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Hundreds of investing and finance newsletters hit my (and maybe your) inbox every week. This is the best of the best of policy from the past week. Every Wednesday, we’ll wrap up finance, and every Friday, we’ll take on tech.

This week, we’ve got…

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Two federal judges ordered the Trump administration on Friday to continue funding SNAP benefits for more than 42 million Americans during the government shutdown, just as the president called on Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster to end the month-long stalemate. Meanwhile, this IRS lawyer seems to be living his best life in the midst of it all (cash me selling dawgs instead of writing meme-filled newsletters howboutdat):

The drama reached peak absurdity when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed the government was "failing you" while simultaneously arguing they couldn't access $5 billion in contingency funds that judges ruled they absolutely could use. It’s a mad world out there.

This political theater matters for your money because government shutdowns historically create short-term market volatility. The SNAP snafu alone affects major retailers like Walmart (WMT), Kroger (KR), Dollar General (DG), and other grocery chains that depend on food stamp purchases.

After the 25 bps rate cut last wee, it became clear that the Fed is more divided than the family over politics at Thanksgiving… except instead of carving Turkey, they’re carving fiscal policy. Would you pass the cranberry sauce, Lorie? Could you lower rates by 75 bps, Papa Powell?

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan broke ranks, saying last week's quarter-point rate cut "was not needed" and opposing another December reduction, citing a balanced labor market and inflation still running above the 2% target. However, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran called for a more aggressive rate cut: 50 bps. Will the govs ever get along again? 😢

The dissent comes as Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon warned of a potential debt "reckoning" if US economic growth doesn't accelerate. The government shutdown complicates Fed decision-making by eliminating key economic data releases, forcing officials to rely on private sector indicators and state unemployment claims.

Logan's hawkish stance contrasts sharply with Chair Powell's dovish tone (and Miran’s even more dovish tone) from last week’s meeting, suggesting growing division within the Fed about the appropriate policy path.

Takeaway: If you own interest-sensitive stocks like REITs, utilities, or financials, this internal debate could prove volatile this holiday season, but the bigger picture centers on whether the Fed can thread the needle between preventing recession and avoiding a debt crisis that Solomon warns could derail the entire recovery.

Elected officials have had a tremendous amount of success in the market recently.

I want to keep you updated on what they’re trading and when so you can leverage that intel as you plan out your own portfolio.

Data provided by AltIndex.

Remember to always DYOR.

That’s all for today. Write us and let us know your thoughts on the market, the newsletter, or the weather—we’d just love to hear from you.

Till next time,
— Brandon and Blake with Invested Inc.