Week ahead: Short-term spending bill in the works | Trump Treasury talk | Rate hike clues

Congress is taking a break for Thanksgiving after their first action-packed week following the elections. 

House Republicans on Thursday decided they will pass a short-term stopgap measure to fund the government into March instead of an omnibus, skirting a final budget deal with President Obama.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made the case for the short-term bill, telling House GOP lawmakers that President-elect Donald Trump preferred that route.

Not everyone is sold on the move.

{mosads}

Some House and Senate Republicans had urged their leaders to clear the decks for a Trump administration arguing that the legislative docket is filling up fast for next year.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said a short-term spending bill would be a “disgrace.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) called a continuing resolution (CR) the “lazy way” to fund the government. 

Congress has until Dec. 9 to pass a short-term bill that will fund the federal government at current spending levels.

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting over who will be in Donald Trump’s new administration. The Trump transition team has started choosing nominees for top slots.

There are still plenty of questions over who will lead the Treasury Department as well as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, among others on the finance front. 

For Treasury, there’s talk that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is being considered. Hensarling said he is ready to help Trump “in any capacity possible.” 

But many expect Hensarling to stay on Capitol Hill to steer a potential overhaul of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. 

Other names are being floated include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has reportedly has told Trump he’s not interested in the job. 

Two others with a better shot at the Treasury job include Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker who also served as Trump’s national finance chairman, and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross.

Meanwhile, there is one job Trump won’t have to fill anytime soon. 

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen says she has no plans to resign and that she has every intention of completing her term.

“It is fully my intention to serve out that term,” she told the Joint Economic Committee on Thursday.

In 2014, Yellen became the first woman to lead the Fed and her term doesn’t expire until the end of January 2018. 

Yellen’s plans to stay could create tension between the Fed and the Trump administration.

During the campaign, Trump accused Yellen of keeping interest rates low to help Democrats. The Fed chief dismissed those charges and has defended the central bank’s independence.

The Federal Reserve will be keeping busy during the abbreviated holiday week. 

On Monday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will deliver remarks in New York, focused specifically on the longer-term challenges facing the U.S. economy. The economy has largely recovered from the financial crisis and recession, but a central challenge for policymakers going forward is how to tackle the longer-run issues still holding it back.

And on Wednesday, the Fed will release the minutes from its meeting at the beginning of the month. The Federal Open Market Committee opted at the meeting to hold interest rates steady, but Fed watchers will be pouring over the minutes to confirm the widely held expectation that an interest rate hike will be coming in December.

 

The week ahead:

We’ll get a look at new and existing home sales, the Fed Open Market Committee minutes and consumer sentiment. 

Monday: Business for a Fair Minimum Wage will hold a roundtable with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Deputy Secretary Christopher Lu to discuss the need to raise the minimum wage at the state and federal level. 

Tuesday: Numbers on existing home sales, 10 a.m.

Wednesday: 10 a.m. New home sales; Consumer sentiment, 10 a.m.; 2 p.m. The Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes from the October meeting. 

Thursday: Three rivalry football games starting at 12:30 p.m. with the Vikings and Lions, followed by the Redskins and Cowboys and capped off — after your afternoon nap — by a Steelers-Colts evening matchup. 

 

Recap the week with Overnight Finance:

Monday: President Obama says pulling US out of trade deals a tough task | Dow closes at record high after best week since 2011 | SEC Chairwoman White will leave post in January

Tuesday: House panel readying tax bill for early next year | IRS chief urges Trump team to consider replacement options | Chamber of Commerce overhauls lobbying operation

Wednesday: McConnell: Senate will extend Iran sanctions in lame-duck | Banking Dems call on financial industry to condemn Bannon  | Trump adviser suggests splitting tax reform into two bills

Thursday: Dem: Obama’s trade push may have cost Clinton the Rust Belt | Lew: Don’t paint Wall Street execs with ‘broad brushstroke’| Dem senators charge: Trump not draining the swamp

 

Recent stories:

GOP lawmaker developing blueprint on containing college costs

Dem senator calls on Trump to stick to economic promises

House GOP passes bill to block aircraft sales to Iran

JPMorgan to pay $264M to settle foreign corruption charges

Poll: GOP optimism on economy soars after Trump win

Facebook, Instagram helping White House aides find jobs

Fed official unveils ‘too big to fail’ plan

Postal Services sees $5.6B loss in 2016

SEC greenlights massive securities database

George W. Bush: Anger shouldn’t drive trade policy

Dem ‘appalled’ by Wall Street rally since Trump win

 

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