{"id":64973,"date":"2026-07-17T15:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/political-and-economic-outlook-trump-eyes-sc-senate-pick-as-gdp-nowcast-holds-steady\/64973\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:08:14","slug":"political-and-economic-outlook-trump-eyes-sc-senate-pick-as-gdp-nowcast-holds-steady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/political-and-economic-outlook-trump-eyes-sc-senate-pick-as-gdp-nowcast-holds-steady\/64973\/","title":{"rendered":"Political and Economic Outlook: Trump Eyes SC Senate Pick as GDP Nowcast Holds Steady"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>St. Louis Fed\u2019s Real GDP Nowcast for Q2 2026 stands at 2.06%<\/strong>, indicating steady but moderate economic growth as the quarter concludes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Trump is reportedly considering backing Sen. Darline Graham<\/strong> in the South Carolina GOP primary to officially succeed her late brother, Lindsey Graham.<\/li>\n<li><strong>House Republicans are preparing a government funding stopgap<\/strong> for next week that excludes the controversial SAVE America Act, potentially avoiding an immediate shutdown.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iranian officials have denied reports of a strike on the Bushehr nuclear plant<\/strong>, dismissing claims of damage following a period of heightened regional military activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Trump Weighs Endorsement for Graham\u2019s Senate Seat<\/h2>\n<p>President Donald Trump is in active discussions regarding a potential endorsement of <strong>Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC)<\/strong> for the upcoming South Carolina special GOP primary. Graham, who was recently appointed to fill the seat following the death of her brother, <strong>Lindsey Graham<\/strong>, has reportedly met with top Republican operatives this week to weigh a full-term bid.<\/p>\n<p>The filing window for the <strong>August 11th special primary<\/strong> is set to open on July 21st and close on July 28th. While some party insiders initially viewed her appointment as a temporary placeholder, <strong>NRSC Chair Sen. Tim Scott<\/strong> has praised her &quot;remarkable start,&quot; signaling broader party support if she chooses to run for the full term ending in 2032.<\/p>\n<h2>Economic Indicators: Q2 GDP Nowcast at 2.06%<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis<\/strong> updated its Economic News Index today, projecting a <strong>Real GDP Nowcast of 2.05753%<\/strong> for the second quarter of 2026. This figure suggests the U.S. economy is maintaining a trajectory of moderate expansion, providing a stable backdrop for broader market indices like the <strong>SPDR <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> ETF Trust (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPY\">SPY<\/a>)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This latest estimate reflects a slight cooling from earlier high-growth projections but remains within the range of a &quot;soft landing&quot; scenario. Investors are closely monitoring these real-time data points as the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> evaluates future interest rate adjustments in the face of persistent fiscal debates in Washington.<\/p>\n<h2>Congressional Standoff Over Funding and the SAVE Act<\/h2>\n<p><strong>House Republicans<\/strong> are moving toward a vote next week on a &quot;clean&quot; government funding stopgap measure that notably omits the <strong>SAVE America Act<\/strong>. The exclusion of the act\u2014a priority for the party&#39;s right wing\u2014is seen as a strategic move to prevent a government shutdown, though it risks alienating hardline conservatives who have previously stalled legislative progress.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the move to secure temporary funding, senior Democrats are already preparing for a significant confrontation regarding <strong>ICE and immigration enforcement<\/strong>. These issues are expected to dominate the next phase of budget negotiations, likely creating volatility for defense and government services contractors.<\/p>\n<h2>Middle East Tensions: Bushehr Nuclear Plant Status<\/h2>\n<p>Iranian state media, including <strong>Press TV<\/strong>, issued a formal denial today regarding claims that an &quot;enemy strike&quot; hit the <strong>Bushehr nuclear power plant<\/strong>. The report characterized recent media speculation as &quot;unfounded,&quot; asserting that the facility remains secure and operational despite recent regional escalations involving <strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>While satellite imagery has previously shown damage to peripheral infrastructure in the Bushehr province, officials maintain the reactor itself was not targeted. The situation remains a critical watchpoint for global energy markets and <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a>, as any disruption to Iranian nuclear or maritime infrastructure could trigger immediate spikes in crude futures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways St. Louis Fed\u2019s Real GDP Nowcast for Q2 2026 stands at 2.06%, indicating steady but moderate economic growth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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