Alex Ossola

That's according to a person familiar with the Trump administration's thinking.

Slater didn't respond to requests for comment.

More Americans are falling behind on their mortgage and credit card payments.

WSJ personal finance reporter Imani Moise says the pain is spreading beyond low-income people.

Coming up, stock markets are sliding, investors can't get enough of corporate bonds, and how the Trump administration tried to get Iranian protesters online.

That's after the break.

Stocks dropped sharply today on more concerns about AI.

The Nasdaq led the major benchmarks lower, dropping more than 2 percent, while the Dow closed back below 50,000.

Market fears have spread in recent weeks over how artificial intelligence could disrupt software companies, publishers, financial services firms, and others.

Meanwhile, Sam Goldfarb, who covers bonds for the journal, says investors can't get enough of them.

You can see the evidence of that in what's called credit spreads.

Sam says that even though there's concerns about an AI bubble, investors have a lot of demand for tech company bonds.

Home sales fell 8.4 percent last month, the biggest monthly decline since February 2022.

Snowstorms and low consumer confidence slowed a housing market that was showing signs of recovery.

Stubbornly high home prices and 30-year mortgage rates that are stuck above 6 percent are also making buyers more picky.

But the coming months are going to be key to see if the housing market is rebounding.

Many people go house hunting in the spring.

We're exclusively reporting that the Trump administration smuggled thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran after the regime's crackdown on demonstrations last month.

It was an effort to keep protesters online because Iran shut down Internet access.

Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington of playing a role in stirring up dissent in Iran.