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Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
NASA's space station blues
With help from John Hendel, Camille von Kaenel and Tyler Katzenberger WELCOME TO POLITICO PRO SPACE. I've been reading how rocket science pioneer Wernher von Braun first floated the idea for what would become NASA's International Space Station in 1952. Check out the wild illustrations. What do you think the U.S. needs in a space station? Email me at sskove@ with tips, pitches and feedback, and find me on X at @samuelskove. And remember, we're offering this newsletter for free over the next few weeks. After that, it will be available only to POLITICO Pro subscribers. Read all about it here. The Spotlight After two billion miles and nearly three decades, NASA is ready to trade in its old, leaky space station for a flashy new one. The problem: NASA can't decide what it wants. A sleek research base? A bare bones structure? A hotel where tourists rub shoulders with astronauts? The indecision could bankrupt space companies, crank up tensions with Congress and leave astronauts without a long-term home in near-Earth orbit. The International Space Station is essential for research that could lead to humans living in space, as well as thousands of other science experiments that inform everything from cancer treatments to robotics. Tell you what I want: NASA is supposed to give companies a peek by late June at what it wants in a space station. The agency would like a commercially-operated one in orbit by 2029, and aims to crash the ISS into the ocean in 2031. These plans became even more critical this month after an air leak on its space station delayed the visit of four astronauts. NASA, at the last minute, canceled a long-planned May event to discuss its goals for a new one, an ominous sign of the space agency's commitment to the mission. The meeting was supposed to help lay the groundwork for what NASA would ask for in June, but officials haven't rescheduled it. The only language companies have to go on — such as 'solve Earth's challenges' — is vague at best. Businesses that hope to make millions off space stations want clarity in order to lure investors and spend wisely. 'Companies can raise the capital necessary to build and launch a space station, but only if the U.S. government makes the plan clear,' said Jared Stout, chief global policy officer at space station company Axiom. About your old ride: Congress is also worried. 'We're all anxious to see that [request for proposal] come out sometime this summer,' said a Senate Republican Committee aide, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. 'We really do need to start seeing NASA make some serious moves here.' Lawmakers are talking with NASA about the program to ensure it stays on track, the aide said. But if the space agency fails to make headway by early fall, when NASA faces a deadline to make clear what it wants, they may consider more serious levels of oversight. (Think hearings or rearranging funding.) They may be waiting awhile. NASA is operating with only an acting administrator until at least the fall, and isn't getting much direction from the White House. That makes it tough for the agency to move forward with any major decisions. NASA didn't respond to our requests for comment. Out of gas: The longer NASA waits, the fewer bidders it will have left. Space stations are expensive. Axiom estimates a four-module station costs $3 billion. NASA only forks out a few hundred million dollars each year in awards. That means companies have to win over the handful of investors who have both the deep pockets and risk tolerance to bet on a space station, said Alex MacDonald, NASA's former chief economist. NASA's refusal so far to choose one or two companies is another potential problem for investors, he said, as it makes it less clear who to bet on. The ISS can limp along for a bit longer. The station could even extend its service life past 2030, although a lack of spare parts will make it increasingly hard to run. Eventually, the bill will come due — and a bold experiment in living in space may grind to an end. Spectrum SKY HIGH DREAMS FOR BROADBAND: Elon Musk, who has had a tough month, may finally get a win. The Trump administration just handed satellite companies a victory in overhauling a $42 billion program meant to expand internet to underserved areas. Give satellite a chance: The original version of the infrastructure grant program relegated satellite broadband to a lower status reserved for extremely remote regions. The new rules, released June 6 and spearheaded by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, wipe out technology preferences. They put satellites on par with fiber, wireless and other tech. Lutnick stressed a desire to make deployments 'cheap.' That could benefit Musk's satellite broadband offering, Starlink, and possibly Project Kuiper, a similar service from Amazon that's yet to sign up private customers. States have a say too, though, and can choose not to spend the money on satellites. Funny timing: Another curious detail: The program's satellite-friendly revamp arrived right after President Donald Trump threatened Musk's government subsidies, seemingly undercutting the seriousness of the president's promise to hurt his former ally's business. The administration wouldn't say whether the White House is considering further changes but stressed it's 'exploring all options' to deliver broadband effectively. Some states were scheduled to begin installing internet networks this year, but the overhaul bumped that into at least 2026. Lutnick said he hopes to release the money by year's end. Now or never: Some Republicans don't want to wait. 'I would rather have our money now,' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( a member of GOP leadership, told John. Advocacy groups and Democrats, meanwhile, worry who will actually benefit. 'It feels like they're just stalling things to reward some of their wealthy friends,' Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the telecom subcommittee, told John. In the States MUSK VS CALIFORNIA: One of Musk's favorite foes is under new leadership — and already girding itself for battle. California's Coastal Commission, which set off a row with the SpaceX founder last year when it rejected the company's plan for increased rocket launches, elected new leaders last week to help oversee the agency tasked with protecting the state's coast. That includes new chair Meagan Harmon, who hails from Santa Barbara County, home of Vandenberg Space Force Base, and vice chair Caryl Hart, a former parks director who also served as chair during the agency's SpaceX decision. As our own Camille von Kaenel reports, Hart acknowledged last week that 'this is a challenging time' for the commission, which both Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom also criticized over its SpaceX decision. See you in court: SpaceX launched a legal challenge against the agency, alleging 'naked political discrimination.' The case is still pending before a Trump-appointed judge. A Republican state lawmaker had tried to pass a bill to side with SpaceX and reverse the Coastal Commission's decision. But that Assembly member, Bill Essayli, has since been promoted by Trump to become a U.S. attorney for California's central district. His bill, to let SpaceX launch up to 14 more Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg each year, died after no other Republicans took it up, our own Tyler Katzenberger reports. That means the original decision stands, for now. Former Commission Chair Justin Cummings nodded at the hurdles ahead for the agency last week when welcoming the new leaders. 'This coming year is not going to be easy, and probably won't be easy for the next few years,' he told them. The Reading Room Satellite industry derides cuts as national security threat: POLITICO New NASA Boss May Not Take Over Until Next Year, Acting Head Says: Bloomberg Private Space Stations Are Racing to Be the Next 'It' Destination: The Wall Street Journal Varda to launch its first in-house built spacecraft for on-orbit manufacturing: SpaceNews Report Proposes Fixes For The Aerospace Talent Gap: Payload Event Horizon MONDAY: The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a fireside chat with Air Marshal Paul Godfrey. TUESDAY: The Mitchell Institute holds a discussion with Dr. Kelly D. Hammett of the Space Force. WEDNESDAY: The 2025 SmallSat & Space Access Summit runs from Wednesday to Thursday. SpaceNews holds a discussion on geospatial intelligence. Photo of the Week
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Navigating a knife's edge economy
Presented by Editor's note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. Quick Fix As Federal Reserve policymakers gather today to make their latest interest rate decision, the economy is weakening — but not enough to prompt Chair Jerome Powell to lower borrowing costs. If the Fed stands pat, as is widely expected, it will undoubtedly rankle President Donald Trump, who has been pressing Powell in recent days to drop interest rates by a full percentage point. But a particularly telling signal — for Trump and for markets — will come alongside the Fed's decision: officials' quarterly forecast. June's report, known as the Summary of Economic Projections, will be the first time central bank policymakers have weighed in on the potential path for rates, growth and inflation since Trump's sweeping new tariff regime announced April 2. The story told by those forecasts could influence the reaction from Trump, who has also shown renewed interest in thinking about who will replace Powell as chair when his term ends next year. That said, nobody can predict with any certainty how tariffs will feed through the economy this year. Just ask Stephen Miran, Trump's chief economist. 'Folks that do have precise forecasts are kind of silly and kidding themselves about how much certainty they could possibly have,' he told your MM host on Friday, citing continued uncertainty about where the tax bill will land and how trade deals will shake out. For now, though, Miran said there's no evidence that tariffs are stoking inflation or causing a 'substantial drag' on the economy. The narrative told by economic indicators is mixed. Inflation has continued to cool, and unemployment is holding around 4.2 percent. U.S. retail sales data out Tuesday showed consumer spending has declined, but that's also coming off a pre-tariff buying spree earlier this year. Sales were still up 3.3 percent compared to May 2024. Industrial production declined modestly in May, according to the latest Fed data, and the Fed's own rate policies are pinching in some areas: a gauge of U.S. homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level since December 2022. Don't forget the added risk of the conflict between Israel and Iran, which has caused oil prices to jump. All of that paints a muddy picture. Still, from the Fed's perspective, signs of resilience could add to their resolve to hold rates steady for the time being. After all, a stronger labor market could make it easier for companies to raise prices in the face of tariffs because workers have more spending money. 'Let's say we don't get a recession and the labor market is OK,' said Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management. 'In that case you will have even more upside pressure on inflation.' 'The starting point for inflation is really important,' he added. 'If the starting point was 1.5 percent, it would've been much more manageable to have a trade war.' Your host also has a new 'Capital Letter' column out this morning that explores Miran's vision for how Trump's tariffs will ultimately lead to fairer trade. 'At the center of his argument is the idea that the U.S., as the dominant buyer of the world's goods, will ultimately have enough leverage to make foreign trading partners eat the cost of tariffs, leading to more revenue and supply chains that are more aligned with U.S. interests,' Victoria writes. 'Foreign manufacturers will have to lower their prices to accommodate tariff rates, Miran believes. If they don't, then U.S. importers will turn to factories in other markets rather than absorbing the cost of tariffs themselves.' For now, that's not really how it's playing out. Debates are raging across the world about how to divide the tax burden of tariffs in a way that is least disruptive, and in many sectors, that looks like: 'factories take a third, the U.S. corporate takes a third, and then the consumer takes a third,' according to Ajit Menon, U.S. head of global trade solutions at HSBC, the largest trade bank by revenue. But Miran's argument is that these dynamics will take some time. 'In the long run, this tax incidence logic absolutely is going to hold,' he said. 'In the short run, is there going to be volatility in prices? It's absolutely possible.' Pros can read the Q&A here. IT'S WEDNESDAY — What should we ask Chair Powell? Send ideas to vguida@ Programming note: We'll be off this Thursday but will be back in your inboxes on Friday, June 20. Driving the day The American Enterprise Institute hosts an event on U.S. trade and the global economic outlook at 10 a.m. Speakers will include Jason Furman, former top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, AEI Senior Fellow Desmond Lachman and former longtime Treasury official Mark Sobel … HUD Secretary Scott Turner speaks at the Exchequer Club at 1 p.m. … The Federal Reserve will make its interest-rate announcement at 2 p.m. … Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference will follow at 2:30 p.m. … GENIUS leaves the stable — The Senate passed landmark cryptocurrency legislation on Tuesday that is aimed at creating the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for digital tokens known as stablecoins that are pegged to the value of the dollar, our Jasper Goodman reports. But the bill faces an uncertain future in the House, where Republicans are weighing how much to change the Senate legislation and whether to package it with a market structure bill. Timing for the tax bill — A host of concerns from diverse pockets of the GOP are threatening Majority Leader John Thune's grand plan of winning Senate passage of the GOP tax bill by July 4, our Benjamin Guggenheim and Jordain Carney report. Are you listening, bond market? — The Federal Reserve will hold a board meeting next week to take up a proposal aimed at easing capital requirements for the nation's largest banks, our Michael Stratford reports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called the changes to the backup capital rule, known as the supplementary leverage ratio, a top priority for the Trump administration, arguing they would boost liquidity in the Treasury market and spur demand for U.S. government debt. 'The White House Office of Management and Budget is already reviewing proposals submitted by the Fed's peer bank regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,' Stratford reports. 'The Fed has yet to send its proposal to OMB, according to the office's website.' MM sidebar: Your host remembers back in 2021, when the Fed said it would consider changes to the SLR 'shortly.' Tariff update — Two companies in Illinois that are suing to block Trump's tariffs on dozens of countries are asking the Supreme Court to fast-track their challenge, our Ari Hawkins reports. A ruling against the president could permanently block Trump's ability to use emergency powers to impose tariffs. Employee of the year — Dave Lebryk, a longtime top career official at the Treasury Department who resigned earlier this year amid a clash over DOGE's access to the payments systems, was honored Tuesday night by the Partnership for Public Service as Federal Employee of the Year. Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, now chairman of Warburg Pincus and with a much lower public profile of late, gave unusually direct remarks at the event, according to remarks provided to MM: 'In honoring Dave you are honoring one of the foundational strengths of the American government, a tradition in which talented people devote their careers to trying to bend the arc of policy toward competence, to defending the public interest, to serving as a check on damaging ideas, and to trying to talk our leaders into better ideas,' he said. 'This is a tradition we should honor. It's a tradition we should preserve and strengthen.' Another former head of Treasury, Janet Yellen, also spoke: 'Dave has been a quiet force at Treasury for nearly 40 years,' she said. 'He started as a presidential management intern and rose through the ranks to become our fiscal assistant secretary—the highest-ranking career official at the Department. That title doesn't begin to capture his impact.' On The Hill Big beautiful price tag — The tax package House Republicans passed last month would increase the U.S. deficit by $2.8 trillion over a decade when considering economic effects, according to the Congressional Budget Office, our Jennifer Scholtes reports. 'CBO did find that the legislation would modestly boost economic growth over a decade, by 0.5 percent on average,' Scholtes writes. 'But those effects would be swamped by the costs of higher interest rates, forecasters found, which would boost payments on the national debt by an estimated $440 billion over that time. Over five years, inflation would increase 'by a small amount' because of the bill, the budget office predicts.' Crapo goes big on permanence — Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo is aiming to make a slew of provisions in the GOP tax bill permanent — not just business breaks for things like research and investment expenses. An expanded Child Tax Credit, a new charitable break, the New Markets Tax Credit program, Opportunity Zones and others would all become a fixture of the code in his plan, our Brian Faler reports. The Economy Amazon eyes AI-related workforce cuts — Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a note to employees Tuesday said the company, one of the largest U.S. employers, plans to reduce its workforce in coming years because artificial intelligence will eliminate the need for certain jobs, WSJ reports. Bessent on the pods — A Treasury analysis of labor market data shows that Trump is the only president since Richard Nixon to see positive real wage growth for non-supervisory workers in the first five months of his presidency, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the New York Post in a podcast that will air on Wednesday.
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Why Congress' crypto fight is still just beginning
Editor's note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. Quick Fix The U.S. Senate, once a pit of quicksand for industry-friendly cryptocurrency legislation, is poised to hand digital asset firms one of their biggest lobbying wins ever later this afternoon. But crypto executives may be wise to hold off on popping any champagne. The Senate is set to vote at around 4:30 p.m. today on passing bipartisan stablecoin legislation that has been the subject of months of turbulent negotiations between Republicans and crypto-friendly Democrats. The vote will likely send the measure to the Republican-controlled House, where it will set off a new crypto policy scramble that could once again get complicated. Key senators want House Republicans to quickly send their bill, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), to President Donald Trump's desk — which they say would allow Republicans to notch a major policy win in the coming weeks. But things may not be so simple in the lower chamber, where pro-crypto Republicans including Financial Services Chair French Hill are plotting the best way to get multiple digital asset bills across the finish line this year. Hill and House GOP leaders are weighing whether to package stablecoin legislation with an even bigger prize for the crypto industry — a separate, bigger measure that would establish a regulatory framework for the broader digital assets industry. The Arkansas Republican's so-called CLARITY Act, which a pair of House committees approved last week, has long been the crown jewel of pro-crypto lawmakers' agenda and is a much bigger priority for most crypto firms than stablecoin legislation, which only affects a narrow subset of the digital assets world. Hill, who has championed industry-friendly digital asset policies for years in the House, is so far keeping his cards close to his chest. Though he hasn't explicitly said how he wants to advance the crypto bills across the floor in the lower chamber, MM has noted that he and his allies have made sure in recent interviews about the subject to say that lawmakers must pass both stablecoin and market structure legislation this year. 'Both these bills are very, very important to the goal of a digital asset future for the U.S.,' he said on Fox Business last week. 'You can't just pass a stablecoin bill and have any place to effectively use it. You need the CLARITY Act to give us that market framework.' The concern pro-crypto House lawmakers have with passing the Senate bill is likely twofold. First, House Republicans have their own stablecoin bill that the Financial Services panel approved earlier this year. Though it is similar to Hagerty's GENIUS Act, some key differences remain — and House lawmakers don't want to be jammed by the Senate's product. But more importantly, some members fear that simply passing a stablecoin bill — even if it goes through a conference committee that reconciles the differences between the two versions — would take momentum away from the broader push and leave market structure legislation by the wayside. 'The Senate clearly doesn't … have the consensus built to deal with market structure,' said Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), a longtime crypto advocate on House Financial Services who chairs the panel's national security subcommittee. The 'only way we get them to take action' on the House crypto proposals, he said, is to send 'one, combined bill to the Senate' that includes stablecoin legislation, the House market structure bill and a measure that would ban a central bank digital currency. 'I think that's what it's going to take to get the Senate to deal with House-based legislation,' he said, adding that he will ultimately defer to Hill. That could create an intra-party spat with some Senate Republicans. It has taken a near-Herculean effort to get the GENIUS Act to where it is, and getting enough Democrats on board with a broader package that includes complicated market structure legislation would surely be difficult. Hagerty, the Senate stablecoin bill's main sponsor, told MM last week that his 'goal is just to put a win in place for the American public and have it for the president to sign before the Fourth of July.' 'It's very clear to me that we have an opportunity to have a great win here for the American public right now,' he said. 'If the bill were to be modified [to include market structure legislation], it would have to come back to the Senate for a lot of work.' IT'S TUESDAY — And your host is still picking himself up off the floor from this Sunday night stunner out of Boston. Send your thoughts on the Rafael Devers trade — or crypto legislation — to jgoodman@ Driving the day The Senate will vote on the GENIUS Act at 4:30 p.m. … The Business Roundtable hosts its CEO Workforce Forum at 8 a.m., featuring JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling and Accenture CEO Julie Sweet. Megabill latest — Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo on Monday unveiled changes to how the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' would execute a major tax revamp and Medicaid cuts, our Brian Faler reports. —Among the highlights: Crapo's plan would create more limited tax breaks for tips and overtime demanded by President Donald Trump. It also holds the cap on the state and local tax deduction to the current $10,000, far less than the House's $40,000, though the Senate number is widely considered a placeholder. The Idaho Republican is also proposing to scale back a planned hike in a 1.4 percent tax on university endowment earnings. Under his plan, it would max out at 8 percent, compared to the 21 percent the House has proposed. —The sweeping plan scales back key provisions from the House-passed bill that had drawn the ire of the financial industry, our Michael Stratford and Katherine Hapgood report. It would water down the megabill's proposed new tax on foreign remittances and curtail a so-called 'revenge tax' on foreign companies. —Senate Banking Committee staff met Monday with the upper chamber parliamentarian's office to discuss Chair Tim Scott's proposed contribution to the GOP megabill, two people with knowledge of the gathering who were granted anonymity to discuss closed-door talks told your host. The discussion included committee aides to both Scott and ranking member Elizabeth Warren. —The meeting comes as lobbying efforts are ramping up around the Banking panel's proposal. Nearly 100 former regulators, audit partners and professors recently cautioned top Senators that a Republican-led push to fold the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board into the SEC shouldn't be included in the GOP megabill, Declan Harty reports. In a letter, the group, which included former SEC and PCAOB officials, a pack of accounting professors and ex-audit partners, wrote that they believe the effort won't pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian, who determines whether proposals comply with the upper chamber's rules for reconciliation. A spokesperson for Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, who was one of the letter's recipients, told Declan that the proposal would 'merely transfer' the PCAOB's responsibilities to the SEC and 'ensures the SEC continues to carry out the PCAOB's mission — but with less duplication and at a lower cost to taxpayers.' At the regulators Freddie CEO pay bump — The Trump administration on Friday quietly approved a $1.5 million raise for Michael Hutchins, president and interim CEO of Freddie Mac, our Katy O'Donnell reports. Hutchins' total compensation — a combination of his base salary and fixed deferred and at-risk deferred compensation — will go from its current level of up to $5.5 million to up to $7 million next April, an increase of about 27 percent. First in MM: Housers outline stakes for Fannie, Freddie release — The National Housing Conference is out with a new report on housing finance reform, Katy reports. The group is calling on the Trump administration to seek input from 'housing stakeholders and advocates, as well as Congress' before moving forward with any plan to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control. 'The transition out of conservatorship should be deliberate, transparent, and supportive of the affordable housing market, leveraging existing regulatory authorities where possible and engaging stakeholders across the housing ecosystem,' the report states. Check fraud — Federal banking regulators on Monday said they would solicit public feedback on ways to crack down on check and payments fraud, our Michael Stratford reports. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency jointly issued a request for public comment, seeking suggestions on how the agencies could take steps to prevent or mitigate check fraud. The Economy Trump immigration agenda fallout — The WSJ reports that Trump's 'aggressive deportation push has slammed into an economic reality: Key industries in the U.S. rely heavily on workers living in the U.S. illegally, many of them for decades.' Jobs report Troy Cullen will serve as executive vice president and chief revenue officer for ICBA Payments, the payments subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
‘Commercial'? Or not?
With help from Chris Marquette QUICK FIX — Bryan Bedford, the FAA administrator nominee, doesn't hold a license to fly aircraft commercially, records show — but his official biography long said he was 'rated' to do so. — Urgent checks of Boeing Dreamliners in India have begun, and authorities recovered a black box from the passenger jet that crashed in the country last week, killing more than 200 people. — The Senate Finance Committee is expected to drop some of its reconciliation text today. Will it address proposed electric vehicle and hybrid fees? IT'S MONDAY: You're reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We're glad you're here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Sam at sogozalek@ Chris at cmarquette@ and Oriana at opawlyk@ and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette_ and @Oriana0214. 'I was ridin' shotgun with my hair undone/ In the front seat of his car/ He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel/ The other on my heart.' Editor's Note: Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Driving the day QUESTIONS RAISED: President Donald Trump's nominee to head the FAA, Bryan Bedford, long described himself in his official biography as being 'rated' to fly aircraft commercially — but records examined by POLITICO show that he does not hold any commercial license. One of two of his biography pages at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he 'holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.' (By Friday, after POLITICO's inquiries, the word 'commercial' had been removed. The other reference was removed sometime in the last six months.) Oriana has the story. — Questions about Bedford's credentials do not appear to threaten his prospects for heading the FAA. He didn't respond to multiple attempts by POLITICO to get his comment, nor did Republic. The White House referred questions to DOT. The department in a statement defended Bedford, saying that 'Bryan never misrepresented his credential; it was an administrative error that was immediately corrected.' Aviation SCRUTINY RAMPS UP: Urgent checks of Boeing 787 Dreamliners are underway in India, and investigators have recovered a black box from the wreckage of the London-bound Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday in the city of Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard as well as others on the ground. (It was the first fatal incident for the Dreamliner, and the cause remains unknown.) FALLOUT CONTINUES: We reported last week that Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour's attorneys are urging the FAA to release what they say are agency findings that support many of Salehpour's prior allegations of serious quality issues with the company's 787 and 777 planes. On Friday, his lawyers also sent letters to the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee's investigations panel — pushing them to enter the fray. — 'We ask that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations call on the FAA to release the [investigative report] without further delay,' they wrote to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who chairs the panel, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the ranking member. They sent a similar letter to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), too. (At a hearing last year, Hawley torched Boeing's then-CEO, David Calhoun, as lawmakers probed various issues at the plane-maker.) On The Hill THE WAITING GAME: Reconciliation text from the Senate Finance Committee is anticipated today, though several blanks in the language are expected — likely for thorny issues such as Medicaid provisions, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Benjamin Guggenheim report. One looming question: How will the panel address, if at all, the House's proposed $250 and $100 annual fees on electric and hybrid vehicles, respectively? Both the Senate Commerce and Environment and Public Works Committees didn't tackle that issue, leaving Finance as the predicted landing spot. KEEP 'EM: The Electric Drive Transportation Association is urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other key Republicans to 'provide a reasonable transition period,' as opposed to an 'abrupt termination,' for various tax credits the GOP is targeting, such as the consumer EV one known as 30D. — The group also opposes the EV and hybrid fees idea. Ethics DIGGING THROUGH ASSETS: The Office of Government Ethics released Trump's annual financial disclosure Friday, and your MT host took a look. Some notable tidbits: — The president reported two investment accounts with Tesla stock valued at up to $300,000. (These accounts were in a section of his report where officials are supposed to log certain assets and investment income for themselves as well as any spouse and dependent children, according to OGE.) — In the same accounts, he noted Boeing stock valued at up to $80,000. Automobiles GO FASTER: NHTSA is trying to speed up the process for applying for an exemption to federal motor vehicle safety standards that require car designs to have human-interfaceable parts, such as steering wheels and brakes, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday. The driverless car industry applauded the move. Chris has the details. — 'The [process] has been rightly criticized for taking years — bogging developers down in unnecessary red tape that makes it impossible to keep pace with the latest technologies,' Duffy said in a statement. THE SPECIFICS: In a public letter Friday, NHTSA's chief counsel, Peter Simshauser, said the agency is going to update its application instructions to try to help ensure that firms submit all of the materials up front, minimizing the need for the agency to request additional information. (Prior reviews have tended to involve 'extensive follow-up with applicants.') NHTSA added that it's 'adopting a more dynamic and flexible approach' to both evaluating and overseeing exemptions. The agency said further details will be released sometime in the future, and it anticipates that the changes will mean it reaches decisions on most requests 'within months rather than years.' DOGE WATCH A DIP IN POPULARITY: Elon Musk's time as a temporary government employee was controversial, to say the least, but he enjoyed strong backing from Republicans as DOGE cut through federal agencies. He's now lost some of that support, though, a new poll from the AP and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found. (In early June, Musk and Trump's relationship seemingly imploded in a social media spat, though the dispute recently cooled off. The survey of 1,158 adults was conducted around the same time.) Here are some key findings: — Musk's 'very favorable' rating among Republicans dipped to 26 percent from 38 percent in April — and those with a 'somewhat favorable' opinion of the billionaire increased from 29 percent to 38 percent, while 'somewhat unfavorable' ticked up from 15 percent to 18 percent. The Caboose SOME LEVITY: The House is enjoying recess this week, the Senate is in town for only a few days ... but things are still busy in D.C. as Republicans work through the upper chamber's version of the reconciliation package. We thought we'd kick Monday off with a bit of fun — trivia! — Earlier this year, your MT host sat down with Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), a former car dealership owner, for an interview. We asked Moreno, who was elected in 2024 and sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, what his favorite mode of transportation is. What do you think he said? Here are three options. One is his actual response and the others are made-up. We'll provide the answer tomorrow morning: — The Funny Bus in Cleveland. — Any car that has a 'shit ton of horsepower.' — A high-speed powerboat. A FEW TIDBITS: Moreno also told us he doesn't plan to be in Congress for 'more than a term or two.' Boosting the U.S. auto industry, he added, is his top priority. And he bemoaned high car prices and dinged the Inflation Reduction Act. Transit ANY CHANGE?: Notice a difference on your commute? Drop us a line if you do. WMATA rolled out automatic train operation technology on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines this past weekend. (It was previously deployed on the Red Line.) The Autobahn — 'Air India Was Struggling Long Before 787 Crash.' Wall Street Journal. — 'How the Man in Seat 11A Became a Plane Crash's Sole Survivor.' New York Times. — 'Is There a Safest Seat in a Plane Crash? We Asked Experts.' New York Times. — 'New Fees on Floating Garages Are Trump's Latest Effort to Revive U.S. Shipbuilding.' New York Times. — 'Boeing CEO cancels air show appearance visit after India crash.' Reuters. — 'May imports drop 9% at busiest US seaport on 145% China tariffs.' Reuters. — 'Boeing Sees Need For 44,000 New Jets; Cautions on Slow Output.' Bloomberg. — 'Delta, United Suspend Flights to Tel Aviv After Iran Bombing.' Bloomberg. — 'China Boosts Tesla Self-Driving Plan With Car-Data Export Rules.' Bloomberg. — 'EPA aims to boost biofuel volumes in transportation fuel.' E&E News. — 'Port of LA warns that tariffs are still disrupting global trade.' POLITICO Pro. On The Calendar — Nothing on our radar! Know of an event we should have on our calendar? Let MT know at transpocalendar@
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Retail stores are getting hit hard by cyberattacks
With help from Maggie Miller and John Sakellariadis Driving the day — Cyberattacks against retailers around the world are on the rise, leaving some store shelves empty and customer data at risk. HAPPY MONDAY, and welcome to MORNING CYBERSECURITY! To beat the gloomy weather this weekend, the Nickel household binged the 'Hunger Games' movies. I'm already excited for the next movie. Follow POLITICO's cybersecurity team on X at @RosiePerper, @johnnysaks130, @delizanickel and @magmill95, or reach out via email or text for tips. You can also follow @POLITICOPro on X. Editor's Note: Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Today's Agenda The Senate Intelligence Committee holds a closed briefing on 'intelligence matters.' 4 p.m. Happening This Week On Tuesday — The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on 'Protecting Older Americans from Transnational Crime Networks.' 10:15 a.m. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee holds a closed hearing on proposed budget estimates for the intelligence community for fiscal year 2026. 10:30 a.m. On Wednesday — The Senate Intelligence Committee holds a closed hearing on 'intelligence matters.' 2:30 p.m. Industry Intel OUT OF STOCK — A recent spike of cyberattacks against major retailers in the U.S. and abroad is stoking fears that these breaches could seriously disrupt services and lead to less access to necessities like food or clothing. Last week, United Natural Foods Inc., one of the country's top food distributors and one of Whole Foods' largest partners, experienced a major cyberattack. In a filing with the SEC, the company stated that the attack affected its 'ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders,' leaving some store shelves temporarily barren. This attack on UNFI is just the latest in a string of attacks against the retail sector. Last week, Victoria's Secret announced that it had restored all of its systems after a cyberattack in May forced the company to pause online orders and temporarily take its website down. The North Face announced a breach earlier this month that had compromised thousands of customer accounts. In the U.K., retailer Marks & Spencer was hit with a cyberattack in May that hindered online shopping, and a cyberattack on grocery store chain Co-op led to empty shelves in some locations. — Operating with 'impunity': Retailers are prime targets for hackers due to the trove of valuable personal and financial data collected on customers. 'Retailers collect and store vast amounts of valuable personal and financial data, such as credit card numbers, payment details, home addresses and phone numbers,' said Fletcher Davis, senior security research manager at cybersecurity firm BeyondTrust. 'One breach can often yield a large amount of records that can be sold on dark web markets.' And similar to hackers targeting other areas like health care and education, these retail attacks are often carried out by ransomware gangs seeking a payout. 'Most cybergangs are geographically distributed and located in countries that have no reciprocal law enforcement agreements or cooperation with the United States,' said Darren Williams, founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm BlackFog, adding that the hacking groups are primarily linked to Russia and China. Bob Kolasky, senior vice president of critical infrastructure at cybersecurity firm Exiger, who previously served as the founding director of CISA's National Risk Management Center, told your host that the U.S. previously put pressure on nations that enabled ransomware activity, like Russia, to crack down on attacks from ransomware gangs — though it's unlikely they heeded the warnings. 'If you look at overall trends, it's really hard to see any evidence that these countries that we might consider adversarial have clamped down on ransomware activity,' Kolasky said. 'There's still a way too fertile ecosystem of ransomware actors who operate with some level of impunity.' — Real-world consequences: As these attacks grow more frequent, customers may notice more products missing from shelves and online ordering systems remaining down for weeks at a time. Williams told your host of the UNFI cyberattack that 'these kinds of incidents can disrupt critical logistics and jeopardize timely food access for millions.' These attacks can also leave customers' personal data exposed for future exploitation. James Turgal, vice president of global cyber risk, strategy and board relations at cybersecurity firm Optiv, told your host that the data collected by retailers can be attractive for nation-state threat actors to build 'comprehensive dossiers on U.S. citizens.' 'While retail data may not seem sensitive in isolation, in the hands of sophisticated threat actors, especially nation-states, it can become a powerful tool for intelligence, influence and cyberattack planning,' Turgal added. At the Agencies DATA-SHARING — The Department of Homeland Security now has access to personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees, including their immigration status, as the Trump administration continues to ramp up deportations. The Associated Press reported on Saturday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid gave DHS access to data on people living in Washington, D.C., Illinois, Washington state and California — all places that allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs. — The big picture: The push is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide DHS with data on immigrants. In April, the IRS agreed to share confidential taxpayer information — some of the most closely guarded data in the federal government — with DHS. As part of the agreement, immigration authorities can ask the IRS for information on undocumented immigrants, including their home addresses. The International Scene UNDER THE SEA — As China and Russia step up sabotage operations targeting undersea cables, a new report from the China Strategic Risks Institute found that the United Kingdom is unprepared to combat the growing threat. The report, out on Sunday, examined 12 incidents between January 2021 and April 2025 where U.K. authorities investigated alleged undersea cable sabotage. The majority of cases analyzed in the report found that Russia or China was directly linked to the alleged sabotage operations. The report also identified patterns that suggested possible coordination between China and Russia on undersea cable attacks — including Russian vessels in suspicious incidents near Taiwan and Chinese vessels in the Baltic Sea. — International data hub: Undersea cables are a big target for rival powers like China or Russia due to the massive amounts of data they carry. Around 99 percent of all data that moves around the world is transferred through undersea cables. The report identified the U.K. as a key hub in the Euro-Atlantic cable infrastructure, making it a likely target for future operations from Moscow or Beijing. AIRLINE ATTACK — Canada's second-largest airline is investigating a cyberattack that disrupted access to internal systems. WestJet said in a security alert on Friday that the airline is 'aware of a cybersecurity incident involving internal systems and the WestJet app, which has restricted access for several users.' The airline also said specialized internal teams are working with Transport Canada and law enforcement to investigate the breach and manage the impact. On Saturday, the airline issued an update that its operations 'remain safe and unaffected while we work towards resolving the situation.' Industry Intel STRENGTHENING POSTURE — As the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, cyber groups are urging U.S. businesses to prepare for the potential of increased cyberattacks from Iran. The Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Ag-ISAC) and the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) issued a joint statement on Friday highlighting that Iranian state-sponsored hackers have previously targeted U.S. organizations in cyberspace during periods of heightened conflict. 'Even attacks not directly targeting the U.S. could have indirect effects and cause disruptions to companies in the U.S.,' the ISACs warned. 'Given the interconnectedness of networks, it is possible that cyber attacks targeting Israel itself could cause collateral damage to U.S. companies, even if the U.S. companies themselves are not the intended target.' Quick Bytes GENETIC DATA — As lawmakers sound the alarm over the fate of millions of Americans' genetic data in the wake of 23andMe's bankruptcy proceedings, TechCrunch's Aisha Malik breaks down how users can delete their data on the app. CYBERATTACKS CLIMB — Cybersecurity firm Radware reports that Israel's government websites, telecommunications firms and financial institutions are experiencing a spike in cyberattacks since the strike on Iran, The Jerusalem Post reports. Chat soon. Stay in touch with the whole team: Rosie Perper (rperper@ John Sakellariadis (jsakellariadis@ Maggie Miller (mmiller@ and Dana Nickel (dnickel@
