Manufacturers increase pressure against Ex-Im nominee Garrett

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) will launch its next round of advertising on Thursday opposing President Trump’s nominee to lead the Export-Import Bank.

On Thursday, NAM will unveil its next batch of ads for inside-the-Beltway publications opposing the nomination of Scott Garrett, a former Republican lawmaker from New Jersey, who struggled during his confirmation hearing to sell himself as the potential head of Ex-Im.

{mosads}Garrett was resistant to questioning about his past negative comments and efforts to shutter the Ex-Im Bank during his Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday.

The new ads will say that a “leopard can’t change its spots” and “thousands of American jobs are at stake. Don’t let Garrett’s spotty record destroy manufacturing workers.”

After the hearing, key business groups like NAM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were quick to release statements reiterating their opposition.

“Scott Garrett’s record leaves no doubt that he would continue to fail American manufacturing workers as leader of the Ex-Im Bank, and I urge the Senate to oppose his confirmation,” said Jay Timmons, NAM’s president and CEO.

“Garrett has a long and appalling record of trying to kill the Ex-Im Bank with little regard to the workers whose jobs depend on it,” Timmons said.

NAM’s efforts began in July, shortly after Garrett’s nomination was sent to the Senate.

Timmons and NAM have written letters to Senate Banking panel leaders and have run ads in opposition of Garrett’s nomination.

NAM is running ads on Wednesday in South Carolina against Garrett, urging voters to call Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s office.

Scott, who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, questioned Garrett during the hearing on about why he wants to head up an agency he once reviled and spent years trying to close.

“Your previous comments and position are in clear contradiction with your current position and comments,” Scott said.