Pool Reports of November 13, 2025

In-town pool report #1: Hassett at the sticks

Good morning all,

I'm your print pooler today. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, spoke briefly with reporters at the sticks starting at 9:29 am. I'm sharing a few of his remarks below, with thanks to a TV pooler who shared this clear Otter recording from the mic.

On the impact of the six-week shutdown that ended late last night, Hassett said the Council of Economic Advisors estimates the shutdown cost about $15 billion per week. He said that accounts for about 1-1.5% of GDP and the CEA estimates that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs because of the economic impact of the shutdown.

On affordability: "The first thing that we've done stopped the runaway inflation. The second thing we've done is we've pushed policies that have caused incomes to grow a lot. But we understand that people understand, as people look at their pocketbooks to go to the grocery store, that there's still work to do." He said the drop in real purchasing power in recent years is "something that we're going to fix, and we're going to fix it right away."

On the prospect of sending $2,000 "tariff dividend" checks to Americans, he said that's "something that will require legislation," and based on how much revenue tariffs have generated, "there would actually be enough room to cover those checks and not go into the rest of the budget, so yeah, there would be enough money to pay for the $2,000 checks." When asked if the White House is actively discussing such legislation with Congress, he said, "We're actively studying the matter."
He said the drop in real purchasing power is "something that we're going to fix, and we're going to fix it right away."

Per wranglers, there's no update to the president's public schedule, which I'll copy below:

EST:
9:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

11:15 AM THE PRESIDENT receives his Intelligence Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT and FIRST LADY participate in an Executive Order signing
East Room
Pre-Credentialed Media

In-town pool report #2: Lunch lid

White House called a lunch lid until 1:30 pm.

In-town pool report #3: Gathering

Pool is gathering at the North Portico Steps for the signing ceremony scheduled for 2 pm in the East Room. POTUS will sign an EO related to FLOTUS's Fostering the Future initiative.

In-town pool report #4: POTUS and FLOTUS enter East Room

Pool entered the East Room, where guests were already seated, at 1:57 pm. POTUS and FLOTUS entered to applause at 2:13 pm.

Per FLOTUS team, attendees include Treasury Secretary Bessent, HHS Secretary Kennedy and HUD Secretary Turner, along with youth who have been in foster care. "Be Best" pens are on the table for the EO signing.

FLOTUS began her remarks by thanking the donors and other guests in attendance, and thanking her husband "for his enduring commitment to fostering the future."

More remarks to follow.

In-town pool report #5: FLOTUS and POTUS remarks

After FLOTUS called on Americans to "rise above the ease of inaction," POTUS began his remarks at 2:17 pm. FLOTUS and POTUS remarks are being live-streamed, so I won't share extensive quotes here.

Sharing below some details from WH on the EO and what FLOTUS is wearing:

FLOTUS attire: Caviar black and white tweed pants suit from Dolce. Christian Louboutin ankle strap shiny lézard shoes.

The Executive Order on Fostering the Future for American Children and Families contains the following provisions that have been central to Mrs. Trump's focus as First Lady, among others geared toward maximizing strategic partnerships with Americans of faith and modernizing the child welfare system:

• Fostering the Future Pledge & Future Commitments: Establishes a Fostering the Future program to secure government, private-industry, nonprofit, and academic partners' commitments for new educational and employment pathways for youth transitioning out of foster care;

• Online Resource and Planning Hub:Authorizes the creation of a Fostering the Future online platform for current and former foster youth to develop customized plans for their self-sufficiency and success by connecting them with critical resources;

• Increased Access to Federal Support: Increases access to Education and Training Vouchers and federal grants to support more time-limited and credentialed programs that promote educational success, workforce advancement, and financial literacy for young people transitioning out of care; and

• Expanded Educational Opportunities: Expands educational opportunities by facilitating state use of scholarship programs funded by tax-credited donations to scholarship-granting organizations for children in foster care.

As a result of this new executive order, and as part of First Lady Melania Trump's Fostering the Future initiative, public and private-sector partners can make commitments to expand access to mentorships, scholarships, technology, and workforce training for youth who have experienced foster care. These pledges will reflect a shared national effort to ensure every young person has the tools to build a strong and independent future.

The following Federal partners announced new commitments as part of this effort:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): In addition to implementing the directives of the Fostering the Future Executive Order, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will also launch a Fostering the Future-aligned initiative to keep children safely with their families and reduce unnecessary entries into foster care while also increasing the availability of foster homes for children and youth. ACF will also announce a new pilot program to donate decommissioned federal laptops to youth in foster care to help bridge the digital divide and increase access to online resources that are critical for a successful transition to adulthood.

• The U.S. Department of Treasuryand the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: These Departments are committed to hosting a series of roundtables across the country to learn from youth transitioning from foster care about unique obstacles to financial literacy and opportunities to support them on a pathway to sustained financial well-being. These Departments will establish policies and programs to help ensure that the transition process from foster care includes a strong financial literacy foundation. An initial statement of findings from the roundtables will be made available in Spring 2026.

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM): OPM announced a new opportunity for youth and young adults who have been in foster care to obtain federal jobs via the Pathways Programs – a special federal government hiring authority for early career talent. In consultation with youth who have experienced foster care, OPM will collaborate with federal agencies to identify internships and early-career employment that provide hands-on experience in government. To strengthen readiness for public service, OPM will build a dedicated applicant portal and incorporate a speaker series and other professional development activities to help participants build skills, networks, and confidence to succeed in the range of opportunities available through federal service.

Private-sector organizations looking to join First Lady Melania Trump in supporting Fostering the Future, are invited to sign the Fostering the Future Pledge at WhiteHouse.Gov/FosteringTheFuture.

First Lady Melania Trump established Fostering the Future in 2021. Fostering the Future, a Be Best initiative, offers scholarships at the university and college levels to individuals within the foster care community. Scholarship recipients acquire essential knowledge vital for obtaining an entry-level position, ultimately leading to financial independence.

Melania Trump's Fostering the Future's distinguished participating universities include, but are not limited to Vanderbilt University, University of Miami, Villanova University, Florida University, and Oral Roberts University.

In-town pool report #6: EO signing, POTUS & FLOTUS depart

POTUS concluded his remarks and signed the EO at 2:30 pm.

"No autopen," he said after displaying the signed EO, drawing some laughs from the crowd.

POTUS and FLOTUS left the East Room at 2:32 pm.

In-town pool report #7: FLOTUS prepared remarks

Pool was escorted out of the East Room at 2:45 pm. Below, sharing FLOTUS's prepared remarks via WH:
———

Full text of First Lady Melania Trump's remarks, as prepared for delivery:

It's truly inspiring to see everyone gathered here together, united in support of this remarkable initiative and community. As I stand here and observe the audience, I recognize the vital importance of each one of you—to this mission—to our future generations.

In particular, I would like to thank the cabinet secretaries, congress members, scholarship donors, and various organizations for their unending advocacy.

A special thank you to my husband for his enduring commitment to Fostering the Future. The President has prioritized America's foster care children, and shortly, he will sign our Fostering the Future Executive Order.

Too many people from the foster care community end up homeless, in danger on America's streets.

It was 2021 when I developed the idea to establish an impactful platform with an important mission: to provide individuals from the foster care community the ability to secure an entry-level job position, and in turn… financial independence.

Fostering the Future, a Be Best initiative, provides individuals from the foster care community with technology-based scholarships to attend colleges and universities throughout America. Fostering the Future sets these individuals on their career paths, but more significantly, it equips each scholarship recipient with a fundamental foundation of knowledge that will endure throughout their lifetimes.

Permanency for those who embody the fleeting.

I applaud the American Universities that have joined my mission—institutions like Vanderbilt University, University of Miami, and Villanova University.

Following graduation, scholarship recipients from my program are prepared to enter the workforce, and, ultimately, become leading executives. Predictably, they will manage thousands of employees and generate significant value for American communities—through job creation, access to healthcare, food security, and other societal benefits.

This Executive Order, "Fostering the Future for American Children and Families," gives me tremendous pride. It is both, empathetic and strategic. It will certainly be impactful.

It aims to establish a comprehensive network connecting federal departments and agencies, private sector businesses, higher-learning institutions, and charitable organizations. This will create new educational and employment opportunities countrywide. Our faith-based organizations will continue playing a vital and consequential role.

My hope, of course, is that this level of coordinated collaboration will sustain. But today, I call on leadership from these various organizations, including the private sector, to join my effort. Rise above the ease of inaction.

I predict this small spark today will ignite a profound and lasting nationwide movement. Our united resolve will foster a thriving future filled with compassion and innovation.

Together, we will illuminate the pathway for today's foster children to become tomorrow's builders.

And tomorrow's builders will foster the future of America's legacy.

In-town pool report #8: Second Hassett gaggle + Note on EO signing

First, a note on the EO signing event earlier this afternoon: POTUS did not take questions after signing the EO, and your pooler wasn't able to hear any questions that reporters standing closer to the aisle may have asked.

Kevin Hassett spoke briefly with reporters at the sticks for a second time starting at 4:29 pm. His full remarks via Otter are here, and some highlights are below:

On POTUS's plans to take his economic message on the road, and whether that's similar to what his predecessor did:

• "Well, Trumponomics works and Bidenomics doesn't, and so we've got lots of good news to report to the American people."
• "The affordability gap that was created by Biden's runaway inflation is gradually being whittled away by the higher growth that we have, and the no tax on tips and no tax at overtime and so on. And so President Trump, for sure, is going to go out there and deliver the message. But in the end, the most important message is going to be what people see in their pockets, which is higher incomes and a higher ability to spend."

On today's movement in the markets:

• Markets are thinking the Fed is less likely to cut interest rates.
• Based on fundamentals, the two things that have changed since the second-to-last Fed meeting are a shutdown that lowered GDP projections and lower-than-expected inflation numbers.
• "The fact that the Fed would move from a posture of three rate cuts to two, after getting news that really says the opposite, makes you really wonder what they're thinking over there."

On affordability (he was asked a similar question this morning):

• "We're working overtime on reducing costs, both at the micro level, with our efforts on eggs, remember, and beef. But at the macro level, too — we've reduced the deficit so far this year by 300-something billion dollars already in this calendar year."
• "We're making up ground fast."

In-town pool report #9: Lid

Lid called at 6:00 pm.

Good night, folks.