Trump’s move to pause beef tariffs risks blowback

It’s Friday. Against all odds and several hundred emails , we’ve made it.

Programming note : Hello! We are Colin Meyn and Steff Danielle Thomas filling in for Cate. Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to cmeyn@thehill.com or sthomas@thehill.com .

President Trump is intervening in the beef markets in a move certain to irk some key constituencies.

What’s the deal? In a Truth Social post , Trump said, “for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.”

The president did not say where the beef is coming from, but he has previously considered similar arrangements with Argentina.

Beef prices have risen faster than other foods during Trump’s second term. Both ground beef and beef steak pieces rose by 9 percent or more year-on-year, according to the July CPI report .

Queue the blowback: Trump’s previous meddling in the beef market has drawn criticism from cattle ranchers and Republican senators in major beef-producing states.

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), a staunch Trump ally, said Friday in a post on social platform X that he’d been warning against such action “because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them — most of whom are MAGA Republicans.”

Other criticism came from some predictable figures.

“What a slap in the face to American cattlemen & consumers,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote online . “Worse than socialism! Dumping foreign beef in U.S. markets can temporarily lower prices but it won’t incentivize American farmers to raise more beef.”

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) chimed in too , saying U.S. farmers will now “be undercut by foreign imported beef, as they have been hit financially with high cost of fertilizer and diesel from Trump’s war with Iran.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scrambling to convince the markets to stop selling off U.S. bonds.

He moved on Wednesday to double the Treasury’s buyback limit, and on Thursday went on CNBC to declare he was ready to intervene further if needed.

But bond yields only moved higher Thursday, after ticking down Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield, a key indicator of economic health, remained above 5.25 percent on Friday, as high as it’s been since before the global recession in 2008.

Tell me more about this bond yield: Sure. It’s basically how much interest the government has to pay on future bonds it issues. When investors are feeling good about the economy, yields are low because demand is high. When investors are feeling anxious, yields go up to help them hedge against risk.

Bessent told CNBC he’s got more tricks up his sleeve while arguing the markets are misreading America’s economic strength.

“We have a big toolkit,” the Treasury chief said. “Part of it is signaling here and to show that we believe that the yields don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals.”

The Hill’s very own Niall Stanage offers a helpful explainer on this whole situation.

Trump is headed tonight to Myrtle Beach with a mission: Give Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) one last push before Tuesday’s GOP runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman . Graham is serving out her late brother Lindsey Graham ’s term, but keeping the seat is proving a little trickier than stepping into it.

Graham had a particularly bumpy night on the debate stage earlier this week, admitting national security is “not” her thing when pressed about Taiwan and the South China Sea. Norman and his allies wasted no time jumping on the flub, while the senator has tried to turn it into an outsider pitch: She’s new to politics, and she’s not pretending otherwise.

Can Trump help close the deal? : Myrtle Beach is a smart place to try. It’s the heart of Rep. Russell Fry ’s (R-S.C.) district, putting a potentially crucial pool of GOP voters up for grabs — and the president’s endorsement power back in the spotlight.

The debate gaffe gave critics plenty of ammunition .

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said national security knowledge isn’t “something you inherit,” while former South Carolina state Rep. Adam Morgan called it a “stunning debate flop.”

Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) was even more cutting: “This might be just dumb.”

Trump knows how to appeal to Palmetto State voters.

In 2024, he handily beat Haley, the state’s former governor, in the GOP presidential primary before carrying South Carolina by nearly 18 points in the general election.

That history could give Graham a much-needed edge Tuesday. Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney recently told The Hill that without the president’s backing, she “wouldn’t have a chance.”

Pick a side: Former GOP Rep. Mark Sanford , who threw his hat into the ring for Graham’s seat, said Friday he’ll be voting for Norman.

(You might remember him from another story line …)

Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers is reaching for the pause button on the state’s data center boom.

The former lawmaker called for a one-year moratorium on construction of the data centers while Michiganders get answers about energy costs, water use and the approval process.

It’s also becoming a dividing line with his opponent, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D). Rogers wants decisions kept closer to home, while El-Sayed is pushing for federal guardrails on the projects.

The data center debate is heating up elsewhere, too:. In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is using the issue to go after GOP Sen. Jon Husted in another marquee Senate race.

Republicans have gotten the message. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is also paying attention. The Senate GOP campaign arm recently warned AI companies to make their case — and fast — about who benefits from all that new infrastructure and who gets stuck with the bill.

Speaking of data, Rogers has some other numbers to worry about.

Two recent polls from AARP and Susquehanna Polling & Research show El-Sayed leading the Republican in the race.

There’s still plenty of time to close the gap, though. Cook Political Report rates the contest a “toss-up.”

Downtown Washington, D.C., is going to become an IndyCar circuit this weekend. We’ve known this is coming for a while … but it’s getting real around here.

IndyCar President Doug Boles casually told Newsmax on Thursday there “could be a little carnage” on some of the sharper turns in the course.

Race cars will reach speeds of some 180 mph as they whip past landmarks like the National Archives, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Take the Metro! More than 200,000 people are expected on the National Mall for the event, with much of downtown shut down to traffic. The race is 147 laps. Yeah, we thought the same thing with the “47,” but it’s actually a 250-mile race to honor the semi-quincentennial.

— 🤝 Trump is looking to rekindle his first-term bromance with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un , but Kim hasn’t exactly been rushing to meet him halfway. Experts warn another meeting between the leaders could come at a cost.

— 🥊 Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and incumbent Sen. Ed Markey came out swinging in their final Democratic Senate primary debate Thursday. Moulton pushed his case for generational change, while Markey defended his progressive record. 📖 Read the takeaways here .

— ⚓ The USS George Washington arrived in the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln after its lengthy deployment drew scrutiny over supply shortages and sailors’ mental health.

— 📻 Trump and his former fixer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen appear to have turned over a new leaf. The president said he respects Cohen for taking back things he previously said about him as the two reunited for a radio interview. Click here for more details .

The New York Times: Trump Administration Has a Different Way to Drain Harvard Funding

Politico: Gavin Newsom ’s unfinished wildfire business

The Wall Street Journal: ‘Ghost Job’ Ads Are Getting So Bad That Lawmakers Want to Ban Them

The Associated Press: What’s in a name? Why naming storms, military operations and medical maladies matters

The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington for meetings then will travel later Friday to South Carolina. (All times EDT)

2 p.m.: Trump participates in a policy meeting.

7 p.m. Trump campaigns in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for Darline Graham.

SATURDAY: Trump has executive time and then attends a MAGA Inc. meeting.

SUNDAY: The president and first lady Melania Trump will attend the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the National Mall.

👵Celebrate : Today is National Senior Citizens Day! Make sure to give a call to your grandparents today! Or your siblings for a good ruse.

📱 Scroll patrol: Could a courtroom cure doomscrolling? Meta is on trial over claims Instagram and Facebook were designed to keep young users hooked. Here’s what it could mean for your feed .

Another busy week in the books — and sometimes you just need to slow things down and read to your chocolate lab. It’s called balance.