Open Letter to Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune

April 30, 2025

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Office of the Speaker

H-232, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

United States Senate

511 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune,

The stability of the American economy—and the credibility of our governance—is on the line.

We write to you as the elected fiscal stewards of our states. We are responsible for protecting the long-term economic well-being of the people, communities, and institutions we serve. We oversee public assets, safeguard credit ratings, and finance the infrastructure and services that hold this country together.

In the federal system our founders designed, the House and Senate were created to ensure national power remained grounded in local accountability. Congress was not meant to be  passive, but an active and co-equal branch of government—one that ensures continuity, credibility, and long-term stewardship, especially when the executive branch falters.

That responsibility is now being tested.

We are operating in a volatile financial landscape—defined by market reactions to erratic federal policy, rising global skepticism about American stability, and the politicization of institutions that have long served as anchors of economic confidence. This is not a temporary disruption. It is a structural shift in how global markets and domestic stakeholders perceive the reliability of the U.S. economy. These aren’t hypothetical risks. These are live consequences. And the branch of government with the constitutional power to address them is not acting.

Below are just a few of the ways this instability is already manifesting:

• Stock Market Volatility: In early April, the U.S. stock market experienced its largest two-day loss in history, with the Dow dropping over 4,000 points (9.5%), the S&P 500 falling 10%, and the Nasdaq down 11%. This erased over $6.6 trillion in market value, triggered by tariff escalations and a wave of global uncertainty. While markets have since rebounded partially—on April 22, the Dow rose by 2.7%, the S&P 500 by 2.5%, and the Nasdaq by 2.7%—volatility remains high, and the market has suffered multiple historically bad days.

• Dollar Performance: The U.S. dollar has weakened to a three-year low and continues to be subject to ongoing instability given investors’ concerns about U.S. economic leadership and policy direction.

• Rising Borrowing Costs: Borrowing costs are increasing for governments, businesses, and families, as volatility drives up interest rates and undermines access to affordable capital.

• Declining Economic Indicators: Consumer confidence has dropped below levels seen during the Great Recession. The Philadelphia Fed reports a 34.2% plunge in new manufacturing orders, while the New York Fed’s General Business Conditions Index has fallen to its second-lowest reading in more than two decades. 

• Consumer Confidence: The University of Michigan's preliminary April reading shows consumer sentiment at 50.8, down from 57.0 in March, marking the second-lowest level on record.

• IMF Downgrade: The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its U.S. economic forecast, cutting expected growth from 2.7% to 1.8% and raising inflation projections to approximately 3%. The IMF now warns that U.S. trade and monetary policy is a 'major negative shock' to the global economy.

• Threat to the Federal Reserve:  The independence of the Federal Reserve has been openly threatened, undermining one of the last remaining institutional anchors of global financial stability.

Markets are not waiting. They are reacting in real time—driving consequences that we are already managing in our states.

Some may perceive these changes as temporary or strategic. But the damage being done is unprecedented and more significantly makes no sense. The Constitution gives the House and Senate—not the White House—the power to regulate trade, levy tariffs, borrow money, and protect the value of the dollar. These are not ceremonial duties. They are core functions of governance. And right now, they are underutilized—causing grave risk.

The world is not just watching the Presidency—it is also watching Congress. Markets, credit rating agencies, and foreign investors are asking whether the United States still has a functioning legislative branch capable of stabilizing policy and safeguarding its economy. If Congress does not act—clearly and soon—markets will take that silence as a signal. Capital will continue to flee. Borrowing costs will continue to rise. And confidence in American leadership will continue to erode.

Congress must act—not as a matter of party, but as a matter of sovereignty. The credibility of the United States is being questioned. And the consequences are already reaching our states, our communities, and our people.

This is a moment to reassert control. Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority over trade, fiscal policy, and monetary oversight. You must protect the independence of the Federal Reserve, restore discipline to our national economic strategy, and send a clear signal to markets and the world that the United States still governs itself with seriousness and stability.

We will continue to do our part: safeguarding public funds, managing risk, and investing in our people. But if Congress does not rise to this moment, no state government will be able to shield its citizens from the consequences.

This is not about the next news cycle. History will tell whether Congress allowed economic leadership to slip away—or stood up and reclaimed it when it mattered most.

People throughout the country are watching as their financial pain becomes increasingly real. We are here to help, but we need Congress to take profound and definitive first steps. 

It is not too late, but the moment is rapidly slipping away.

Signed,

Deborah B. Goldberg, Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver-General

Colleen C. Davis, Delaware State Treasurer

Mike Pieciak, Vermont  State Treasurer

James A. Diossa, Rhode Island General Treasurer

Julie Blaha, Minnesota State Auditor

David L. Young, Colorado State Treasurer

Mike Pellicciotti, Washington State Treasurer

Elizabeth Steiner, Oregon State Treasurer 

Erick Russell, Connecticut Treasurer

Michael W. Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer

Laura M. Montoya, New Mexico State Treasurer