Trump, Dems reach funding deal to GOP dismay: President Trump has reached a deal with congressional Democrats to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling through Dec. 15, disappointing Republicans
The deal, reached Wednesday at a White House meeting between congressional leaders from both parties and Trump, would attach both measures to a House bill aiding communities hit by Hurricane Harvey.
“We essentially came to a deal, and I think the deal will be very good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday.
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He added: “so we have an extension, which will go out to December 15th. That will include the debt ceiling, that will include the CRs, and it will include Harvey.”
Democrats were the first to announce the deal, which appeared to come despite some objections from Republicans.
“The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump deal is bad,” said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
Ryan earlier in the day called the idea of adding a three-month extension of the debt ceiling to Harvey aid “ridiculous” after the Democratic leaders proposed it. The initial Democratic offer did not mention the government funding, but it has long been seen as legislation that could be paired with a debt limit hike.
If the deal clears Congress, the package would set up a end-of-the-year cliff on both funding the government and the debt ceiling.
The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: http://bit.ly/2f4wFTm.
And for more on the political fallout… Trump shocks GOP by siding with Dems:
President Trump shocked Republicans on Wednesday by making a deal with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and provide aid to communities hit by Hurricane Harvey — right in front of his own party’s leaders at the White House.
The surprise deal left Republicans in despair and Democrats expressing glee.
“I just think it could be a much better deal than it is. And I think they need more time,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
Click here for more from The Hill’s Niall Stanage: http://bit.ly/2j5U0ZA
House approves Harvey aid: The House voted Wednesday to approve a $7.85 billion aid package for Hurricane Harvey.
The Harvey aid was easily cleared in an overwhelming 419-3 vote. All three no votes came from Republicans.
During the vote, there were worries it would set up a showdown with the Senate, where Republican leaders backed tying Harvey aid to the debt ceiling bill. But President Trump’s deal with Democrats avoided that fight by agreeing to tie a three-month extension of government funding and a debt limit hike to the Harvey bill.
The White House had backed merging debt relief and Harvey aid, a position first articulated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on “Fox News Sunday.”
He said the costs for disaster relief may push up the deadline for the debt ceiling — a situation that could become more urgent if the Category 5 Hurricane Irma hits the Florida coast.
The bill passed Wednesday would provide $7.4 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief fund, and $450 million for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, which provides loans to businesses and homeowners hit by disaster.
The disaster relief fund has run low on funding since Harvey unloaded 50 inches of water on some parts of Texas, including Houston, the country’s fourth largest city. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) estimated the damage may be as high as $180 billion.
The Hill’s Niv Elis recaps the Harvey vote: http://bit.ly/2f49fgS.
The three Republicans who voted against the Harvey aid package: Nearly all House members of both parties voted to pass a $7.85 billion package to help victims of Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday — save for three conservative GOP lawmakers.
Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.) were the only lawmakers to oppose the aid in the 419-3 vote.
Minutes before the vote, Amash tweeted that funding for the disaster aid should be offset instead of being added to the deficit.
“Congress should provide disaster relief funding, and we should pay for it now instead of billing our children and grandchildren for it,” Amash wrote on Twitter. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos explains: http://bit.ly/2f4eMUQ.
Trump keeps tax squeeze on red state Democrats: MANDAN, N.D. — President Trump on Wednesday stepped up his effort to pressure Democrats to back a tax overhaul in the home state of one the party’s most vulnerable senators.
Trump’s cross-country jaunt to an oil refinery in North Dakota appeared to be aimed at an audience of one: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D), whom the president hopes will join him in pushing for a bipartisan tax plan, the details of which are still under wraps.
The president invited Heitkamp to stand with him on stage alongside North Dakota’s other senator, representative and governor — all Republicans.
“Everyone is saying, ‘what is she doing up here?’ ” Trump said of Heitkamp, drawing laughter from the crowd of hundreds assembled in front of a sprawling tank farm at Andeavor Refinery.
“She’s a good woman and I think we’ll have your support and I hope we’ll have your support.” The Hill’s Jordan Fabian and Naomi Jagoda take us there: http://bit.ly/2f3Vxur.
Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Overnight Finance. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-staging.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.
On tap tomorrow
- Senate Banking Committee: Hearing entitled: “Evaluating Sanctions Enforcement and Policy Options on North Korea,” 9:30 a.m. http://bit.ly/2evHVem.
- Senate Banking Committee to vote on nominations of Randal Quarles to serve as Federal Reserve vice chairman of supervision, and Joseph Otting to be comptroller of the currency.
- House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit: Hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime,” 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2gpo5OT.
- House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment: Hearing entitled “Oversight of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority,” http://bit.ly/2evqSJr.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Interactive discussion entitled “Fiduciary Duty: Assessing the Real World Impact,” 12 p.m. http://uscham.com/2gphOD2.
Liberal group targets ND senators on day of Trump tax speech: A liberal group is running a television ad on Wednesday in North Dakota urging the state’s senators to oppose tax cuts for the wealthy as President Trump visits the state to push for a tax-code overhaul.
The ad, from the Not One Penny campaign, asks the public to tell Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) that they shouldn’t give any tax cuts “to millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations.” Not One Penny said it is spending five figures on the ad buy.
Hoeven and Heitkamp both traveled to North Dakota with Trump on Air Force One for the rally.
Heitkamp is one of several Democratic senators who is up for reelection next year in a state that Trump won, and the White House views her as a Democrat who could back the president’s tax efforts. http://bit.ly/2f3ZH5B.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer to resign in October: Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will resign from the central bank next month, he told President Trump in a letter on Wednesday.
Fischer will step down from the Fed on or around October 13, less than a year before his term as vice chairman was to end in June 2018.
Fischer cited “personal reasons” for his early departure, and praised his Fed colleagues for their efforts to stabilize the economy after the 2008 crisis.
Fischer’s departure will open another spot for Trump to fill on the Fed’s board of governors. I’ve got more here: http://bit.ly/2f4vfZe.
WSJ: Trump unlikely to pick Cohn to lead the Fed: President Trump is unlikely to nominate National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn to lead the Federal Reserve, according to the Wall Street Journal, after Cohn criticized Trump’s response to violence in Charlottesville last month.
The Journal reported the Trump, mulling a replacement for current Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen, soured on Cohn, who had emerged as an early favorite to lead the central bank.
Trump reportedly was furious with Cohn’s comments that the White House “must do better” at condemning racism groups after Trump blamed “both sides” for violent clashes between white supremacists and counterprotestors in Charlottesville.
Cohn, who is Jewish, allegedly considered resigning after Trump criticized “alt-left” protesters and said there were many “fine people” who marched with neo-Nazis and white nationalists: http://bit.ly/2f4YuuI.
House aiming to pass budget next week: The House is hoping to pass its budget resolution for 2018 next week, pending a Wednesday whip count.
“I anticipate if we have good results from that that we’ll put it on the floor next week,” House Budget Committee Diane Black (R-Tenn.) told The Hill.
Black, who is running for governor of Tennessee, said that she had spoken to over 200 members of her caucus over the August recess to bring them around, “just helping them to understand because there’s a lot of confusion with the budget.”
The budget resolution that passed committee in July may not have much bearing on the final spending deal for 2018.
Despite the lack of a budget, the House already passed four spending bills in July, and is moving toward passing the remaining eight this week, beginning debate on amendments for the “minibus” on Wednesday afternoon. http://bit.ly/2f3RT3Z.
Clinton blasts Biden for saying Dems didn’t address middle class: Hillary Clinton criticized former Vice President Joe Biden in her new book for his assessment that Democrats did not focus on the middle class during the presidential race.
The Democratic nominee defeated by President Trump writes that she found Biden’s comments “remarkable” given his own campaigning for her, in which he talked about what she would do for the middle class.
“Joe Biden said the Democratic Party in 2016 ‘did not talk about what it always stood for — and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class,’ ” Clinton said in her new book, “What Happened,” which was obtained by CNN.
“I find this fairly remarkable, considering that Joe himself campaigned for me all over the Midwest and talked plenty about the middle class,” she continued. http://bit.ly/2f3GJvZ.
Community bankers sound off on Wells Fargo scandal: Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Cam Fine criticized federal regulators for not doing more to punish Wells Fargo after the bank opened millions of accounts for customers without their consent.
“Had this been a community bank board and senior managers, not only would they all have been removed from the bank months ago, but they would also be facing prosecution. Yet nothing has happened to Wells, its senior management or its board,” Fine said.
“Wells Fargo’s conduct is outrageous and unacceptable. No community bank would have been given this kind of regulatory deference. There is not supposed to be a double standard for regulation and enforcement in this nation, but the wrongdoings of Wells Fargo show us that apparently one exists for too-big-to-fail banks.”
GOP leaders prevent votes to ban federal spending at Trump businesses: House GOP leaders won’t be allowing votes this week on Democratic proposals to prevent taxpayer funds from benefiting businesses owned by President Trump.
Multiple Democrats had filed amendments to a government spending package set to be considered on the House floor this week to ensure the president is not personally enriched by the federal government.
Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who are among the fiercest critics of the president, proposed measures to prohibit federal funds from being used to enter contracts with or spend money at Trump-owned businesses.
Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also submitted an amendment prohibiting the Secret Service from spending money at entities owned or operated by Trump.
But the House Rules Committee, which decides how legislation is considered on the floor, declined to greenlight votes on any of those proposals.
The Hill’s Cristina Marcos has more here: http://bit.ly/2xbgazy
In case you missed it from The Hill
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Conservative groups urge House to back ‘transformative tax reform’
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Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com and nelis@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda and @NivElis