Voter discontent with President Donald Trump’s economic stewardship is sinking his popularity as he approaches the symbolic 100-day mark of his second term, ratcheting up pressure on congressional Republicans to pass his tax plan. 

A flurry of polls in recent days from NBC,  CNN, New York Times/Siena, ABC News and Fox News, among others, each reveal the same theme: Voters perceive Trump to be falling short on his core campaign promise to strengthen the economy. The president’s helter-skelter rollout of tariffs in early April sent global markets into shock.

A CNN poll released Sunday showed that just 39% of Americans approve of how Trump has steered the economy, the lowest of his two terms in the White House. An NBC News poll showed tariffs were also deeply unpopular, with just 39% of respondents agreeing with Trump’s tariffs rollout.

Early Monday, the president slammed the press for highlighting those numbers. 

“We don’t have a Free and Fair “Press” in this Country anymore. We have a Press that writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS. IT IS COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT. SAD!,” he posted to his Truth Social account. 

Trump rode the twin issues of the economy and immigration to his November election victory, sweeping each of the swing states and winning the popular vote. 

He cast his elixir for improving the economy as two-pronged, one being the tariffs that he wagers will spur a U.S. manufacturing renaissance and the other being the extension of his 2017 tax plan, but with added incentives, like no taxes on tipped wages or overtime and the ability for car buyers to deduct interest on the loans.

Republicans aim to pass the tax package through a process that wouldn’t require any Democratic votes, meaning that Trump along with House and Senate leadership has to keep the GOP members in lockstep in the face of voter angst. Crucially, posturing for the 2026 midterm elections will soon take hold.

“In terms of immediate electoral impact, no, Trump’s softening at the margins doesn’t threaten his leadership or standing within the party,” said Chris Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist. “Where it matters is in setting the broader tone for the GOP’s legislative and midterm posture.”

The U.S. economy is set to expand 1.4% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026, according to the latest Bloomberg survey of economists, compared with 2% and 1.9% in last month’s survey. The median respondent now sees a 45% chance of a downturn in the next 12 months, up from 30% in March.

The party in power typically loses congressional seats during midterm elections and a recession would all but guarantee Republican losses in 2026 that could transfer control back to Democrats as Trump serves out the second half of his term, according to Republican strategists. 

That could also help keep Republicans united to pass the tax bill even as some factions disagree over spending and cost. Trump’s eroding poll numbers, though, could make it challenging for him to get everything that he wants in what he’s dubbed the “big beautiful bill.” Congress returns from recess on Monday. 

Trump has sought to calm markets after the initial shock of his tariffs by pausing them for 90 days while he says he is trying to reach individual deals with affected countries. He and top aides point to the prospect of reaching trade accords with other nations as a way to further ease market tensions and reassure voters. 

The president lashed out in an April 24 Truth Social post after Fox News’ polls showed him with a 38% approval rate on the economy and 33% on inflation. 

“Rupert Murdoch has told me for years that he is going to get rid of his Fox News, Trump Hating, Fake Pollster, but he has never done so. This ‘pollster’ has gotten me, and MAGA, wrong for years,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s strongest polling issue is on immigration in most polls.

Upcoming public appearances should help Trump reconnect with voters, gain energy from his base and sell his economic plan, according to people in Trump’s orbit. Trump is  set to hold a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark the 100-day milestone and he’s scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the University of Alabama on May 1. 

The International Sustainability Standards Board today published an exposure draft proposing amendments to IFRS S2, “Climate-related Disclosures.”

The proposed amendments provide reliefs to ease the application of requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. It aims to make it easier for companies to apply the standards while retaining decision-useful information for investors. The exposure draft will be open for comment for 60 days and close on June 27. The amendments are slated to be finalized by the end of the year, subject to stakeholder feedback. 

“It is the role of a responsible standard-setter to listen to market feedback from the earliest implementation stages, and to support preparers in the application of our Standards,” ISSB vice-chair Sue Lloyd said in a statement. “As a market-focused standard-setter, we have taken steps to respond in a timely manner by proposing targeted amendments helping preparers where possible, without causing too much disruption and ensuring that our Standards continue to enable the provision of decision-useful information to investors.”

The proposed amendments are as follows:

• Relief from measuring and disclosing Scope 3 Category 15 GHG emissions associated with derivatives and some financial activities;
• Relief from the use of the Global Industry Classification Standard, in some circumstances, in disclosing disaggregated financed emissions information;
• Clarification on the jurisdictional relief to use a measurement method other than the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for measuring GHG emissions; and,
• Permission to use jurisdiction-required Global Warming Potential values that are not from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The ISSB agreed to propose these amendments in January, following discussions of the Transition Implementation Group on IFRS 1 and IFRS 2 as well as the ISSB’s engagement activities. 

Entities can choose whether to apply the amendments’ reliefs, and jurisdictions can choose whether to adopt them without affecting the degree of their alignment with ISSB Standards. The reliefs would help preparers applying IFRS S2 by reducing the risk of duplicate reporting and the related costs associated with applying the standards.

“Proposing these amendments to a relatively new standard is not a decision that was taken lightly — we have carefully considered the need for such amendments and have sought to balance the needs of investors while considering cost-effectiveness for preparers,” Lloyd said. “Our due process is fundamentally important to us. We always consult our stakeholders when proposing changes to our standards and are balancing the need to respond to stakeholders’ needs on a timely basis with giving all interested parties the opportunity to participate in providing feedback by setting a 60-day comment period.”

Federal employee pension benefits are set to be pared back in Republicans’ giant tax and spending package working its way through the House, another slap at a workforce roiled by Elon Musk’s cost-cutting efforts. 

The proposal, which House Oversight Committee and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer announced on Friday night, would force many federal civilian employees to pay higher premiums for retirement benefits and to lower their eventual benefits by changing the formula for calculating payments. 

The Oversight Committee expects to vote this week on that plan and other workforce changes. If approved, they would be combined into legislation enshrining President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, which Republicans aim to enact by August without the help of Democrats.

Comer said in a statement that the committee’s proposal would achieve “reduction in the federal deficit of over $50 billion.”

The biggest change would be to raise the premium that many long-time federal and postal employees pay out of their salaries in the Federal Employee Retirement System. Under the current system, contribution rates are arranged by the year an employee started: 0.8% in 2012 and earlier; 3.1% if hired in 2013, and 4.4% if hired in 2014 and afterward. The change would have employees pay 4.4% to raise $30.7 billion over a decade, according to the statement.

The proposal would also try to save $4.75 billion by basing retiree pension benefits on the highest five years of salary rather than the current three highest years. Those benefits are calculated based on top salary received and number of years in the U.S. workforce.

Other changes being proposed include eliminating supplemental retirement benefits for those who retire before age 62 and are unable to yet collect Social Security, and auditing family members of federal employees to see if they are eligible for health benefits.

Republicans argue that federal employee benefits are too generous compared to the private sector. At the same time, federal employees traditionally accept lower salaries than in the private sector partly because of the promise of those benefits. 

Republicans are planning a House floor vote next month on the larger legislation. The bill would then be sent to the Senate, where it could pass without the help of Democrats so long as the targets in the budget resolution the chambers already adopted are followed.

The House GOP has a goal of finding at least $2 trillion in savings to partially offset the cost of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, adding new cuts to taxes on overtime, tips and providing new breaks for older people and car buyers. The Senate has given itself leeway in its portion of the budget plan to make as little as $4 billion in cuts.