Biden’s big policy announcements; Trump’s fundraising haul

Sign up here to receive “The US in brief” as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.

During a visit to Arizona, a swing state, Joe Biden announced an $8.5bn grant and a further $11bn in loans to Intel, an American chipmaking firm planning to build factories in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon. Earlier his administration also unveiled what it billed as the “strongest-ever” rules on vehicle pollution, requiring carmakers to meet increasingly strict limits on the pollution cars can emit. While Mr Biden hopes to impress climate-conscious voters, Donald Trump regularly uses the shift towards electric vehicles to stir up fears about the security of American auto jobs.

Mr Trump raised more than $20m in February, leaving his campaign and related committee with around $42m in cash on hand. As the GOP’s presumptive nominee, he will now also have access to the Republican National Committee’s resources—worth about $11m. Mr Biden is still out-raising him; his campaign and related committees have about $155m in cash on hand.

Despite the haul, the former president is feeling the squeeze. On Wednesday New York’s attorney-general dismissed Mr Trump’s claim that posting a $464m bond was a “practical impossibility” because no insurers would underwrite it. Mr Trump was fined after a judge ruled that he fraudulently inflated the value of his properties. The attorney-general may seize some of Mr Trump’s assets by Monday if he does not cough up.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as expected, at a range between 5.25% and 5.5%. Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chairman, said he was pleased with progress in bringing inflation down but did not indicate when rate cuts might begin. (Investors largely reckon June.) Central bankers still expect to lower rates three times this year.

Alabama’s governor signed a law that prohibits public schools and universities from promoting diversity initiatives, such as creating dedicated diversity, equity and inclusion offices or holding mandatory training. It also bars them from teaching “divisive concepts” that hold particular groups (defined by race, sex, ethnic origin and more) collectively responsible for members of the group’s past actions or promote ideas such as subconscious bias, among others.

Florida, under the direction of its governor, Ron DeSantis, began evacuating American citizens from Haiti as political unrest and gang violence worsened. The first flight, carrying 14 passengers, arrived in Orlando on Wednesday. Mr DeSantis, a one-time contender for the Republican presidential nomination, made it clear that he would not fly out anyone who “doesn’t belong here”. The State Department and Cory Mills, a Republican congressman, also arranged flights.

🌏 A view from elsewhere

American hostility to Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel raises “serious concerns”, Nikkei Asia, a Japanese news outlet, wrote on March 20th. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have expressed reservations about the deal, but “protectionism and economic nationalism will ultimately harm American interests”, the paper argued. It urged Japan’s prime minister to address the dangers of populism when he visits Mr Biden in April.

What do you think about our new feature, A view from elsewhere, which takes in views on American politics from around the world? Send us feedback on [email protected].

Today’s polls

The race between the two candidates remains stubbornly stable. Judging from our poll tracker, which is updated daily and shows an average of the latest polls, the race between Mr Biden and Mr Trump is shaping up to be a dead heat.

Figure of the day

90%, the share of abortions in England, Wales and much of Scandinavia that are done by pills. Read our leader urging America’s Supreme Court to reject an upcoming challenge to abortion drugs.

Daily quiz

Thursday: Which state contains the most national parks?
Wednesday: In 2022, 14% of all new cars sold worldwide were electric vehicles. What was the proportion in America?

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on American politics. Email all your answers with your name and where you are from to [email protected] before 5pm New York time (9pm London time) on a Thursday. The weekly winner, chosen at random from those who give all the right answers, will be announced here on Fridays.

If you enjoyed this week’s quiz, play Dateline, The Economist’s new history game.

Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.

What do you think of “The US in brief”? Send us feedback at [email protected]. And sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.