The probability that the U.S. economy will grow 3 percent this year has fallen over the last month as weak data and political concerns have dented confidence, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll.
That finding comes as hopes for tax cuts and other pro-growth policies promised by President Donald Trump have faded amid reports Trump tried to interfere with an investigation into ties between his first national security adviser and Russia. Those reports prompted the biggest sell-off in U.S. equities since early September.
With Washington policymakers distracted by Trump’s political problems, the risks of a longer timeline to see the realization of tax reforms and other pro-growth fiscal policies have increased.
A rapid pace of expansion is essential for Trump’s broader economic agenda but the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter, just 0.7 percent on an annualized