Good Day, this is the Commonwealth Report.
News for the public, not the powerful.
Did Trump’s Handpicked Fed Chair Just Slam the Door in His Face?
The Federal Reserve voted unanimously Wednesday to raise interest rates by a quarter point. It’s the first hike in three years. And the man who pulled the trigger is Kevin Warsh, the guy Trump handpicked in January to replace Jerome Powell after years of feuding over rates. Warsh took over in May and promised to end an inflation overshoot that’s now in its sixth year. He kept his word. Officials expect at least one more increase before the end of the year, which could push rates to 4.5% and drive up borrowing costs. Trump spent the morning on Truth Social demanding America have the lowest interest rates in the world. He’s even threatened to cut off trade with other countries if the Fed didn’t cut. The White House had blamed the push for higher rates on a committee hostile to Warsh. The Fed’s own statement said, “Inflation remains elevated,” and reporting ties it to the war in Iran. Real hourly earnings fell in August. Consumer confidence is sliding and inflation fears are climbing, right as voters head to the polls. Trump wanted a puppet and got a central banker. Working families are now paying for a war of choice twice, once at the gas pump and again at the bank.
Who Signed You Up to Buy Israel 40,000 Bombs?
The Washington Post revealed Tuesday that the Trump administration is preparing a $2.8 billion weapons package for Israel. Forty thousand bombs, each one weighing 2,000 pounds, Mark 84s and BLU-117s. It’s being called a sale. It isn’t. The money flows through a program called Foreign Military Financing, which means American taxpayers hand Israel the cash and Israel hands it right back to the arms makers. You pay for the bombs. Israel gets the bombs. The reaction crossed every party line. Tucker Carlson called it a gift at taxpayer expense and used the word genocide. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once Trump’s loudest cheerleader, wrote, “We did not vote for this. America does not support this.” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said she’s furious and vowed to fight in Congress to block this sale and every future one as long as Israel keeps violating international humanitarian law. There’s no money to help you with rent or groceries, but there’s always $2.8 billion for what’s being described as the largest transfer of conventional bombs in memory. When Tucker Carlson and Pramila Jayapal are saying the same thing, Washington ought to listen. This isn’t left versus right. It’s the public versus the powerful.
Mike Johnson Shuts Down Congress to Save Pete Hegseth
Speaker Mike Johnson canceled Thursday’s votes and sent the House home for a seven week campaign recess. Members aren’t due back until after the November election. Why the rush? Because on Tuesday, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie stood on the House floor and introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A 34-page resolution. It accuses Hegseth of carrying out unlawful orders in the Iran war and keeping troops deployed without approval from Congress. Massie filed it as a privileged resolution, which forces a vote within two legislative days. That deadline was Thursday. Johnson called it a publicity stunt and swore the early exit had nothing to do with Hegseth. But a NOTUS reporter says GOP leaders were discussing canceling Thursday precisely to dodge that vote. Massie went back to the floor Wednesday and named Hegseth the clear winner for the most illegal and unconstitutional acts in the whole administration. He mocked the Department of War rebrand, saying, “Enjoy your little fantasy. It’s the Department of Defense.” Johnson says when the House returns, the resolution will be immediately tabled. A Republican Speaker just shut down Congress rather than let Republicans go on record about whether an unelected secretary can wage war without them. That’s not a legislature. That’s a waiting room.
Oil Tops $100 a Barrel and the World Takes to the Streets
Oil is back above $100 a barrel, and the fury is spilling into the streets. The New York Times reports the latest spike, driven by the American and Israeli war against Iran, has set off protests, fuel shortages and blackouts from Asia to Latin America. In Syria, the government jacked up diesel prices about 40% over the weekend and gasoline more than 25%. Protesters burned tires and blocked highways in the biggest demonstrations since the fall of the Assad regime. One man told Reuters, “We don’t want higher wages, we want cheaper fuel.” In Guatemala, truckers and Indigenous marchers shut down roads and filled the capital, demanding fuel tax suspensions instead of stopgap price caps. In Portugal, drivers crawled the highways leaning on their horns after diesel hit a record of more than $9 a gallon. In Indonesia, cooking gas is running short, blackouts are rolling, and taxi drivers are protesting fuel rationing by license plate number. Developing countries already deep in debt from the first oil shock are now choosing between passing the cost to an angry public or borrowing until their currencies crack. When the people who run the world start wars, the people who keep the world running pay for them.
Did Ken Paxton’s Abortion Ban Kill Tierra Walker?
Tierra Walker was 37 years old, a mother from San Antonio, and 20 weeks pregnant. On December 27, 2024, she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia in a University Health emergency room. She was having seizures. Her family says she and her relatives asked for an abortion to save her life, and the doctors refused. According to her medical records, one of her own doctors wrote that delivering the baby might be the best treatment. Nobody acted. She was sent home. Three days later her teenage son found her dead. It was his 15th birthday. The medical examiner ruled she died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease with pre-eclampsia. On Tuesday her family filed suit in Bexar County District Court against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the hospital system, the Texas Medical Board’s executive director, the local district attorney, and her doctors. It’s the first wrongful death lawsuit tied to a state abortion ban, and the first to go straight after Paxton, the man who’s made enforcing that ban his personal crusade while he runs for the United States Senate. Her family’s lawyer said, “the medical emergency exception is nothing more than words on a page.” They told you the exception would protect women. Tierra Walker is the proof it doesn’t.
Are NFL Billionaires Blackballing Macklemore the Way They Blackballed Kaepernick?
Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium and said two words from the stage. Free Palestine. He said them again the next night, and told the Jewish fans in the crowd that criticizing Israel is not criticizing them. According to Macklemore, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who also owns Gillette Stadium, called Sheeran and said the rapper wasn’t welcome. Then Kraft rallied other NFL stadium owners and they delivered an ultimatum. Drop Macklemore or the tour doesn’t play our buildings. On Monday the promoter announced Macklemore was off the remaining stadium dates, 10 shows in all. Kraft says the rapper’s comments were deeply offensive to the Jewish community. Colin Kaepernick knows this playbook. He was frozen out of the league after kneeling during the anthem, filed a collusion grievance in 2017, and settled in 2019. On the MeidasTouch podcast he said the owners are openly colluding again. In his words, “They want to protect their interests. They want to protect their power.” A handful of billionaires own the biggest stages in America, and they just decided which political speech is allowed on them. Say Free Palestine and you’re gone. The First Amendment stops at the stadium gate, and that’s exactly the problem.
And that’s the way it is, Today Wednesday, September 16, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
