Last Night’s Vote; Joe Biden’s Diagnosis
Author: Greg Valliere
May 19, 2025
LOTS OF DRAMA LAST NIGHT: The “big beautiful” bill made it through the House Budget Committee, with tougher battles ahead. Joe Biden began a new phase of his life. And Donald Trump prepared for a pivotal conversation today with Vladimir Putin.
THE GOP TAX AND SPENDING BILL limped through the House Budget Committee, with an even tougher battle looming well into the summer in the full House and Senate.
WE REITERATE OUR CALL from last Friday, which seems like a lifetime ago. There simply aren’t enough votes to pass the bill right now; Trump will have to twist arms and take a stand on the key issue — Medicaid spending reform.
TRUMP HAS PROMISED TO RESIST MEDICAID CUTS: If he doesn’t; the package will fall billions of dollars short of Republican goals — it will cost trillions of more dollars — and the fiscal hawks will have enough votes to kill the measure. This could drag on for months, with tax cuts up in the air.
THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE WEEK TO BEGIN PROBING circumstances surrounding Biden’s resignation, but that’s also up in the air.
BIDEN HAS AGGRESSIVE prostate cancer, and there will be a temptation to go easy on him as a new book is released, focusing on the key issue — was there a conspiracy to keep his senility from the public?
AS IF THESE TWO DEVELOPENTS AREN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP WASHINGTON BUZZING, there’s the conversation scheduled for later today between Trump and Putin. Our guess is that they will agree to continue talking, but a meaningful breakthrough is unlikely.
OUR BEST WISHES to Joe Biden and beleaguered House Speaker Mike Johnson — but not to the war criminal Putin, who continues to kill civilians with impunity.
The views expressed in this blog are provided as a general source of information based on information available as of the date of publication and should not be considered as personal investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy and/or sell securities. Speculation or stated believes about future events, such as market or economic conditions, company or security performance, or other projections represent the beliefs of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds or investment strategies. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in these commentaries at the time of publication; however, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Market conditions may change and AGF accepts no responsibility for individual investment decisions arising from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein. Any financial projections are based on the opinions of the author and should not be considered as a forecast. The forward looking statements and opinions may be affected by changing economic circumstances and are subject to a number of uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward looking statements. The information contained in this commentary is designed to provide you with general information related to the political and economic environment in the United States. It is not intended to be comprehensive investment advice applicable to the circumstances of the individual.
AGF Investments is a group of wholly owned subsidiaries of AGF Management Limited, a Canadian reporting issuer. The subsidiaries included in AGF Investments are AGF Investments Inc. (AGFI), AGF Investments America Inc. (AGFA), AGF Investments LLC (AGFUS) and AGF International Advisors Company Limited (AGFIA). AGFA and AGFUS are registered advisors in the U.S. AGFI is a registered as a portfolio manager across Canadian securities commissions. AGFIA is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The subsidiaries that form AGF Investments manage a variety of mandates comprised of equity, fixed income and balanced assets.
About AGF Management Limited
Founded in 1957, AGF Management Limited (AGF) is an independent and globally diverse asset management firm. Our companies deliver excellence in investing in the public and private markets through three business lines: AGF Investments, AGF Capital Partners and AGF Private Wealth.
AGF brings a disciplined approach, focused on incorporating sound, responsible and sustainable corporate practices. The firm’s collective investment expertise, driven by its fundamental, quantitative and private investing capabilities, extends globally to a wide range of clients, from financial advisors and their clients to high-net worth and institutional investors including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, AGF has investment operations and client servicing teams on the ground in North America and Europe. AGF serves more than 800,000 investors. AGF trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AGF.B.
For further information, please visit AGF.com.
©2025 AGF Management Limited. All rights reserved.
