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The Best Five Sectors, #5

Technology moves back into top-5

As we wrap up another trading week, a notable shift has occurred in the sector rankings.

The technology sector, after a brief hiatus, has clawed its way back into the top 5, pushing energy down to the 7th position. This reshuffle reflects the dynamic nature of market rotations and sets the stage for potential shifts in investment focus.

The New Sector Lineup

  1. (1) Consumer Discretionary – (XLY)
  2. (2) Financials – (XLF)
  3. (3) Communication Services – (XLC)
  4. (4) Industrials – (XLI)
  5. (6) Technology – (XLK)
  6. (7) Utilities – (XLU)
  7. (5) Energy – (XLE)
  8. (8) Materials – (XLB)
  9. (9) Real Estate – (XLRE)
  10. (10) Consumer Staples – (XLP)
  11. (11) Health Care – (XLV)

The top-4 and bottom-4 positions did not change. The weakness of the Energy sector has caused Technology to move up and into the top-5 and Utilities to take the number 6 spot.

Weekly RRG

On the weekly Relative Rotation Graph (RRG), XLY maintains its position in the leading quadrant with the highest RS ratio, despite some loss in relative momentum.

XLC, at #3, has halted its momentum loss and shows a slight move to the right picking up relative strength again.

XLF (#2) is rotating through the weakening quadrant but still has the potential to turn around.

XLI (#4) displays a weak tail, pushing into the lagging quadrant, but still outperforms others in that space.

XLK (#5) remains in the improving quadrant, heading towards leading, a promising trajectory.

Daily RRG

Shifting to the daily RRG, we see some variations that support longer-term trends:

XLY is rapidly moving back towards leading through the improving quadrant, reinforcing its weekly strength.

XLF is losing some relative momentum but remains within the leading quadrant.

XLC shows a strong trajectory back into leading, aligning with its weekly rotation.

XLI remains in leading but is shedding some relative momentum.

XLK, while in the lagging quadrant, is starting to curl upwards, bringing its daily tail in-line with the weekly rotation towards the leading quadrant.

Consumer Discretionary (XLY)

XLY is holding up remarkably well, establishing a new higher low of around $218 — a key support level.

Price action suggests a move toward the previous high of $240. Relative strength lines maintain a positive position, underscoring the sector’s dominance.

Financials (XLF)

The financials sector pushed to a new high this week, confirming its bullish condition.

A higher low is clearly in place, and the relative strength chart has bottomed out against former resistance. This setup suggests the RRG lines may turn up soon, imho.

Communication Services (XLC)

XLC is following through nicely after breaking out of a flag-like consolidation pattern.

The sector is now pushing to new highs, dragging relative strength and RRG lines higher and is maintaining a strong rhythm of higher highs and higher lows — a textbook uptrend.

Industrials (XLI)

While XLI remains within its rising channel and has moved away from support, its relative strength is less convincing — neutral at best.

However, compared to other sectors, it’s in a relatively good position despite declining RRG lines.

Technology (XLK)

The “new kid on the block” in the top 5, XLK is still capped under the $240 resistance level within its rising channel.

Its relative strength line is range-bound and moving towards the lower boundary. RRG lines are slowly picking up.

XLK’s position inside the top 5 seems more due to weakness in other sectors than its strength.

Portfolio Performance

The RRGV 1 portfolio ends the week with a 3.96% gain, outperforming the S&P 500’s 3.4% — an impressive 50 basis points of alpha.

I’ll be updating the portfolio on Monday morning, switching out energy for technology based on opening prices.

Summary

While technology has reclaimed its top 5 spot, it’s crucial to recognize that this is partly due to weakness in other sectors rather than overwhelming tech strength.

However, as the largest sector, XLK can significantly impact overall portfolio performance. Investors should watch for a potential breakout above $240, signaling further upside.

#StayAlert and have a great weekend. –Julius

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Politics

White House to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China due to ‘invasion of illegal fentanyl’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump will execute tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday.

Trump’s economic plan during his campaign called for extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.

These countries will face these tariffs because they have allowed an ‘unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens,’ according to Leavitt. 

‘The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariff on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans,’ Leavitt told reporters at a Friday White House press briefing. ‘These are promises made and promises kept.’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any tariffs executed, and warned there could be ‘disastrous consequences’ for American workers and consumers. 

‘We’re ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response,’ Trudeau said. ‘It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.’

Meanwhile, Leavitt said that the tariffs are not expected to spark a trade war with Canada and that Trump would respond to Trudeau in ‘due time.’ 

‘The president is intent on doing this,’ Leavitt said. ‘And I think Justin Trudeau would be wise to talk to President Trump directly before pushing outlandish comments like that to the media.’

When asked if Mexico, Canada or China could offer any concessions to remove these new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump would decide at a later date. 

‘If the president at any time decides to roll back those tariffs, I’ll leave it to him to make that decision,’ Leavitt said. ‘The president is intent on ensuring that he effectively implements tariffs while cutting inflation costs for the American people.’ 

House Republicans moved to reintroduce the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Jan. 24, a measure that would permit Trump to unilaterally impose trade taxes on both adversaries and allies. 

Trump previously praised the measure in 2019, claiming it would ‘give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries.’

Meanwhile, House Democrats Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., also introduced their own legislation in January that would block Trump from using emergency powers to implement tariffs, amid concerns that American consumers would end up footing the bill.

‘The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns,’ DelBene said in a statement on Jan. 15. ‘Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses.’

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Trump White House demands apology after Jeffries calls for Dems to fight president’s agenda ‘in the streets’

The White House is blasting House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries after pledging to fight Republicans’ agenda ‘in the streets.’

‘While President Trump remains focused on uniting our country and delivering the mandate set by the American people, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, incites violence calling for people to fight ‘in the streets’ against President Trump’s agenda,’ White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

‘This unhinged violent rhetoric is dangerous. Leader Jeffries should immediately apologize.’

Republicans are hammering Jeffries, D-N.Y., for his comments at a press conference in Brooklyn on Friday. 

The Democratic leader appeared beside Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., to criticize Trump’s handling of the recent deadly aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., and his administration’s policies freezing federal funding.

At one point, Jeffries was asked about Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ lack of pushback against Trump, and whether it made him a ‘good fit’ to lead the Big Apple.

Jeffries avoided weighing in directly on Adams, however, responding, ‘I’ll have more to say about the future of the mayorship of the city of New York at the appropriate time.’

‘Right now, we’re going to keep focused on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill,’ Jeffries said.

‘That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets.’

When asked for clarification, Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson told Fox News Digital, ‘The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully.’

She posted similar comments on X, where she signaled the comments were referring to ‘nonviolent protest.’

But GOP lawmakers immediately called on Jeffries to apologize, accusing him of using inflammatory language in an already-tense political environment.

‘House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric. President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it,’ House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X.

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, did not mention Jeffries but said Americans were emphatically behind Trump’s agenda.

‘More than 77 million Americans — including patriotic Iowans I’m proud to represent — sent a clear mandate by electing President Trump and Republican majorities to Congress. They want secure borders, a strong economy, energy dominance, and safe communities,’ Feenstra told Fox News Digital.

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Trump to sign memo lifting Biden’s last-minute collective bargaining agreements

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memo Friday to lift the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The president’s memo will direct federal agencies to reject last-minute collective bargaining agreements issued by the Biden administration, which White House officials said were designed to ‘constrain’ the Trump administration from reforming the government. 

The memo prohibits agencies from making new collective bargaining agreements during the final 30 days of a president’s term. It also directs agency heads to disapprove any collective bargaining agreements that Biden put through during the final 30 days of his term. 

The White House said collective bargaining agreements enacted before that time period will remain in effect while the Trump administration ‘negotiates a better deal for the American people.’ 

Biden’s Social Security Administration Commissioner, Martin O’Malley, in December 2024 came to an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees guaranteeing that the agency’s 42,000 employees would not have to work in office during the Trump administration. 

The White House told Fox News Digital that the new policy ‘ensures the American people get the policies they voted for, instead of being stuck with the wasteful and ineffective Biden policies rejected at the ballot box.’ 

‘The outgoing Biden administration negotiated lame-duck, multi-year collective bargaining agreements — during the week before the inauguration — in an attempt to tie the incoming Trump administration’s hands,’ a White House fact sheet on the memo obtained by Fox News Digital states. 

The White House pointed to the Biden administration’s Department of Education’s agreement that prohibited the return of remote employees and agreements for the Biden Small Business Administration and Federal Trade Commission. 

‘These CBAs attempt to prevent President Trump from implementing his promises to the American people, such as returning Federal employees to the office to make government operate more efficiently,’ the fact sheet states. ‘President Biden’s term of office ended on January 20th. Under this memorandum, he and future Presidents cannot govern agencies after leaving office by locking in last-minute CBAs.’ 

The president’s new memo is also aimed to ensure that federal government agencies operate under similar rules as private sector unions and employers. 

The memo comes after the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency and department heads to notify employees by the new return to in-person work order. That order required employees to work full-time in the office unless excused due to disability or qualifying medical conditions. 

Additionally, OPM sent emails this week to the full federal workforce offering the option of resignation with full pay and benefits until Sept. 30 if they do not want to return to the office. Those workers have until Feb. 6 to decide. 

The federal workers who did not get that option include postal workers, military immigration officials, some national security officials and any positions agencies decide to carve out. 

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Business

Sports bar chain Twin Peaks is going public. These restaurant companies are the next to watch.

Sports bar chain Twin Peaks starts trading Thursday on the Nasdaq using the ticker “TWNP,” making it the first restaurant initial public offering of the new year and a potential litmus test for others looking to go public.

The IPO market has been tepid for several years, particularly for consumer companies. Soaring inflation, higher interest rates, cautious consumers and the risk of lower valuations scared many companies away from going public. Market conditions meant that some companies chose to seek a sale rather than trying their luck with the public markets. Even the rare success, like Cava’s IPO, didn’t convince others to follow its path.

But many are hopeful that the IPO market will thaw this year.

“Last year was a stronger year than 2023, and we’re expecting 2025 to have more IPOs than 2024,” said Nick Einhorn, vice president of research for Renaissance Capital, a provider of pre-IPO research and IPO-focused ETFs. “That could certainly include more consumer IPOs.”

Twin Peaks won’t be the first consumer company to make the leap this year — and that debut may not inspire confidence.

Pork producer Smithfield Foods, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based WH Group, began trading on Tuesday. Shares fell 7% from its IPO price of $20 during its market debut. The company had already downsized its offering by 8.1 million shares and priced below its marketed range. Smithfield’s challenges include its ties to China, U.S. trade tensions with Mexico and proposed immigration policies that would raise its labor costs.

For its part, Twin Peaks, a Hooters rival known for its revealing uniform, is relatively small, with an estimated equity value of $1.04 billion to $1.28 billion and 115 restaurants, according to an investor presentation published by owner Fat Brands. (Fat Brands and its chair Andy Wiederhorn were criminally indicted last year for an alleged $47 million bogus loan scheme; both have denied the charges.)

Fat Brands is spinning off Twin Peaks and plans to use the cash to pay off the debt on its balance sheet.

Here are three other restaurant companies that are watching the IPO market for their chance to go public:

JAB Holding, the investment arm of the Reimann family, has been looking to offload Panera Brands, the parent company of Panera Bread and Einstein Bros. Bagels, from its portfolio for several years. JAB originally took Panera Bread private in 2017 for $7.5 billion.

In 2021, Panera announced an investment from Danny Meyer’s special purpose acquisition company that would help the company go public. But the two parties called off the deal by mid-2022, citing market conditions.

A year and half later, in December 2023, Panera Brands confidentially filed to go public. Six months after the confidential filing, the company announced a CEO transition and tied the shakeup to “preparation for its eventual IPO.”

However, a public filing never followed. The restaurant industry began to see a pullback in spending, as many consumers opted to cook at home instead of dining out at eateries.

Plus, Panera’s Charged Lemonade went viral for all of the wrong reasons; the company removed the highly caffeinated drink from its menu after multiple wrongful death lawsuits tied to it. Panera settled with the first plaintiff in October.

Earlier this month, Panera’s CEO resigned, and the company tapped its chief financial officer to step in as interim chief. With its leadership in flux, it looks unlikely that Panera will try to go public again this year.

A year and a half ago, Bain Capital announced that it is buying Fogo de Chao, a fast-growing Brazilian steakhouse chain. Like Krispy Kreme, Sweetgreen and Dutch Bros., the chain had filed to go public in 2021 — but it missed the window. 

Fogo de Chao has over 100 locations globally and 76 in the U.S. alone. The company plans to open another 15 restaurants this year.

Whenever the IPO market is ready, so will Fogo de Chao.

“If the optionality is there, then we’ll launch,” Fogo de Chao CEO Barry McGowan told CNBC at the ICR Conference in Orlando earlier in January. “My hope is, this year, we’ll see what happens to the consumer markets. I think it’s going to get started this year or in the next year.”

McGowan joked that Fogo de Chao’s longtime CFO Tony Laday has filed more S-1 filings than any other chief financial officer; the company filed three the first time it went public, and seven before Bain bought it.

Thanks to Bain’s investment, Fogo de Chao isn’t in a rush to go public.

“We’re not in a hurry to go. We don’t want to file seven more times. We want to be more certain before we file,” McGowan said.

Roark Capital assembled Inspire Brands by cobbling together a slew of acquisitions into a restaurant conglomerate.

Inspire’s portfolio includes Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins. Across all of its brands, it has more than 32,600 restaurants globally and totals $30 billion in system sales.

Nearly a year ago, Bloomberg reported that Roark was in early-stage IPO discussions with potential advisers and seeking a valuation of $20 billion for Inspire. But it’s been crickets since then.

Still, Pitchbook identified Inspire Brands as one of 50 private equity-backed names that could go public in 2025.

“Obviously, private equity backers will want to exit their position eventually, and IPOs are often a way to do that,” Einhorn said.

And unlike Panera, Inspire has a stable leadership team. CEO Paul Brown co-founded the company and has held his role since 2018. CFO Kate Jaspon joined Inspire in 2021 after it acquired her employer Dunkin’. More than a decade ago, she was a vice president at Dunkin’ during its own IPO.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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UPS shares tank 15% after weak guidance, plan to slash Amazon deliveries by more than half

Shares of United Parcel Service plunged more than 15% Thursday after the company issued weak revenue guidance for the year and said it planned to cut deliveries for Amazon, its largest customer, by more than half.

The shipping giant said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that it “reached an agreement in principle with its largest customer to lower its volume by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.”

At the same time, UPS said it is reconfiguring its U.S. network and launching multiyear efficiency initiatives that it expects will result in savings of approximately $1 billion.

UPS CEO Carol Tome said on a call with investors that Amazon is UPS’ largest customer, but it is not the company’s most profitable customer. “Its margin is very dilutive to the U.S. domestic business,” she added.

“We are making business and operational changes that, along with the foundational changes we’ve already made, will put us further down the path to become a more profitable, agile and differentiated UPS that is growing in the best parts of the market,” Tome said in a statement.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told CNBC in a statement that UPS had requested a reduction in volume “due to their operational needs.”

“We certainly respect their decision,” Nantel said in a statement. “We’ll continue to partner with them and many other carriers to serve our customers.”

Amazon said before the UPS announcement that it had offered to increase UPS’ volumes.

UPS forecast 2025 revenue of $89 billion, down from revenue of $91.1 billion in 2024. That is well below consensus estimates for 2025 revenue of $94.88 billion, according to analysts polled by LSEG.

For the fourth quarter, UPS missed on revenue, reporting $25.30 billion versus $25.42 billion analysts anticipated in a survey by LSEG.

Amazon has long relied on a mix of major carriers for deliveries, including UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service. But it has decreased the number of packages sent through UPS and other carriers in recent years as it looks to have more control over deliveries.

Amazon has rapidly built up its own logistics empire since a 2013 holiday fiasco left its packages stranded in the hands of outside carriers. The company now oversees thousands of last-mile delivery companies that deliver packages exclusively for Amazon, as well as a budding in-house network of planes, trucks and ships. By some estimates, Amazon’s in-house logistics operations have grown to rival or exceed the size of major carriers.

UPS has, for its part, taken more aggressive cost-control measures, including catering to more profitable delivery customers. On the investor call, Tome highlighted health care; small business; international; and business-to-business, or B2B, as “the best parts of the market” that it has leaned into more heavily. In recent quarters, UPS has benefited from an influx of volume from bargain retailers Temu and Shein, which have rapidly gained popularity in the U.S.

Last January, UPS laid off 12,000 employees as part of a bid to realize $1 billion in cost savings.

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Sports

Julie Stewart-Binks sues Fox, says executive sexually assaulted her

For the second time in less than a month, Fox Sports and one of its executives have been sued for sexual misconduct, with former host Julie Stewart-Binks saying executive vice president of content Charlie Dixon sexually assaulted her in 2016.

In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Stewart-Binks says that Dixon forcibly kissed her after pushing her against a wall in January 2016.

“Stewart-Binks tried to put everything about Fox behind her and move forward with her new positions within the sports industry, but each time she saw a former colleague from Fox thriving on the national stage while she remained covering smaller markets, a pang of frustration lingered,’ the filing said, which was first reported by the Athletic.

The two had met to discuss a Super Bowl 50 assignment, and Stewart-Binks says she reported Dixon to the company’s human resources, but the executives “egregiously made the deliberate decision to protect Dixon and allow a sexual predator to remain an executive at Fox for nearly a decade.”

Stewart-Binks worked at FS1 from 2013 to 2016 and now works for SportsNet New York, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and hosts a podcast.

According to the lawsuit, Stewart-Binks was degraded during the meeting at a hotel bar, with Dixon telling her, “You’re not funny, interesting or talented.’ Dixon also told her she was “not capable of handling big moments on TV’ and “You’re not hot enough to be a hot girl on TV.”

Dixon later invited Stewart-Binks to his hotel room, where Dixon ‘swiftly pushed her against the wall and pinned her arms to her side,” the lawsuit said. “With her arms forcefully held down and his body pressed against hers, Dixon tried to force his tongue into her mouth.”

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

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Sports

Super Bowl’s 59 best teams: Where do 2023 champion Chiefs rank?

The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will become the 117th and 118th Super Bowl participants on Feb. 9, 2025, when they cross paths at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans – the franchises’ second Super Sunday matchup in three seasons.

Through the years, there have been several dominant squads, some which caught lightning in a bottle at just the right time and others seemingly poised for greatness that ultimately fell just short of the NFL’s biggest prize.  

With that in mind as Super Bowl 59 (LIX) approaches, here are what I believe to be the 59 greatest teams to play on Super Sunday – and not all of them won:

1. 1985 Chicago Bears, won Super Bowl 20 (XX)

Pure dominance. Their 15 regular-season wins came by an average of 18.1 points. The defense collected 64 sacks while allowing just 12.4 points weekly. Chicago shut out the Giants and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC playoffs before an epic 46-10 Super Bowl dismantling of New England. All told, the Bears outscored their postseason opponents 91-10. Sure, it would have been nice to see a rematch with QB Dan Marino and the Dolphins, who handed Chicago its only loss of 1985, on Super Sunday. And maybe you’d like the best team of all time – arguably – to feature a more renowned quarterback than Jim McMahon. But the fact that an offense led by RB Walter Payton (1,551 rushing yards) was almost extraneous also illustrates just how transcendent coordinator Buddy Ryan’s ’46 defense’ was. And a little flair should count for something, and with McMahon, Payton, Ryan, DT William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry, MLB Mike Singletary, coach Mike Ditka and many others – most getting star turns with ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle’ – the ’85 Bears had character(s) in spades.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

2. 1984 San Francisco 49ers, won Super Bowl 19 (XIX)

They lacked the pizzazz of the ’85 Bears and perhaps don’t get their due given the historical proximity to that Chicago team. It’s also challenging to distinguish the great Bill Walsh-Joe Montana San Francisco teams that dominated the 1980s. But this bunch was unique. These Niners were the first to win 15 regular-season games (average margin of victory was nearly 17 points), a feat Chicago would match a year later – and they remain the only teams to finish 18-1 and claim rings. Before suffocating a spectacular Dolphins team, Marino’s best, 38-16 in the Super Bowl, the 49ers vanquished the Giants and Bears by a combined score of 44-10 in the NFC playoffs. (Those franchises would win the next two Super Bowls with teams ranking among the best ever.) And this all occurred a year before WR Jerry Rice arrived.

3. 1989 49ers, won Super Bowl 24 (XXIV)

Comparing them to their ’84 brethren engenders a chocolate versus vanilla debate. The ’89 Niners – Rice by now the league’s top wideout – were a touch less formidable in the regular season, going 14-2 with an average victory margin just short of 14 points. But boy did that ’89 juggernaut hit overdrive in the playoffs, winning its three games by a combined 126-26. Their 55-10 beatdown of the Broncos is the most lopsided in Super Bowl history and also represents the most points scored by one team. However, the postseason competition for the ’89 Niners didn’t approach what the ’84 team faced. With a career-best 112.4 QB rating, Montana earned league (and, later, Super Bowl) MVP honors.

4. 1972 Miami Dolphins, won Super Bowl 7 (VII)

Yes, it’s the only team to win a Super Bowl without dropping a game (17-0), and there’s no real counterargument for ‘perfection.’ But it’s also a lazy argument. Miami won its three postseason games by a combined 17 points. It also feasted on a horrid regular-season schedule that included just two teams finishing with winning records (both a middling 8-6). This isn’t meant to shade the Fins and their ‘No-Name Defense,’ a roster with six Hall of Famers plus Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. But context matters, and it already seems a concession ranking the ’72 Dolphins ahead of 1970s contemporaries in Pittsburgh, Dallas and even Oakland. A special group indeed, but not the most special for my money.

5. 1991 Washington, won Super Bowl 26 (XXVI)

After going 14-2 and outscoring its foes by 261 points in the regular season, this team swept through the playoffs with an average margin of victory better than 20 points. The only Washington team to win a Super Bowl in a non-strike season, this underappreciated band would have gone all the way in most years. Washington topped 40 points five times and blanked three teams, so excellent balance – and that extended to special teams and return man extraordinaire Brian Mitchell.

6. 1994 49ers, won Super Bowl 29 (XXIX)

With QB Steve Young now at the helm, they became the only Niners team to surpass 500 points in the regular season. After thwarting a three-peat bid by the Cowboys, they cruised past the outclassed San Diego Chargers in the Super Bowl, when Young threw a game-record six TD passes (while Rice and RB Ricky Watters found the end zone three times apiece). And don’t forget the other side of the ball, which featured Defensive Player of the Year Deion Sanders.

7. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers, won Super Bowl 10 (X)

It feels a touch disrespectful waiting this long to mention the Steel Curtain dynasty, perhaps the league’s greatest. The issue? None of those teams seemed to feature its wealth of Hall of Famers at a simultaneous apex, the defense largely showing the way in the early ’70s before the offense truly flourished later in the decade. (The 1976 Steelers, who did not win or even reach the Super Bowl, might have been the best of their era, but injuries waylaid them in postseason.) Still, the ’75 team’s case is compelling given a 12-2 record and the largest point differential (+211) in franchise history. Throw in a Super Bowl win against a Cowboys team that was nearly as good, and you have the makings of a powerhouse deserving recognition as one of the NFL’s 10 greatest teams.

8. 1999 St. Louis Rams, won Super Bowl 34 (XXXIV)

Though many sophisticated passing attacks had shined previously, the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ was in some ways the vanguard of today’s pass-oriented game. QB Kurt Warner, RB Marshall Faulk and WRs Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt truly resembled a game of ‘Madden’ come to life, St. Louis’ 13 regular-season wins coming by an average of nearly 23 points. Remarkably consistent, the Rams were held to fewer than 20 points just once (in the NFC title round by Tampa Bay) and eclipsed 30 points 13 times. And Warner’s ascension from complete unknown to league MVP and, ultimately, a Hall of Famer is a quintessential rags-to-riches tale. If there’s a blemish, it would be a labored playoff run that included a semi-controversial win in the aforementioned 11-6 defeat of the Bucs and a near escape from the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl.

9. 1996 Green Bay Packers, won Super Bowl 31 (XXXI)

It may seem heretical to list QB Brett Favre’s Packers ahead of Vince Lombardi’s teams. But the 1960s dynasty – it won five NFL championships in seven years – was at its zenith before the Super Bowl came into existence, the 1962 edition the premier collection of talent. Three decades later, Favre was in the midst of becoming the only player to earn MVP hardware in three consecutive seasons. Reggie White, arguably the best defensive lineman ever, remained a force, collecting a record three sacks of Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe in the Super Bowl. And from a numbers standpoint, this club ranks favorably with any in Green Bay’s vaunted history, going 13-3 in the regular season before trashing its playoff opponents by an average of 17.3 points.

10. 1973 Dolphins, won Super Bowl 8 (VIII)

Though they ‘only’ went 15-2, playoffs included, its proponents believe this Miami team might have been superior to the undefeated ’72 squad. The ’73 Fins were certainly more dominant in postseason, their average margin of victory 17.3 points.

11. 2013 Seattle Seahawks, won Super Bowl 48 (XLVIII)

They get my vote as the preeminent single-season team of the 21st century. Patriots fans will doubtless disagree, citing Seattle’s loss to New England in the following year’s Super Bowl – though many observers contend Seahawks coach Pete Carroll gifted the Pats that title. Perhaps more germane, the ‘Legion of Boom’ and Co. thoroughly throttled Denver, sporting the most prolific offense in league history, 43-8 in the Super Bowl two weeks after the Broncos handled the Patriots in the AFC championship game. Be interesting to see how history regards the LOB given what it accomplished in this era, surrendering a paltry 172 passing yards per game in 2013.

12. 1978 Steelers, won Super Bowl 13 (XIII)

The offense had perhaps overtaken the famed defense by then, evidenced by a 35-31 victory over Dallas when league MVP Terry Bradshaw won the first of his two Super Bowl MVPs.

13. 1998 Denver Broncos, won Super Bowl 33 (XXXIII)

Their title defense was shaping up as legendary, what with a 13-0 start to the season and RB Terrell Davis on his way to 2,008 rushing yards and the MVP trophy. Denver fans loved seeing QB John Elway retire as the Super Bowl MVP … and probably breathed a sigh of relief that the Broncos drew the Atlanta Falcons instead of an explosive Vikings group on Super Sunday.

14. 1966 Packers, won Super Bowl 1 (I)

After a slow start, they pulled away to win the first Super Bowl 35-10 – for you nitpickers, the game was officially dubbed the ‘AFL-NFL World Championship Game’ at the time – which came with quite a bit of pressure for Lombardi since the world assumed such an outcome was a foregone conclusion.

15. 1968 New York Jets, won Super Bowl 3 (III)

Their landmark Super Bowl defeat of the Baltimore Colts, guaranteed by brash QB Joe Namath, is widely regarded as the most important game in the history of professional football for legitimizing the pending merger of the AFL and NFL. Though deserved underdogs against an imposing Baltimore outfit, the Jets weren’t a fluke, fueled by Hall of Famer Namath’s deep passing to a pair of 1,100-yard receivers (George Sauer and HOFer Don Maynard). Yet it was RB Matt Snell’s running and an underrated defense that put the vise on the Colts in a 16-7 triumph that wasn’t that close.

16. 2007 New England Patriots, lost Super Bowl 42 (XLII)

They had a bad game at the worst time, narrowly losing the Super Bowl 17-14 to the Giants. Point conceded, but still – this New England squad will forever be the only team to navigate a 16-0 regular season. QB Tom Brady became the first player to throw 50 TDs in a season, 23 to WR Randy Moss – still a single-season record for scoring grabs. The Pats outscored the opposition by an average of 19.7 points, easily the best in this proud franchise’s history, exceeding 30 points scored in 13 of 19 games. They couldn’t close with an unprecedented 19-0 season, but they still deserve a lofty perch on this list … even without a trophy.

17. 2016 Patriots, won Super Bowl 51 (LI)

They overcame Brady’s four-game ‘Deflategate’ suspension, TE Rob Gronkowski’s season-ending injury and a 28-3 third-quarter deficit against Atlanta to emerge with the first overtime victory in Super Bowl history.

18. 1971 Dallas Cowboys, won Super Bowl 6 (VI)

With coach Tom Landry, QB Roger Staubach and the Bob Lilly-led ‘Doomsday Defense,’ good luck finding a better edition of what would become ‘America’s Team.’ Dallas limited the Dolphins, who would go undefeated the following year, to a Super Bowl record-low three points.

19. 1969 Kansas City Chiefs, won Super Bowl 4 (IV)

They get overshadowed by the ’68 Jets but had the better collection of talent while giving the AFL its second Super Bowl win before the 1970 merger. A defense that boasted six Hall of Famers deserves more acclaim after allowing the fewest points, rushing yards, passing yards and total yards in the AFL that year while posting a league-high 47 takeaways.

20. 1992 Cowboys, won Super Bowl 27 (XXVII)

Let’s anoint them the best of the 1990s ‘Triplets’ Cowboys. Dallas set a franchise record with 13 regular-season wins before WR Michael Irvin, RB Emmitt Smith and Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman planted their dynasty flag with a 52-17 Super Bowl rout of Buffalo … though DT Leon Lett’s showboating cost his team the Super Sunday scoring record.

21. 1968 Baltimore Colts, lost Super Bowl 3 (III)

They’ll forever bear the cross of surrendering the NFL’s perceived dominance after getting blasted by the Jets. But prior to that, Baltimore was making its case as the best team ever, even with Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas sidelined. Led by league MVP Earl Morrall, the Colts went 13-1, winning their regular-season games by an average of 20.6 points. Baltimore took the NFL crown by collectively beating the Vikings and Cleveland Browns 58-14 in the playoffs.

22. 1986 New York Giants, won Super Bowl 21 (XXI)

Big Blue’s first Super Bowl team was led by LB Lawrence Taylor, the last defensive player named league MVP. But QB Phil Simms stole the show on Super Sunday, completing 22 of 25 passes in a 39-20 defeat of Elway’s Broncos. New York won its three playoff games by an average of 27.3 points, including a 49-3 beatdown of Montana’s Niners.

23. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, won Super Bowl 52 (LII)

When presumed league MVP Carson Wentz was lost to a torn ACL in Week 14, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Philadelphia’s Super Bowl drought would endure. But QB Nick Foles stepped into the breach and won Super Bowl MVP honors, winning a thrilling 41-33 shootout with Brady that included a record 1,151 yards of offense. ‘Philly Special’ indeed.

24. 2009 New Orleans Saints, won Super Bowl 44 (XLIV)

They started 13-0, but a three-game slide to end the regular season suggested another chapter of playoff futility. Coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees, however, wound up throwing a Lombardi Gras party four years after the city suffered Hurricane Katrina, beating teams quarterbacked by Warner, Favre and Peyton Manning in postseason.

25. 2004 Patriots, won Super Bowl 39 (XXXIX)

The second time a franchise won three Super Bowls in four years, these Patriots established a record by winning 21 games in a row, a streak initiated by the 2003 crew.

26. 2000 Baltimore Ravens, won Super Bowl 35 (XXXV)

Their dominion is all the more impressive considering they didn’t win the AFC Central nor averaged even 21 points a week. Naturally, defense was the story of this team, which allowed just 10.3 points per game, fewest since the schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978. In four playoff wins, Baltimore ceded a meager 23 points, and Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis’ unit pitched a shutout against the Giants (New York’s points came off a kickoff return).

27. 1976 Oakland Raiders, won Super Bowl 11 (XI)

Though their 13-1 record suggests a cakewalk, Oakland scuffled through the first part of the season, even suffering a 31-point loss at New England. But the Silver and Black peaked late, rolling over Minnesota’s ‘Purple People Eaters’ 32-14 in the Super Bowl.

28. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won Super Bowl 37 (XXXVII)

Using their famed ‘Tampa 2’ defense – with help from first-year coach Jon Gruden – the Bucs notched their first title with a thorough Super Bowl defeat of the Raiders, whom Gruden coached the previous year. Tampa Bay picked off league MVP Rich Gannon five times, three of those swipes of the pick-six variety.

29. 1997 Broncos, won Super Bowl 32 (XXXII)

They didn’t win the AFC West but did finally notch the franchise’s first championship, exacting playoff revenge on the Jacksonville Jaguars before Elway, Davis and Co. dethroned Favre’s Packers.

30. 2020 Buccaneers, won Super Bowl 55 (LV)

A free agent for the first time, Brady surprisingly bolted New England and popped up in Tampa. He didn’t need long to work his magic with the Bucs, who went 4-0 on the postseason wild-card route … and routed the defending champion Chiefs 31-9 in the Super Bowl. Brady was named the game’s MVP for a record fifth time, and his seventh ring gave him more than any NFL franchise. However, the Buccaneers defense’s steamrolling of a 14-2 Kansas City team while terrorizing QB Patrick Mahomes was the story of Super Sunday.

31. 2014 Patriots, won Super Bowl 49 (XLIX)

Lombardi No. 4 arrived 10 years after Lombardi No. 3. But New England ended its mini-drought in dramatic fashion, rookie DB Malcolm Butler snuffing Seattle’s repeat bid with his goal-line pick of QB Russell Wilson.

32. 1979 Steelers, won Super Bowl 14 (XIV)

The Steel Curtain labored for its fourth and final Super Bowl victory against a 9-7 LA Rams team before pulling away in the fourth quarter.

33. 1977 Cowboys, won Super Bowl 12 (XII)

‘Doomsday II’ showed up in the Super Bowl, forcing eight Denver turnovers. D-linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White are the only players to share Super Bowl MVP honors. Dallas’ average margin of victory in postseason was 21.3 points.

34. 1983 Los Angeles Raiders, won Super Bowl 18 (XVIII)

They were very good in the regular season, going 12-4, but hit the afterburners in the playoffs, winning three games by an average of 24.3 points while dismantling a Washington squad in the Super Bowl that had the makings of greatness. The first team to bring a Lombardi Trophy to LA.

35. 2019 Chiefs, won Super Bowl 54 (LIV)

They returned the Lombardi Trophy to Kansas City, ending an absence of half a century. The offense wasn’t as lethal as the version from 2018, when Mahomes had his breakout MVP season. But this better-balanced squad overcame double-digit deficits in all three playoff wins, including a 31-20 Super Bowl triumph over the 49ers, Mahomes the game’s MVP despite a pair of INTs.

36. 1993 Cowboys, won Super Bowl 28 (XXVIII)

They were virtually unstoppable once Smith ended his two-game holdout. The running back went on to win league and Super Bowl MVP honors.

37. 2010 Packers, won Super Bowl 45 (XLV)

Their fourth Super Bowl victory came via a wild-card playoff run as QB Aaron Rodgers officially emerged from Favre’s shadow.

38. 2022 Chiefs, won Super Bowl 57 (LVII)

Crown No. 2 for the Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce Chiefs came with little margin for error. After cruising to a 14-3 regular-season mark, K.C. won its three playoff encounters by 13 points – total. A late holding penalty on Philadelphia’s James Bradberry enabled Harrison Butker to complete a 38-35 Super Bowl win with a 27-yard field goal in the final seconds. Mahomes was again the MVP, but Eagles QB Jalen Hurts played better.

39. 2013 Broncos, lost Super Bowl 48 (XLVIII)

The only team to top 600 points (606), courtesy largely of Manning’s record 5,477 yards and 55 TDs through the air. However, they’re forever tainted for getting smoked by Seattle in the Super Bowl.

40. 1967 Packers, won Super Bowl 2 (II)

The dynasty was winding down in Lombardi’s final season but good enough to slip past Dallas in the legendary ‘Ice Bowl’ before thrashing the AFL’s Raiders for what was effectively a Green Bay three-peat given the Pack also won the 1965 NFL title.

41. 1995 Cowboys, won Super Bowl 30 (XXX)

The first time a club won the Super Bowl three times in four years. Glitz beyond the Triplets with Sanders’ arrival.

42. 1967 Oakland Raiders, lost Super Bowl 2 (II)

Thoroughly dominant on road to the AFL crown, going 13-1 before embarrassing the Houston Oilers 40-7 for the championship. But Oakland was no match for the fading Packers, losing the Super Bowl 33-14.

43. 1969 Minnesota Vikings, lost Super Bowl 4 (IV)

Like the Colts the previous year, they were expected to cruise to a title over the AFL’s entry. But Minnesota, boasting what was probably the fiercest edition of the ‘Purple People Eaters,’ suffered the first of its four Super Bowl setbacks in an eight-year span.

44. 1983 Washington, lost Super Bowl 18 (XVIII)

They scored 541 points in the regular season, a record that stood for 15 years, but were shockingly thrashed by the Raiders while fumbling a Super Bowl repeat opportunity.

45. 1990 Giants, won Super Bowl 25 (XXV)

Bold coaching from Bill Parcells and great relief pitching from QB Jeff Hostetler – Simms went down with a broken foot in Week 15 – allowed New York to upset San Francisco, ending the Niners’ three-peat bid, and Buffalo on the way to its second Super Bowl win in five seasons.

46. 2003 Patriots, won Super Bowl 38 (XXXVIII)

They went 14-2, yet eight of their wins were by only one score. That trend continued in the Super Bowl, when New England survived the Carolina Panthers 32-29.

47. 1981 49ers, won Super Bowl 16 (XVI)

Vaulted by ‘The Catch’ – Montana to WR Dwight Clark – in the NFC championship game vanquishing of Dallas, a relative group of unknowns brought home the first of San Francisco’s five titles in a 14-season stretch.

48. 2005 Steelers, won Super Bowl 40 (XL)

They didn’t look nearly as impressive in the regular season as the previous year’s 15-1 squad. But the wild-card Steelers (11-5), helped by some playoff luck (Carson Palmer’s injury, Mike Vanderjagt’s missed FG, Jerome Bettis’ survived goal-line fumble in Indianapolis, favorable Super Bowl officiating against Seattle) sent the Bus into the sunset in style.

49. 2011 Patriots, lost Super Bowl 46 (XLVI)

Would Gronkowski have snared Brady’s Hail Mary for a Super Bowl miracle had the star tight end not been saddled with a high ankle sprain? What if wide-open WR Wes Welker hadn’t dropped that pass with room to run and just four minutes to go? We’ll never know. If only TB12 could throw to himself, right, Gisele?

50. 1978 Cowboys, lost Super Bowl 13 (XIII)

If only Hall of Fame TE Jackie Smith had held on to what would have been a TD, Dallas might have salvaged a Super Bowl split with the Steelers and staked its own claim as team of the ’70s.

51. 1988 49ers, won Super Bowl 23 (XXIII)

They compensated for a forgettable regular season (10-6 record) by smoking Minnesota and Chicago in the NFC’s playoff bracket by combined 62-12 score before Montana engineered his signature 92-yard drive to oust Cincinnati in the Super Bowl’s final minute.

52. 1974 Steelers, won Super Bowl 9 (IX)

Aided by the finest rookie class ever (WR Lynn Swann, MLB Jack Lambert, WR John Stallworth, C Mike Webster and S Donnie Shell), they brought home Pittsburgh’s first championship by suffocating Minnesota.

53. 2018 Patriots, won Super Bowl 53 (LIII)

54. 2008 Steelers, won Super Bowl 43 (XLIII)

QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Santonio Holmes snatched ring No. 6 for Pittsburgh, though struggling to beat the lightly regarded Arizona Cardinals in a highly entertaining Super Bowl probably cost this top-ranked defense a place in the pantheon.

55. 2001 Patriots, won Super Bowl 36 (XXXVI)

Despite Brady’s magical debut as a starter, including that controversial ‘Tuck Rule’ win over Oakland in postseason, no one gave them a shot against the Rams. Oops. A brilliant game plan from Bill Belichick, effective game management from TB12, and K Adam Vinatieri’s clutch kick launched a dynasty no one foresaw.

56. 2021 Los Angeles Rams, won Super Bowl 56 (LVI)

They finally won a Lombardi for LA – in LA’s SoFi Stadium. Odd journey for a team that was blown out several times during the regular season and won its final three playoff games, including a 23-20 ouster of Cincinnati on Super Sunday, by three points apiece. But a star-studded crew benefited from Matthew Stafford emerging as a championship-caliber quarterback during his first Hollywood season, DL Aaron Donald wreaking havoc against the Bengals, and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp putting together what was probably the best season – playoff performance included – by a wide receiver in NFL history.

57. 2007 Giants, won Super Bowl 42 (XLII)

They overcame an ugly 0-2 start to notch a wild-card berth, a path that culminated with that epic upset of the previously undefeated Patriots. WR David Tyree’s ‘Helmet Catch’ became one of league’s signature moments.

58. 2001 St. Louis Rams, lost Super Bowl 36 (XXXVI)

The only team in franchise history to win 14 regular-season games, they were on cusp of dynasty status before getting ambushed by New England’s nascent empire.

59. 2023 Chiefs, won Super Bowl 58 (LVIII)

Since Mahomes became QB1 in 2018, K.C. managed its fewest regular-season wins (11), most coming by one-score margins, forcing the quarterback to play on the road in postseason for the first time. Still, the Chiefs prevailed at Buffalo and top-seeded Baltimore before requiring overtime to trump a strong 49ers squad in Las Vegas’ first Super Bowl. In the process, Kansas City became the first team to win back-to-back titles in nearly two decades.

Other Super Bowl winners: 1970 Baltimore Colts, 1980 Oakland Raiders, 1982 Washington, 1987 Washington, 2006 Indianapolis Colts, 2011 Giants, 2012 Ravens, 2015 Broncos

Time to get Super Bowl ready: Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter for NFL news.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Stocks

XLF’s Record Highs: Buy the Dip or Bail Out Now?

As the FOMC prepared to announce its rate decision on Wednesday, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), which had been steadily climbing since the end of 2023, was approaching a new record high. Moreover, the Fed’s decision held little surprise — its stance had been well-telegraphed in the weeks leading up to the announcement. Wall Street widely expected rates to remain unchanged.

Yet, as Jerome Powell spoke following the FOMC decision, XLF and the rest of the stock market declined. At the end of the day, XLF notched a gain, but one that barely scratched above its opening price.

In after-hours trading the next day, XLF quietly broke into all-time high territory, surpassing $51.40. Some investors might be asking whether they should have bought XLF at the breakout. To answer that, let’s start with a weekly chart to gain a broader perspective on XLF’s trajectory.

FIGURE 1. WEEKLY CHART OF XLF.  Note how XLF has been trending steadily since late 2023. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

XLF remained rangebound between just under $29 and $36 for almost a year and a half. During that period, it experienced two failed breakout attempts to the upside, followed by a lackluster retest. By the time XLF cleared the upper levels of the trading range (see blue dotted lines),  more than 90% of S&P financial stocks were trading above their 200-period exponential moving average, as seen by the indicator in the bottom panel.

Let’s pause for a moment and discuss this indicator, which you can add this to your indicator window by selecting Price and typing in (!GT200XLF). This is a useful breadth indicator that tells you the percentage of stocks above a given moving average — in this case, the 200-period EMA. With more than 90% of S&P financial stocks trading above the 200-period EMA, the signal indicated a bullish level of internal strength that might have supported the case for buying the breakout when it finally occurred (see magenta rectangle).

Backup — Let’s Break Down XLF: The financial sector includes several industries. Since we’re discussing XLF, it’s important to mention that over 96% of the ETF is comprised of Financial Services, with the largest weighting going to bank stocks.

XLF rallied from the end of 2023 to the last months of 2024. After a brief pullback in the last two months of the year, XLF resumed its climb to its current levels.

Now let’s shift over to a daily chart.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF XLF. Will the index pull back or continue advancing into record-high territory?Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

XLF’s technical strength has been net bullish over the entire period represented on the chart, as seen by the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) reading displayed in the top panel.

The Money Flow Index (MFI), which considers momentum and volume, indicates that buying pressure is steady while remaining below overbought conditions. This signals that XLF is not topping out. However, the candles over the last few sessions also show that conviction on either side of the fence, bullish or bearish, remains low. There’s a possibility of a stall or pullback, and if either materializes, you can expect a reversion to the middle Bollinger Band, which might also serve as a sound entry point should the fundamental context remain favorable (note how the price action over the last six months seems to have responded well to Bollinger Band levels).

At the Close

Add XLF to your ChartLists and watch the levels discussed above. If you somehow bought the initial breakout, which didn’t show much bullish conviction, look to the middle Bollinger Band as a potential support level. A close below $47, the most recent swing low, would invalidate the current rally.

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Politics

Hakeem Jeffries pledges Democrats will ‘fight’ Trump agenda ‘in the streets’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is being criticized by Republicans after pledging Democrats would fight President Donald Trump’s agenda ‘in the streets.’

‘Right now, we’re going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill,’ Jeffries said.

‘That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets.’

Republicans blasted Jeffries for his choice of words, accusing him of inflaming political tensions in an already-tense political climate.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., immediately demanded that Jeffries apologize.

‘House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric,’ Emmer wrote on X. ‘President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it.’

A senior White House official told Fox News, ‘Hakeem Jeffries must apologize for this disgraceful call to violence.’

Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson told Fox News Digital, ‘The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully.’

She also referred to the comments as promoting ‘nonviolent protest’ on X.

The House Democratic leader was holding a press conference in Brooklyn on Friday aimed at criticizing Trump’s federal funding freeze and his handling of the tragic aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.

Jeffries credited Democrats with stopping the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze.

‘As was demonstrated this week, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic governors, and everyday Americans all across the country rose up in defiance as it relates to the illegal, unlawful, and extreme federal funding freeze that is part of the Republican rip-off agenda,’ Jeffries said. ‘We fought it, we stopped it, and we will never surrender.’

The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an order earlier this week pausing most federal funding while directing agencies to conduct thorough reviews of where taxpayer dollars are being spent.

The White House later clarified the memo to mean funding going toward progressive causes that Trump had explicitly blocked through executive orders. 

Nevertheless, it was still blocked by a federal judge, and hours later, the memo was rescinded.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the OMB memo was rescinded in light of the court order but clarified that funding blocks set up by Trump’s executive orders were still in effect.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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