American Action Forum

06/06/2026

Biotech IPO activity is recovering, but remains fragile. After the post-pandemic boom and years of policy and economic uncertainty, early 2026 has brought renewed investor interest, particularly in later-stage companies.

Biotechnology’s initial public offering (IPO) market is showing signs of life again, but it remains a fragile recovery. After the extraordinary 2021 boom (fueled in part by the COVID-19 pandemic) – more than 100 biotech companies went public and raised nearly $16 billion – the door largely shu...

06/05/2026

The Senate passed the $70 billion Secure America Act, providing multi-year funding for ICE and CBP. Jordan Haring breaks down what's in the package and what was cut:

The Senate has passed a $70 billion reconciliation package to fund border enforcement agencies through the rest of President Trump's term.

06/05/2026

A third tariff regime appears imminent. New Trade Act Section 301 actions could replace the temporary Section 122 tariffs and add roughly $58 billion in annual costs, with more increases likely.

The Next Tariff Regime Takes Shape What’s Happening: Late June 2, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its findings and proposed actions surrounding the Section 301 investigation “Relating to Failures to Take Action on Forced Labor,” which covers 86 countries th...

06/05/2026

The jobs report is out! Fred Ashton reacts to the latest May employment report.

06/04/2026

AAF President Douglas Holtz-Eakin joins us to discuss the near- and longer-term economic forecast and the new Federal Reserve.

AAF President Douglas Holtz-Eakin joins us to discuss the near- and longer-term economic forecast and the new Federal Reserve.

06/04/2026

The Supreme Court's tariff decision should have marked the end of the IEEPA episode. Instead, businesses may have to fight for money that never belonged to the government.

There’s not a lot of good things to be said for the Trump Administration’s misbegotten International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs. The tariffs were supposed to get rid of trade deficits. Instead, the trade deficit is essentially unchanged from a year ago. The tariffs were suppos...

06/04/2026

Here’s the Weekly Economic Tracker! Douglas Holtz-Eakin discusses this week’s economic news.

06/03/2026

Oil prices have been tempered by supply workarounds, lower demand, and unprecedented inventory drawdowns, though analysts warn those buffers are shrinking.

Candidly, Eakinomics has been anticipating much more expensive oil – say $150 per barrel – given the duration of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Being dead wrong is not a new phenomenon, but even something familiar can still be annoying. So, Eakinomics demanded some answers from AAF Directo...

06/01/2026

Since the start of 2026, the federal government has published $974.5 billion in total regulatory net cost savings and 56.4 million hours of net annual paperwork increases.

This past week was a modestly busy one in the pages of the Federal Register. There were ultimately 14 rulemakings that contained some kind of quantified economic effects. Of these, a handful – from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) – were well i...

06/01/2026

Treasury Secretary Bessent defended Trump Administration policies, arguing that trade and foreign policy had long operated in silos, and that a central contribution of the administration is to integrate the thinking on both fronts. That’s ludicrous.

Eakinomics was fortunate enough to attend the 2026 version of the Reagan National Economic Forum. Among the excellent panels and other speakers, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used his luncheon address to provide a spirited defense of Trump Administration policies. Eakinomics has some thoughts. Fi...