Plus: 🗺️ Redistricting battle heats up again {beacon} It’s Friday … and no one deserves a long weekend more than our readers! In today's issue: How about that jobs report? Bartiromo-Fox split Redistricting battle heats up again Clancy verdict not reached Programming note: Hello!
Page F2From§Eachthe matinee edition — 4 September 2026
Alaska oil drilling fast-tracked while record diesel price triggers trade war threats over jobs report
As it ran on the front
Jobs up, prices up, and oil approvals up. The Hill reports that the job market rebounded, so much so that the President is threatening a trade war if the Federal Reserve doesn't cut rates. In the energy sector, diesel prices just set a new record, making every delivery pricier. The administration’s answer? Move to fast-track oil drilling approvals in Alaska, per The Hill.
On paper, strong jobs numbers should be a win for workers. But when the very next beat is a record price at the pump, and the answer to both is more drilling—rushed through in Alaska—it’s worth asking who gets the windfall. The price of diesel doesn’t drop because the oil companies win new land to drill; it tends to climb until someone calls time. And the threat of a trade war if the Fed doesn't play along is a sign that the stakes are bigger than the numbers suggest.…
…(cont) The sequence runs like this: jobs rebound, rates stay high, the threat of a trade war comes out, diesel hits a record, and new drilling gets a green light. The wins accrue at the top, while the invoice lands at the station. Hon, the fastest thing in Washington is an oil permit when the market wants it.
“They tell you to be patient with high prices, then rush to greenlight more drilling for Big Oil. When the jobs numbers look good, the same folks threaten a trade war if the Fed doesn't cut rates. The only thing moving faster than the approvals is the buck—right out of your pocket.”
“A strong jobs report is good for the American worker, and responsible energy production in Alaska is a sign of our commitment to energy independence. There's absolutely no contradiction here—unless you count the part where we, uh, threaten a trade war if rates don't go our way. But that's just tough negotiating.”
The receipts
The Trump administration announced Friday it was proposing to fast-track approvals for oil drilling projects in Alaska after a request from a trade group to do so. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a proposal that would seek to quickly approve oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA). In...
President Trump called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates Friday after the August jobs report came in stronger than expected, threatening to cut off trade with several countries if the central bank doesn’t budge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs last month, well above the…
Vance says gas prices could have been "much higher were it not for our efforts," as the Iran war pushes pump prices to expected Labor Day weekend records.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.