The Trump administration has just released the September jobs report: unemployment climbed up to 4.4%, the highest it’s been in nearly four years. Employers added 119,000 jobs, half the number from the same month one year ago.

While calling the 119,000 number “stronger than expected,” NBC News warned, “there are still signs of a weakening labor market.”

“So far,” NBC added, “many economic analysts have been reluctant to call it a full-blown jobs crisis.”

Economic experts weighed in.

READ MORE: ‘Sundown’: Trump Shows ‘Shocking’ Noticeable Mental Decline Journalist Says

“This is a frozen labor market that’s starting to crack,” observed Heather Long, the chief economist at Navy Federal.

“The jobs report shows a labor market that was really weak this summer and didn’t improve much in September,” Long continued.

She also noted that many industries are laying off workers, and posted a graph titled: “The US economy has hardly added any jobs since May.”

“Bottom line,” Long concluded, “The economy added an average of 44k jobs a month for the past 4 months. That’s barely ‘treading water.'”

READ MORE: Economist Sounds Stagflation Alarm as Food Costs Rise Under Trump

Professor of economics and frequent cable news guest Justin Wolfers also served up a warning: “Here’s what worries the Fed (and me!): The unemployment rate is slowly drifting up. This is a clear sign of an unhealthy economy. And it’s happening slowly enough that it hasn’t attracted many headlines. But it really matters.”

Economics writer Joey Politano noted that for Black Americans, unemployment “remained at 7.5% in September, the highest level since 2021 and a nearly 1.9% increase from the start of this year.”

During the Biden era, unemployment for Black Americans hit a record low.

Michele Evermore, a former U.S. Department of Labor official, warned: “While everyone’s looking at September jobs data, I think it is also important to note that continued claims for unemployment for LAST WEEK was 1,974,000 – the highest since 2021.”

READ MORE: ‘Stunning Moment’: Trump Defends MBS While Ignoring CIA’s Khashoggi Murder Assessment

President Donald Trump’s hold over congressional Republicans is showing visible signs of cracking. His effort to block the release of the Epstein files collapsed after a near-unanimous House vote and a unanimous consent vote in the Senate sent the bill to his desk. He is now clashing with one of his former loyalists, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). And Trump’s demand that Republicans kill the filibuster landed flat.

Now, Trump’s plan to send $2,000 tariff “dividend” checks to low- and middle-income Americans appears headed for the same fate as his promised $5,000 DOGE dividend payouts.

GOP lawmakers appear unconvinced on the president’s desire to send out the $2,000 checks — despite Trump’s new “affordability” push after his party’s damaging off-year November elections.

“The GOP pushback on the proposed checks, which the White House says would be funded by tariff revenue, is the latest sign of division between the president and the GOP-controlled Congress and a weakening of Trump’s firm control of Washington,” Bloomberg News reported.

READ MORE: ‘Real Mental Problems’: Trump Calls for Firing Fed Chair

Trump so far is undeterred.

“We’re going to be issuing dividends later on, somewhere prior to, you know, probably the middle of next year, a little bit later than that,” Trump said on Monday, according to Axios. “Thousands of dollars for individuals of moderate income, middle income.”

That would put the checks in the hands of voters slightly before the midterms.

Trump repeated his plan on Wednesday.

“We’re going to be doing a dividend — low- and middle-income people — of at least $2,000,” Trump told attendees at the U.S.—Saudi Investment Forum.

Several congressional Republicans have publicly expressed opposition in a further sign of Trump’s grip slipping.

“I think it would be crazy to send money to people while we have a deficit,” U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Tuesday.

READ MORE: FBI Declared LGBTQ Pride Flag ‘Political Signage’ in Letter Firing Employee: Lawsuit

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune also pointed to the deficit as a priority.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) reportedly is also opposed.

“House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington said he told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a Wednesday meeting that he’d prefer the tariff revenue go toward reducing the deficit, not to $2,000 checks,” Bloomberg added.

Experts also point to a lack of GOP support.

“We view this as very unlikely to get done,” Tobin Marcus of Wolfe Research said in a note, Bloomberg reported. “We don’t think a second reconciliation bill focused on $2k stimulus checks has the near-uniform support it needs.”

The Wall Street Journal earlier this week also pointed to an Epstein-related failure — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s refusal to withdraw her name from the Epstein discharge petition — as yet another sign of Trump’s grip on the GOP slipping.

READ MORE: ‘Stunning Moment’: Trump Defends MBS While Ignoring CIA’s Khashoggi Murder Assessment

Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump unleashed another attack on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, calling for the firing of the independent agency chief who has just months left in his term. Experts this week suggested eroding the Fed’s independence could trigger stagflation.

In a speech at the U.S.—Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday, President Trump urged his Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, to “work on” getting Powell to lower interest rates. Experts warn that lowering interest rates inappropriately could lead to even higher inflation.

“He’s got some real mental problems,” Trump told the audience at the Kennedy Center, referring to Powell. “He’s — something wrong with him.”

READ MORE: FBI Declared LGBTQ Pride Flag ‘Political Signage’ in Letter Firing Employee: Lawsuit

“I’d be honest, I’d love to fire his a –. He should be fired. Guy’s grossly incompetent,” Trump charged. “And he should be sued for spending $4 billion to build a little building. I’m building a ballroom that’s gonna cost a tiny fraction of that, and it’s bigger than the whole thing put together.”

Trump was referring to the renovations at the Federal Reserve. The Fed does not rely on tax dollars for its operations.

“You gotta work at him, Scott,” Trump continued from the podium. “The only thing Scott’s blowing it on is the Fed. Because the Fed, the rates are too high, Scott. And if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m gonna fire your a –, okay?”

READ MORE: GOP Senator: Patients Should Shop for Health Care Like They Buy Shampoo

Critics weighed in on Trump’s attack.

“If you are a single-issue ‘affordability’ voter, this should be concerning,” remarked Catherine Rampell, the economics editor for The Bulwark.

Andrew Ackerman, who covers the Fed for The Washington Post, appeared to mock the president: “Trump: I want to fire Jay Powell but Scott Bessent won’t let me.”

Trump on Jerome Powell: “He’s got some real mental problems. There’s something wrong with him. It’s just ridiculous. I’ll be honest, I’d love to fire his ass. He should be fired…and he should be sued.” pic.twitter.com/xBvAlbaijk

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) November 19, 2025

READ MORE: ‘Stunning Moment’: Trump Defends MBS While Ignoring CIA’s Khashoggi Murder Assessment