Fatima Hussein, Author at The Rapid City Post

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Services wait on a tow truck to take away a food truck on the National Mall, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. The owner says his employees were asked for immigration status by ICE and then he was told that the truck's tires were bad and it would have to be towed, though he insists it recently passed DC inspection. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

DC unemployment rate is the highest in the US for the third straight month

August 19, 2025

Washington, D.C.’s, unemployment rate was the highest in the nation for the third consecutive month. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday shows the jobless rate reached 6% in July, highlighting how the mass layoffs of federal workers initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency have hit the District. An overall decline in international tourism may also be affecting the unemployment rate. Neighboring states Maryland and Virginia have also seen slight increases in unemployment rates in July.

President Donald Trump departs after speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US July budget deficit up 20% year-over-year despite record Trump tariff income

August 12, 2025

The U.S. has seen a record increase in tariff income, with a 273% rise in customs revenue from last year. However, the budget deficit is still up by 20% year over year, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday. Tariff revenues are not yet offsetting federal spending, which is outpacing income from taxes and other sources. Increased spending includes growing interest payments on public debt and Social Security cost of living increases. While some see tariffs as meaningful revenue, others believe they will only modestly reduce federal debt. The Trump administration remains focused on reducing the deficit.

FILE - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrives at the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon,File)

US national debt reaches a record $37 trillion, the Treasury Department reports

August 12, 2025

The U.S. government’s gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion, setting a new record. This highlights the rapid acceleration of debt on America’s balance sheet and the increasing cost pressures on taxpayers. The Treasury Department reported this update on Tuesday. The national debt reached this level years sooner than pre-pandemic projections due to heavy borrowing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts warn that the growing debt could lead to reduced living standards and increased interest rates. The Joint Economic Committee estimates another trillion dollars could be added in about 173 days.

FILE - Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., asks questions during hearing May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP, File)

Trump removes Billy Long as IRS commissioner, giving him the shortest-ever tenure in the role

August 8, 2025

President Donald Trump has removed former U.S. Rep. Billy Long as IRS commissioner less than two months after his confirmation. It wasn’t immediately clear why Long was dismissed. His quick exit makes him the shortest-tenured IRS commissioner confirmed by the Senate since the position was created in 1862. Long announced on social media that Trump nominated him for an ambassadorship to Iceland. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting IRS commissioner. Long’s departure adds to the turmoil at the IRS, which has faced significant turnover and staff reductions. Long, a former auctioneer, had no background in tax administration and previously sponsored legislation to eliminate the IRS.

FILE - The super yacht Amadea sails into the San Diego Bay June 27, 2022, seen from Coronado, Calif. The United States is auctioning off the $325 million luxury superyacht Amadea, its first sale of a seized Russian superyacht since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The auction comes as President Donald Trump pressures Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

US is auctioning a seized $325M Russian yacht with 8 state rooms, a helipad, a gym and a spa

August 6, 2025

The United States is auctioning off the $325 million yacht Amadea in the first American sale of a seized Russian luxury ship since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The auction comes as President Donald Trump pressures Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. The Amadea was seized three years ago and is docked in San Diego. The 348-foot-long yacht features eight state rooms, a helipad and a beauty salon. The U.S. says the yacht belongs to a sanctioned Russian former politician. But a former Russian energy company official claims he owns it and says he’ll pursue the auction proceeds once he prevails in court. The auction closes Sept. 10.

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is photographed May 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Pastors who endorse political candidates shouldn’t lose tax-exempt status, IRS says in filing

July 7, 2025

The IRS says pastors endorsing political candidates during services should not risk losing their tax-exempt status. This challenges the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 rule barring tax-exempt groups, including churches, from political endorsements. On Monday, the IRS and a Christian media group asked a Texas court to stop enforcing the rule against religious organizations. The group argues the amendment violates their First Amendment rights. The IRS has rarely enforced the rule against churches. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed an order to limit its enforcement, and Republican lawmakers have since pushed to repeal it.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, speaks to reporters following closed-door party meetings at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republican Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the US debt load, CBO says

June 29, 2025

The changes made to President Donald Trump’s big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation’s debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attends a signing event for a bill blocking California's rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

GOP tax bill would cost poor Americans $1,600 a year and boost highest earners by $12,000, CBO says

June 12, 2025

The Republican tax bill approved by the House would cost the poorest Americans roughly $1,600 a year while increasing the income of the wealthiest households by an average of $12,000 annually. That’s according to a new analysis released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office. The analysis found that middle-income households would see a boost of roughly $500 to $1,000 per year. The cuts to the lowest-income households come from proposed cuts to social safety net programs including Medicaid and a food assistance program for lower-income people, known as Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Republicans have sought to discredit the CBO’s analyses of the bill.

FILE - Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., asks questions during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP File)

Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish

June 12, 2025

Former congressman Billy Long of Missouri has been confirmed to lead the Internal Revenue Service, an agency he once sought to abolish. Long’s confirmation on a 53-44 Senate vote Thursday gives the beleaguered IRS a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year’s tax filing system. Democratic senators strongly opposed Long’s nomination based on the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and on campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump picked him. While in Congress, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he’s now tasked with leading.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walks at the White House, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies

June 5, 2025

The U.S. declined to label China a currency manipulator in a new Treasury report, but accuses Beijing of standing out among America’s major trading partners for lacking transparency. Treasury’s semi-annual report to Congress comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations. A Treasury official told reporters previewing the report that the U.S. could in the future find evidence that China is manipulating its currency and will make a determination in the fall whether China has been manipulating the renminbi, also known as RMB. The U.S. labeled China a currency manipulator in 2019.

FILE - A Tariff Free sign to attract vehicle shoppers is at an automobile dealership in Totowa, N.J., on April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Trump’s tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says

June 4, 2025

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall. That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office in a letter sent to Democratic congressional leadership. Baked into the CBO analysis is a prediction households would ultimately buy less from the countries hit with added tariffs. The budget office estimates the tariffs would increase the average annual rate of inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026. The budget office’s model also assumes the Republican president’s tariffs will be in place permanently.

Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired

May 28, 2025

A group of roughly 80 fired federal employees are appealing their terminations to an administrative body in charge of protecting the rights of federal employees from partisan political practices. Notably, that board’s chairwoman was also recently fired by President Donald Trump. The 18F employees, who worked on projects such as the IRS’ Direct File, filed an appeal Wednesday at the Merit Systems Protection Board against the General Services Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. They claim that they were identified in February for a reduction-in-force because of their “perceived political affiliations or beliefs.”

IRS nominee who sponsored legislation to abolish the agency faces pointed questions

May 20, 2025

A former congressman who sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS and is now the nominee to lead that agency has faced pointed questions from senators. Billy Long of Missouri was asked at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday about his past promotion of questionable tax credits, his lack of background in tax administration and the timing of political contributions he received after being nominated to lead the agency. Long told senators he wants to make “real, transformational change to an agency that needs it more than any other.” Long’s hearing comes as the IRS has hemorrhaged employees and churned through acting leaders.

Fatima Hussein.