The president announced on October 9 that he had formed an unusual "committee of inquiry" to consider whether to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud. The panel includes Kevin Hassett, the president's top economic advisor, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling in his role as acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, and Andrea Lucas, the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The committee will hold the closed-door hearing on November 5.

It's the latest move in the president's attempt to fire Cook, which started in August 2025. At issue is whether Cook misled lenders to obtain favorable terms on a mortgage application in 2021. Cook has never been charged with a crime and she denies the allegations. The president used the allegations as a pretext to fire Cook, but various courts blocked the firing last year, and she has continued to serve at the Fed.

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the president could not fire Cook because he had not provided her with due process to respond to the allegations. The October 9 hearing announcement seems to be his attempt to provide such a process. Cook's attorneys said that they had "grave doubts" that the hearing was legitimate but that she "welcomes the opportunity to present the facts so that she can clear her name and demonstrate there is no legal basis to fire her."

Even if the panel recommends to the president that he has cause to terminate Cook, it's widely expected that she will again challenge the president's authority to do so. It would not be surprising to see the case eventually return to the Supreme Court, which will have to determine what constitutes the vaguely worded "for cause" language in the statute creating the central bank.

The Trump administration announced October 1 that it was automatically enrolling all eligible children for a Trump Account. Parents will still have to "claim" the account on behalf of their child via the Trump Account app in order to begin making contributions to the account.

Trump Accounts, which were created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, are simple brokerage accounts that can grow until the child turns 18, after which they convert to traditional IRAs and can continue to grow until retirement age. Parents, grandparents, employers, and others can contribute to a child's account up to the annual limit of $5,000. Assets are invested in simple, low-fee index funds.

The automatic enrollment decision comes after concerns about the slow growth of the accounts since they launched in July. About 7.5 million parents had signed up for the accounts, including about 1.5 million for newborns, according to the CT Mirror as of October 7, 2026. Those are solid figures, but they represented only about 10 percent of all eligible children and about 20 percent of newborns. With every eligible child now having an account in their name, expect the administration to embark upon a massive marketing and education effort to boost awareness among parents to claim the account on behalf of their child.

The administration also announced that the accounts would accept donations of stock, which it hopes will make it easier for philanthropists to make contributions. Michael Dell, the founder of Dell computers, announced earlier this year that he and his wife would contribute $6.25 billion to accounts that met certain parameters.

Of course, there are a variety of savings vehicles available, and Trump Accounts may or may not be right for every family's situation. Consult your financial advisor to learn more about how the new accounts might fit into your financial plans.

In Supreme Court oral arguments on October 6 in a case involving Intel Corp.'s 401(k) plan, the justices appeared receptive to a legal standard that could make it easier for 401(k) plans to invest in private markets. A ruling along those lines could reduce litigation risk for employers that offer private equity and other alternative investments and investment options to participants in the plan.

Such a ruling would support the Trump administration's broader push to expand access to those assets in retirement plans, with a pending Department of Labor rule proposal outlining a due diligence process for plans that are considering including alternative assets among the investment options for employee participants.

The case stems from a challenge by an Intel employee to the company's use of private equity, hedge funds, and other alternative investments in its retirement plans. The court is expected to rule in 2027. Companies are hopeful that the ruling clarifies the rules of the road for incorporating alternative assets into a plan.

A single commissioner will now constitute a quorum in certain circumstances, according to a recent update to the SEC's rules. After Commissioner Hester Peirce stepped down from her post on October 2, only Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda remain at the agency.

The SEC typically has five commissioners, but three seats are currently vacant, with no nominees announced to fill them. The rule change could leave a single commissioner responsible for deciding certain matters on behalf of the commission. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the derivatives market, has had only one of its five commissioners in place since December 2025. CFTC Chair Michael Selig has been acting unilaterally since then.

The latest episode of my WashingtonWise podcast is a deep dive into what might happen on Election Day, how the market might react, and what the implications are for the policy agenda in 2027 and beyond. Here are the five key takeaways:

• Democrats look poised to win the House of Representatives. The conversation has moved from, "Can the Democrats win the majority?" to "By how much will the Democrats win the majority?" A Democrat majority in the 10-15 seats range seems the most likely outcome.
• Senate remains a 50-50 toss-up with three weeks to go. Momentum is with the Democrats, but the path to the majority isn't simple. Democrats must net four seats to win control. First, they would need to hold three states where the current Democrat is retiring—Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. The Democratic nominee is likely to flip the Senate seat in North Carolina. And then Democrats would need to flip at least three of a half-dozen seats in red states: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, and Texas. That's absolutely possible, but far from a sure thing.
• Markets and midterms. Using data going back to 1974, the S&P 500 is typically flat in the three months leading up to a midterm election. But it has generally returned an average of 5.7% in the three months after a midterm, and 12.4% in the six months after a midterm. These calculations are by the Schwab Center for Financial Research and are based on historical S&P 500 price return only data from Yahoo Finance, as of August 14, 2026. The message: Markets don't care who wins the election, markets care that the election is over.
• Big policy issues loom. Congress will return to Washington after the election to face a December 11 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. In 2027, Congress will have to increase the debt ceiling, which is always politically tricky and has the potential to rattle the markets. And expect to hear a lot about Social Security reform over the next two years, though it may be 2029 before Congress actually tries to solve the issue.
• Potential for bipartisanship in a split Washington? Issues like cryptocurrency regulation, making data centers cover the cost of their power and water usage, a congressional stock trading ban, and retirement savings are all potential areas where the two parties could work together next year. But those are relatively small-ball topics and even those may not be possible given how sky-high tensions between a potential Democrat-controlled Congress and President Trump are likely to be next year.

For more commentary on news and policies from Washington that impact investors, listen to the WashingtonWise podcast.