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From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

The U.S. economy keeps growing modestly, but inflation is getting higher. As the new economic data rolls in from the first

quarter of 2026, that is the economy that Kevin Warsh will inherit as a new chairman of the Federal Reserve.

He's expected to be confirmed now after passing the Senate Banking Committee this week,

be confirmed by the full Senate and take the job sometime in the next few weeks before the next Fed Open Market Committee meeting in May. Meanwhile, his predecessor,

Jerome Powell, this week said that he will stay on as a member of the seven member board of

governors at the Fed even after his chairmanship. And so what's next for the Federal Reserve

and for the American economy? Welcome. I'm Paul as you go.

Those are our subjects for today on Potomac Watch. And I'm here with my colleagues, Alicia Finley, and Joe Sternberg, two redoubtable Fed watchers and economic watchers.

So let's talk first about the big economic news. First quarter GDP rolled in gross

domestic product grew at 2%. That's bounce up from 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but it's hardly

boomed times. But the more interesting things in the report, at least are the internals, I think.

That's what's really interesting and what components grew, what didn't.

Modest growth in consumer spending, but big increase contribution from investment and a particular kind of investment.

Right.

So consumer spending made up about one percentage points of the 2% growth, which is actually

...