald Trump's authority to move in and
say tariff's up, tariff's down, exception for you, hire tariffs
(04:01):
for you over there. The significance of this is, look,
all the Democrats support it. That's not an issue. It's
really to put the Republicans on the record. You understand
what kind of damage this tariff red light green light
is creating. Republicans, so you have the opportunity right here
(04:23):
to take a stand and say we're actually going to
put some curves on what Donald Trump does. They can
vote for the resolution, or they can continue to say nope,
the only power in Washington is with Donald Trump. They
can bend a need to Donald Trump and say to
all Americans who are suffering because of higher prices than
(04:43):
a shrinking economy, and to all of the world that
says the United States is not a reliable trading partner.
We have the opportunity, if the Republicans will join us
to put some curves on Donald Trump and to reverse
the damage he's doing. We'll find out if the Republicans
are only here to take a mee to Donald Trump
(05:05):
or if they actually are willing to stand up for
the American people.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Well, last we spoke with you Senator, you argue that
it was not just about Republicans in Congress, but about
others in the Trump administration, including the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson,
who should be taking action here. We know that Besson
is testifying in the House Financial Services Committee next week.
Do you expect him to appear before the Banking Committee?
And what will he need to answer for if he
does so.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Look, Secretary Besson is going to have to explain he's
out here as the number one apologist for Donald Trump.
And some of the things I want to know from
Secretary Beson is what is he doing going in front
of a closed door group of well healed stock traders
and people who are active in the market and giving
(05:52):
advance information about where tariff policy is headed. I just
want to make sure that Secretary Besson understands he doesn't
just work for a handful of Wall Street investors and
how to make them Richard. He's actually here to work
for the American people and to provide stability in the
stock market. And part of that is to reassure people
(06:14):
that it is not corruption, that it is not a
rigged game. I'd like to hear from Secretary bessend about that,
and in fact, I've already sent him a letter about that,
but I'd like to get him in a hearing and
just be able to ask him a little more about that.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Sounds like you want to talk to Jeff Bezos as well,
and you did send a letter. Well, I do, but
to him this morning, Senator, you're calling on mister Bezos
to disclose information about his conversation with President Trump following
reports that Amazon was going to itemize the cost of
tariffs on products for consumers. Of course, Amazon is not
doing that. The White House called that idea of hostile
(06:48):
and political So here we are, Senators, should publicly traded
companies in the United States assume that Donald Trump is
the de facto chairman of their boards.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Like the way you have put it, that certainly is
how he wants to behave. But listen to that underlying message.
What Donald Trump is saying is if the American people
can see clearly what his tariffs are costing them, that
creates a real problem for Donald Trump and for the
(07:21):
Republicans in Congress. So his solution is not to do
something more sensible on tariffs. His solution is to try
to end access to the information and to persuade Jeff
Bezos that he needs to erase that information. And yes,
I want to hear about that conversation. In fact, I
(07:42):
want to hear about all of the conversations that Donald
Trump has with his million dollar donors and what it
is he is both promising and threatening as he tries
to create even more chaos and corruption in our economy.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Senator, I'd like to ask you about something else. As
he's working on making deals with trading partners, or at
least his administration is, they're also working on a deal
with Ukraine, suggesting a minerals deal specifically, could be signed
as early as this afternoon if Ukraine is willing. Should
that be taking the form of a formal treaty? Should
the Senate have a chance to weigh in on that?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yes, the Senate should have an opportunity to weigh in. Look,
the Senate has and the House long supported Ukraine. It's
Donald Trump who has persuaded a handful of extremists that
somehow this country needs to be on the side of
the aggressor, on the side of Russia. That is fundamentally wrong.
(08:46):
The Ukrainians are fighting on the front lines for democracy
and understand this. If Vladimir Putin can get away with
an invasion of Ukraine, it's not like he will be
full and he will stop there. He's going to continue
to come after more and more of his neighbors. That
is a threat to all of Europe, but it is
(09:08):
also ultimately a threat to the United States of America.
I know that Donald Trump seems to have some kind
of love relationship with Vladimir Putin, although lately they seem
to have had a spat. But at the end of
the day, the interests of the United States are with
Europe and with Ukraine. We need to be once again
(09:31):
a dependable ally. That's what matters most.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
All right, Senator, we know you have that vote to
get to you that we were just discussing, but we
appreciate you joining us. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts,
the rnging member of the Banking Committee. We appreciate your time.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who joins us live
from Capitol Hill.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Senator, it's great to have you back.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So here we are with our first economic contraction since
twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Are we already in a recession?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Well, some economists think we're already in a recession, and
the overwhelming majority say, if we're not already, we are
certainly sliding into one. The damage done by the chaos
around the Trump tariffs has really delivered a body blow
to our economy. And of course we've seen it in
(00:41):
the stock market, we've seen it in the bond market.
But look where we really are on this is that
families are struggling and they're delivering that message. Remember how
Donald Trump won, He said he would lower costs on
day one, those were his words. On day one he
gets elected, he immediately says that is one of the
(01:03):
main reasons he won. We are one hundred days in,
and what has happened. The economy has shrunk and the
price and groceries is up for families all across this country.
That's a bad economic outlook.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, when we consider that outlook, then Senator knowing we
are a week away from the Federal Reserve's next rate decision,
if they choose not to cut next week, to wait
till June or July or even after that, would President
Trump be right that Chairman Power risks being too late.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
The problem now is the crisis that Donald Trump has created.
Chairman Powell said as soon as Donald Trump started announcing
these red light green light tariffs that we were going
to have tariffs across the board on virtually every nation,
on virtually every product. That the consequence of that would
be to do two things. One is to drive up prices,
(01:56):
in other words, an increase in inflation, and two to
drive up unemployment. And you all know what that means.
That's stagflation, and it neuters the Fed's only tool, and
that is changing the interest rates, because if they increase
the interest traits, that will help push down inflation, but
(02:19):
it will drive up unemployment. And of course the reverse
is true. If they lower interest rates, they run the
risk of setting inflation a flame. At this point, so
Donald Trump has created a crisis, and now the tool
that the Fed would use becomes much less effective for
(02:40):
the FED to actually be able to use it.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This is Donald.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Trump's problem, and he has created it and now compounded it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, we want to get to your reaction, Congressional reaction,
democratic reaction to the terif policies, Senator, because shortly after
this interview, you're going to force a vote that our
audience should know about.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Over the president's tariff authority. Here.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I know you have a couple of Republicans on board,
but this appears to.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Be going nowhere in the House, and I.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Wonder is there anything that Democrats can do beyond a
symbolic gesture to become a check on the president's policy here.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So let's just remember, just so everyone understands, why is
it that the President of the United States can wake
up in the morning and announce one tariff policy and
by mid afternoon being a second one, and by evening
be in a third one. It's all because there is
a statutory provision that says in an emergency, the president
(03:37):
can impose sanctions, but Congress can say, hey, there's no emergency.
So we get to roll that back. And that's what
Senator Widen and I have now proposed. This is the
bill that will be on the floor later today to
just roll back Donald Trump's authority to move in and
say tariff's up, tariff's down, exception for you, hire tariffs
(04:01):
for you over there. The significance of this is, look,
all the Democrats support it. That's not an issue. It's
really to put the Republicans on the record. You understand
what kind of damage this tariff red light green light
is creating. Republicans, so you have the opportunity right here
(04:23):
to take a stand and say we're actually going to
put some curves on what Donald Trump does. They can
vote for the resolution, or they can continue to say nope,
the only power in Washington is with Donald Trump. They
can bend a need to Donald Trump and say to
all Americans who are suffering because of higher prices than
(04:43):
a shrinking economy, and to all of the world that
says the United States is not a reliable trading partner.
We have the opportunity, if the Republicans will join us
to put some curves on Donald Trump and to reverse
the damage he's doing. We'll find out if the Republicans
are only here to take a mee to Donald Trump
(05:05):
or if they actually are willing to stand up for
the American people.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Well, last we spoke with you Senator, you argue that
it was not just about Republicans in Congress, but about
others in the Trump administration, including the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson,
who should be taking action here. We know that Besson
is testifying in the House Financial Services Committee next week.
Do you expect him to appear before the Banking Committee?
And what will he need to answer for if he
does so.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Look, Secretary Besson is going to have to explain he's
out here as the number one apologist for Donald Trump.
And some of the things I want to know from
Secretary Beson is what is he doing going in front
of a closed door group of well healed stock traders
and people who are active in the market and giving
(05:52):
advance information about where tariff policy is headed. I just
want to make sure that Secretary Besson understands he doesn't
just work for a handful of Wall Street investors and
how to make them Richard. He's actually here to work
for the American people and to provide stability in the
stock market. And part of that is to reassure people
(06:14):
that it is not corruption, that it is not a
rigged game. I'd like to hear from Secretary bessend about that,
and in fact, I've already sent him a letter about that,
but I'd like to get him in a hearing and
just be able to ask him a little more about that.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Sounds like you want to talk to Jeff Bezos as well,
and you did send a letter. Well, I do, but
to him this morning, Senator, you're calling on mister Bezos
to disclose information about his conversation with President Trump following
reports that Amazon was going to itemize the cost of
tariffs on products for consumers. Of course, Amazon is not
doing that. The White House called that idea of hostile
(06:48):
and political So here we are, Senators, should publicly traded
companies in the United States assume that Donald Trump is
the de facto chairman of their boards.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Like the way you have put it, that certainly is
how he wants to behave. But listen to that underlying message.
What Donald Trump is saying is if the American people
can see clearly what his tariffs are costing them, that
creates a real problem for Donald Trump and for the
(07:21):
Republicans in Congress. So his solution is not to do
something more sensible on tariffs. His solution is to try
to end access to the information and to persuade Jeff
Bezos that he needs to erase that information. And yes,
I want to hear about that conversation. In fact, I
(07:42):
want to hear about all of the conversations that Donald
Trump has with his million dollar donors and what it
is he is both promising and threatening as he tries
to create even more chaos and corruption in our economy.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Senator, I'd like to ask you about something else. As
he's working on making deals with trading partners, or at
least his administration is, they're also working on a deal
with Ukraine, suggesting a minerals deal specifically, could be signed
as early as this afternoon if Ukraine is willing. Should
that be taking the form of a formal treaty? Should
the Senate have a chance to weigh in on that?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yes, the Senate should have an opportunity to weigh in. Look,
the Senate has and the House long supported Ukraine. It's
Donald Trump who has persuaded a handful of extremists that
somehow this country needs to be on the side of
the aggressor, on the side of Russia. That is fundamentally wrong.
(08:46):
The Ukrainians are fighting on the front lines for democracy
and understand this. If Vladimir Putin can get away with
an invasion of Ukraine, it's not like he will be
full and he will stop there. He's going to continue
to come after more and more of his neighbors. That
is a threat to all of Europe, but it is
(09:08):
also ultimately a threat to the United States of America.
I know that Donald Trump seems to have some kind
of love relationship with Vladimir Putin, although lately they seem
to have had a spat. But at the end of
the day, the interests of the United States are with
Europe and with Ukraine. We need to be once again
(09:31):
a dependable ally. That's what matters most.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
All right, Senator, we know you have that vote to
get to you that we were just discussing, but we
appreciate you joining us. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts,
the rnging member of the Banking Committee. We appreciate your time.
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