Economics
What Trump Can Do to Juice the Economy Ahead of November
With Democrats in control of the House, a big fiscal stimulus is off the table.
Illustration: Scott Gelber for Bloomberg Businessweek
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Governments up for reelection typically do what they can to nudge the economy into high gear just as voters are starting to pay attention. On that front, things already look pretty good for Donald Trump. One problem for the president ahead of the vote in November is that his most powerful tool is now in the hands of his enemies.
Fiscal stimulus is the main reason for faster growth on Trump’s watch. In 2018 tax cuts coupled with higher spending helped the U.S. economy match its best performance in the years since the financial crisis. But Republicans lost control of the budget machinery in Congress last year, when the House convened under its new Democratic majority.