President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House promises sweeping tax changes that could impact the aspects of the tax-exempt bond market.

The new Congress will have a full plate including deciding the fate of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Internal Revenue Service funding in a legislature that's already showing cracks of disagreement.

Kotek has spent the past month working on a very busy agenda involving housing, fires, transportation and construction labor agreements.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds target again in December but signaled fewer cuts in 2025. There was some dissent. The markets are watching to see if the Federal Reserve pauses its easing cycle in January. Brian Rehling, head of global fixed-income strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, recaps and parses the previous day's FOMC meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

Six Texas cities sued the state comptroller over a rule that altered where sales taxes would be collected on certain online purchases.

The finally approved continuing resolution steers around the debate to raise the debt ceiling while funding repairs to the toll-supported Key Bridge in Baltimore, reimbursing DC for inauguration costs and transferring the RFK stadium site.

The budgeting constraints transformed the state's finances and bond ratings. But critics say the policy's downsides include the stifling of needed investments. 

The bank's termination of its membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance ended a state review that could have led to a ban for governmental contracts.

The Trump administration may cut the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, which threatens to land on a hospital sector still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Munis are grappling with a storm of uncertainty," said James Pruskowski, chief investment officer at 16Rock Asset Management.

A bipartisan agreement on a continuing resolution to keep the government open fell apart after intervention from President-elect Trump and Elon Musk, raising concerns about federal funds flowing to states, local governments, and infrastructure projects.

The central Texas city of Clyde said it issued tax and revenue anticipation notes with a 9.5% interest rate to repay its insurers after an Aug. 1 bond default.

The challenge to the 2022 approval of bonds for a PACE program could "catastrophically undermine" the finality of all Florida bond validations, the agency said.

Despite the approval, hurdles remain, including the team's request for more money from the government, which they say delayed approval of the bonds, leading to additional construction costs.

A continuing resolution that included federal funding for the repair of the Key Bridge in Baltimore and transferring the RFK stadium site to the city of Washington collapsed under pressure.

A spike in inflationary costs means a tough road ahead for Washington lawmakers as they take up the budget in the new year.

Analysts warn the many one-time measures in the budget Mayor Brandon Johnson narrowly got through City Council will make the 2026 budget even harder.

Voters in November approved measures to split the Alpine School District, which has more than $500 million of outstanding bonds, into three systems.

Concerns are rising as the Congressional Budget Office has issued a report laying out the benefits of eliminating tax-exempt qualified private activity bonds.

The continuing resolution through mid-March is expected to include $$90 billion in disaster funding.