Government funding talks will not cause shutdown again, says Evercore's Sarah Bianchi

Summary

Sarah Bianchi, Evercore's public policy chief strategist, discusses the upcoming government funding deadline and argues a shutdown remains a risk but is not her base case. She reviews how affordability politics may shape White House and congressional policy, including possible healthcare, housing, tariff-relief, and stimulus measures. She also highlights rising political scrutiny of AI data centers over energy use and utility costs, noting proposals such as data-center moratoriums.

• Congress faces an end-of-month deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
• Bianchi sees shutdown risk, but neither party wants to repeat the last shutdown.
• Affordability remains difficult to fix; Trump may try healthcare, drug pricing, housing, and tariff relief.
• Additional stimulus from the Big Beautiful Bill could help the economy into spring.
• A tariff rebate or household check would be most impactful but risks inflation.
• AI data-center energy use and utility costs are becoming a national political issue.
• Data-center moratorium proposals and MAGA warnings signal rising policy risk for AI infrastructure.