Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.
- William Howard Taft
FULL COURT TRAP: Conservatives can finally rejoice as President Donald Trump has followed through on one of his biggest campaign promises. The president nominated the Honorable Neil Gorsuch to the high court who is expected to fill former SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia’s shoes perfectly. Gorsuch may not be making any decisions in the near term as Democrats are considering dilatory tactics (read = filibuster) in retaliation for blocking President Obama’s last pick to the Court. Look for supreme pressure to be put on the eight red state Democrat Senators up for reelection in 2018. Be sure to read insight by Hedgeye’s Paul Glenchur (and member of the SCOTUS bar) here.
DRUG DEALING: President Trump continued his mode of meeting with business executives - this time with the PHARMA industry. The meeting centered around Trump’s promise to lower drug prices down and evolved into Trump being critical of the FDA which he vowed would become much more streamlined. Trump’s plan for drug companies also calls on bidding for drugs which he expects would save billions of dollars for the American people over time. Trump wants Medicare to stop “price-fixing” prescription drugs, but unfortunately that is a power that currently falls outside of the HHS orbit.
DELAY TACTICS: Senate Democrats forced Republicans to delay confirmation votes for HHS Secretary Tom Price and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, while also confirming Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (helps to have friends in high places). Expect more of this from the Democrats over the coming months. All of Trump’s picks are likely to get confirmed as Democrats don’t have the numbers, but with limited floor debate in the Senate, the rules allow for the Dems to drag out these proceedings for as long as possible. This may impair the Republican agenda as the Senate has to confirm over one thousand political appointees, Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and 114 Federal judgeships. Shaping up to be long year on that side of the Capitol.
REGULATORY REWIRING: President Trump’s regulatory rewrite will hit three new rules today. The Department of Labor is delaying a rule that was designed to protect workers from exposure to beryllium that was issued in early January, The Department of Transportation is is delaying new training requirements for entry-level truck drivers and the FDA is delaying new tobacco rules that were instituted under President Obama. Even though Trump’s Cabinet secretaries have yet to be confirmed (and in some cases, consulted), the long arm of oversight is pulling back years of overreach in the Executive Branch.
STRE$$ED OUT:The Fed has simplified the stress test process for banks with under $250 billion in assets. The rule no longer requires the Fed to scrutinize banks’ risk management system as part of the tests. Of the 33 banks that underwent stress tests last year, 20 of them will no longer face this element of the test. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling praised the deal so don’t expect much push back from the Legislative Branch.
PRUITT PUSH FOR REFINERS: Our Senior Energy Analyst Joe McMonigle writes that Wednesday’s Confirmation Vote for EPA Administrator Nominee Scott Pruitt May Give Boost to Refiners Expecting Relief From RFS Compliance. You can find the full piece here.
