Scoreboard — Week of September 19, 2026

Federal Reserve hikes rates 25 basis points against Trump’s stated demand for cuts

Official: Donald J. Trump, President (item concerns Kevin Warsh, Chair of the Federal Reserve) · Verdict: Setback · Category: Economy, Tariffs & Trade

On September 16, 2026, the Federal Reserve under Chair Kevin Warsh raised interest rates by 25 basis points, to a range of 3.75–4.00% — the opposite of the rate cuts President Trump has publicly demanded. The move is scored as a setback for the President’s stated economic demand, not as a failure by the Fed: Warsh is Trump’s own confirmed chair (confirmed May 13, 2026, 54–45), and the hike is the Fed’s institutional independence on display, with the central bank setting policy against the stated preference of the president who appointed its chair.

Sources: TrumpTeamReport Roster Audit & Source Map (2026-10-18), corrections §2 (Warsh confirmation and the September 16 hike).

ICE director pick withdrawn; the agency’s leadership vacancy continues

Official: Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security · Verdict: Setback · Category: Border & Immigration

The administration’s permanent pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Schroyer, was withdrawn on September 17, 2026, leaving the agency under acting leadership. ICE has had no Senate-confirmed director since the Obama era; David Venturella has served as acting director since June 1, 2026, following Todd Lyons’s departure on May 31. For an administration whose signature program runs through ICE, the withdrawal extends a leadership gap at the center of the deportation operation.

Sources: TrumpTeamReport Roster Audit & Source Map (2026-10-18), corrections §6 (withdrawal date, acting-director chain, confirmed-director history).

Trump announces a proposed $5,000 dividend for every American adult

Official: Donald J. Trump, President · Verdict: Pending · Category: Economy, Tariffs & Trade

The White House’s September 13 weekly briefing announced that President Trump is proposing a $5,000 dividend for every American adult. The dividend is an announced proposal, not a delivered payment — no mechanism, funding source, or payment date accompanied the announcement in the briefing — so it is scored Pending: a live promise whose status will move with evidence of delivery or abandonment. The same briefing led the nation’s 25th-anniversary remembrance of 9/11.

Sources: White House Weekly Briefing email, September 13, 2026 (communications@mail.whitehouse.gov), as inventoried in the White House wire inventory.