I am president now, and tired of being kicked around.
- William Howard Taft
ARRIVEDERCI, SHALOM, AS-SALAM ALAYKOM: With Trump and his White House in full on chaos mode, Trump’s first foreign trip could not come at a better time as he heads to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Italy today leaving behind calls for impeachment, investigations and subpoenas in search of some friendly faces. The timing is also fortuitous as his audience at the Vatican will overlap with potential testimony by former FBI Director James Comey in front of the House Oversight Committee.
KEEPING THEIR HEADS DOWN: Chairman Kevin Brady and his House Way and Means Committee are sticking to the gameplan and are commencing hearings on tax reform beginning next Thursday with a hearing focused on the border adjustment tax provision that is a favorite of Chairman Kevin Brady and Speaker Paul Ryan. Both of them have defended the proposal with a Trumpian twist - as a way to remove incentives for companies to move jobs and their headquarters overseas. Brady’s troops on the Committee and Senate Majority Leader McConnell have expressed concerns about the provision, but Chairman Brady will continue to bundle it into his greater tax reform push.
TRIGGERING TRADE: The Trump Administration sent a final letter notifying Congress that it intends to renegotiate NAFTA after newly-minted U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held two days of meetings with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees as well as trade advisory groups. The letter now triggers a 90-day consultation period that must conclude before negotiations can officially begin. During this period the Administration must submit detailed negotiating objectives at least 30 days prior to the start of talks. All eyes will soon turn to August 16 when negotiations can officially begin.
BANKING ON INFRASTRUCTURE: The Senate beat the Trump Administration to the punch in unveiling an infrastructure proposal. A bipartisan group of Senators led by Mark Warner and Roy Blunt want an infrastructure investment bank which would leverage money from the private sector to help upgrade U.S. roads, bridges, and other public works. The Bridge Act would use $10 billion worth of federal dollars to spur $300 billion worth of total project investment. The bank would get its initial seed funding from the government, but the authors’ plan to have it become self-sustaining over time. While this plan is a good step for infrastructure, Washington is waiting to see what the Trump Administration will reveal in the next couple of weeks.
PASSING MIDNIGHT: Senate Republicans are looking to make future regulatory reform much easier after advancing the Midnight Rules Relief Act. One of the big complaints about the Congressional Review Act (CRA) is its inability to overturn multiple rules at once. The Midnight Rules Relief Act fixes that and would allow lawmakers to strike down multiple regulations with one vote. It’s no big secret that the CRA is not a favorite of Democrats, who hope to eventually overturn it, so it’s unlikely that Midnight will see the light of day and garner 60 votes necessary to pass the Senate.
OIL ALERT: CLOSE IRANIAN ELECTION FRIDAY RAISES RISK TO IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL & 1M B/D OF CRUDE EXPORTS: Our Senior Energy Policy Analyst Joe McMonigle writes Hardliner Candidate Raisi Threatens President Rouhani’s Reelection & Iran Nuclear Deal. You can read the full piece here.
