The Sunday — August 10

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading. 

What the left is doodling.

What the right is doodling.

Monday, August 4.

The BLS commissioner’s firing. On Friday, August 1, President Donald Trump fired the commissioner of labor statistics for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Erika McEntarfer, after the agency released a lower-than-expected July jobs report and revised May's and June's numbers downwards. The BLS reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 73,000 in July, below Dow Jones’s estimated gain of 100,000 jobs. Furthermore, the BLS revised the initial nonfarm payroll employment for May down by 125,000, from +144,000 to +19,000, and also revised June’s total downward by 133,000, from +147,000 to +14,000. Jobs reports are routinely revised from month to month as the BLS receives additional information from businesses and government agencies, but May’s and June’s revisions were larger than normal. 

Our take: “Even given the challenges with initial estimates, the BLS has been unable to get them right lately. The numbers aren’t political, though — they reflect a struggling labor market amid a relatively stable economy. I don’t buy Trump’s claims of politicization, and I don’t see how this firing helps.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, August 5.

Redistricting efforts in Texas and California. On Sunday, August 3, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas left the state to deny the Republican-controlled state House the quorum necessary to vote on a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year. In late July, President Donald Trump spearheaded the plan to redraw Texas’s Congressional map, years in advance of the typical decennial redistricting. In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is considering a special election this November to ask voters to approve a redistricting plan that would aim to benefit Democrats in the House. Several other state governments have also started to consider early redistricting. 

Our take: “Partisan gerrymandering is among the most important issues in American politics. Gerrymandering drives polarization, discourages participation, and challenges the very heart of democratic representation — no matter who’s doing it. I support Texas Democrats doing whatever they can to push back; the issue is that important.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, August 6.

The EPA’s emissions rollback. On Tuesday, July 29, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin released the agency’s proposal to rescind a determination that previous administrations had used to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Both the Obama and Biden administrations used the determination, called the endangerment finding, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, particularly from vehicle emissions. The EPA cited curtailing regulatory overreach as the primary motivation for rescinding the rule, saying that the repeal would save the auto industry an expected $54 billion through deregulations. 

Our take: “Ultimately, I don’t think the EPA will be able to repeal the endangerment finding. That greenhouse gases cause harm is not actually up for debate, and it’s not even relevant here. As usual, the right and left are screaming past each other, which is causing us to miss a big opening for intelligent policy.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, August 7.

Recognition of Palestinian statehood. On July 25, French President Emmanuel Macron said France will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The next week, on July 30, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will also recognize a Palestinian state unless “the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.” Finally, on July 31, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will recognize Palestinian statehood, citing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. The Trump administration is critical of the movement to support Palestinian statehood.

Our take: “Demanding Palestinian statehood is pointless right now, while Israel militarily occupies Gaza and Hamas refuses to abdicate. I appreciate these countries want to do something, but lasting change has to come from Palestinians and Israelis. Statehood will only be possible after several arduous, years-long steps towards peace.”

Reader Survey:

Friday, August 8.

This week marks Tangle’s sixth anniversary. To celebrate, Isaac wrote his annual “state of Tangle” update, this time including the exciting news about Tangle’s rebrand! You can read the update here.

What just happened.

Here are a few stories that have broken since our last newsletter on Thursday.

• On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final months of a newly vacant seat at the Federal Reserve. (The announcement)
• On Thursday, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City. The plan appears to be less expansive than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s originally announced intention to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. (The approval)
• On Thursday, CBS News reported that former Acting Director of the FBI Brian Driscoll was fired from his role with the bureau and told to vacate its Washington field office by Friday. Several other FBI officials were also fired; the reasons for their termination were not given. (The firings)
• On Thursday, President Trump called on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign, claiming the chipmaker’s CEO has a conflict of interest with China. Intel is receiving billions of dollars from the federal government to invest in chip production facilities in Ohio; Tan became CEO five months ago. (The calls)
• On Friday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a peace agreement at a summit hosted by President Trump at the White House. (The signing)
• On Friday, a shooter killed a police officer outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters near Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The suspected shooter has been identified, and also died in the shooting. (The shooting)