Overnight Finance: Clinton breaks with Obama on trade

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: HILLARY CLINTON TURNS SHARPLY TO THE LEFT. Talk about a dramatic change of events. In two major moves sure to appease the liberal Elizabeth Warren-wing of the Democratic Party, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton opposed President Obama’s trade policy program and got into the wonky weeds in defending Warren’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)… in one day… 

{mosads}1.) CLINTON BREAKS WITH OBAMA ON TRADE, via Vicki Needham and Amie Parnes: Hillary Clinton announced her opposition Wednesday to the Pacific Rim trade deal, breaking with President Obama in another move to the left for her presidential campaign… “What I know about it, as of today I’m not in favor of what I’ve learned about it,” Clinton said in the interview with PBS. In a statement, she elaborated, saying that based on what she knew about the TPP, it failed to meet the “high bar” of creating good jobs, raising wages and advancing national security. She also sought to explain why she was opposing a trade deal she appeared to back while serving as Obama’s secretary of State. Story: http://bit.ly/1L7fhny

— CLINTON ON DEFENSE: “I still believe in the goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific as part of a broader strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was Secretary of State. I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made. But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe this agreement has met it.”

— SANDERS TO CLINTON: ‘FINALLY.’ The self-described socialist from Vermont came out swinging in an email to supporters: “As someone who voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Central American Free Trade Agreement and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and who has helped lead the effort against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, I am glad that Secretary Clinton has now come on board. I hope that, with her help, with the efforts of virtually every union in the country and with the opposition of many environmental groups, we can defeat this agreement which was largely written by Wall Street and corporate America.”

Wonder what Joe Biden thinks? …

2.) CLINTON COMES TO ELIZABETH WARREN’S RESCUE, via Pete Schroeder: “Hillary Clinton is jumping into the long-running fight over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging House Democrats to fight back against GOP legislation that would overhaul it. In a letter to House Democrats, Clinton urged opposition to legislation that would alter how the CFPB is run, and allow Congress to set its budget. Clinton argued that the agency has proven itself to be effective, and the attempts to tweak it are really efforts to subvert it. ‘Republicans remain determined to weaken or even destroy the agency. They’ve tried to strip it of its independence and cut its funding,’ she wrote. ‘They want to make the CFPB more vulnerable to special interest lobbies and less effective in defending working families.'” http://bit.ly/1FXANOG

Wonder what everybody’s favorite left-leaning think tank Brookings thinks? …

THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, where we’ve still got whiplash from Clinton’s unexpected left turn today. Somewhere, Vice President Joe Biden is texting Maureen Dowd. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48. Back to work…

EX-IM WATCH – – > CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER GOP POWER PLAY. My latest exclusive for The Hill: Conservative frustration over Republican efforts to force a House vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank boiled over Wednesday during a contentious GOP meeting. Members of the conference’s conservative wing criticized Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) at the meeting for moving to file a discharge petition to bring a vote on legislation renewing the embattled bank’s charter for five years, after it lapsed June 30 because of Tea Party opposition. 

— FINCHER TALKS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE HILL: “A lot of people don’t like that we’re doing a discharge petition. You know what? I don’t like it. I wish we could’ve done something in committee,” Fincher said in an interview after the meeting. He acknowledged that “there were a lot of emotions at our meeting this morning, which we expected. But this is about jobs. This is a very difficult thing, we don’t have any other choice.” Despite the opposition, Fincher said he has the 218 signatures needed to clear the required threshold for the discharge petition that would force a vote on the House floor. He intends to file it by Sunday. Under the little-used process, the signatures alone would assure a vote on the measure, even though House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) refused to take up the bill, which falls under his jurisdictions — and GOP leadership has declined to bring it directly to the floor.

— WHAT EX-IM MEANS FOR LEADERSHIP RACE, via me: The move comes in the face of strong opposition from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — the likely successor to outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who will resign at the end of the month. Many Tea Partiers are skeptical of McCarthy’s conservative credentials, though he reversed his support for the bank last year and now opposes it. Behind the scenes, conservatives say they’re monitoring whether McCarthy will look to kill the petition as a sign of his policy credibility. Fincher said that McCarthy voiced his “disapproval” of the discharge petition during a phone call on Tuesday night. “He’s not in favor of this at all,” Fincher said. “We talked last night and he told me that he has disapproval and dissatisfaction about what I’m doing.” He declined to go into further specifics of the conversation. Story: http://bit.ly/1jOMbmp

— OVERNIGHT’s bottom line: Supporters of the bank smell victory… but they can’t taste it yet. And they’re all being extraordinarily cautious to claim victory given how Chairman Hensarling has routinely outmaneuvered them over the last year on the issue. The Texas Tea Party favorite proves time and time again not to count him out on Ex-Im…  

FIDUCIARY FIGHT: HOUSE GOPers SLAM PROPOSAL: No surprise here, but in a scathing letter… 105 House Republicans slammed the fiduciary proposal. It’s just the latest sign that Congressional support is deteriorating for President Obama’s proposed retirement regulations. The letter comes as half the Democratic House caucus called on the administration to significantly make changes to their proposal. Read the letter: http://bit.ly/1FXIYdQ

— Meanwhile… the Glover Park Group is working to unite a new coalition of financial advisers all across the country to oppose the regulations. From the release: The Coalition to Protect Retirement Security and Choice is a partnership of local financial advisors, insurance agents, and life insurance companies… The Coalition is led by a group of nine Co-Chairs and will tap into the expertise and commitment of a broad coalition of local financial advisors and insurance agents across the country, all of whom view the DOL’s proposed fiduciary regulation as harmful to the ability of their clients to plan and save for retirement… Online for less than two weeks, the petition has already garnered over 243,000 signatures from concerned Americans across the country.” See the coalition’s website: http://bit.ly/1F30TzE

More Ex-Im…

SHOT, via National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) President Harry Alford at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday: “The Export-Import Bank wanted our help because they’ve been de-authorized and I’ve asked them to give me one loan they have made to a black business anywhere in this world. I’ve been waiting six months for that answer. They don’t do it — we are on our own.”

CHASER, via Ex-Im spokesperson: “We haven’t asked Harry Alford of NBCC or anyone for help.” Story: http://bit.ly/1ZderPH

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: DEBT LIMIT BEFORE THANKSGIVING! Who doesn’t want a manufactured Washington crisis the week before Thanksgiving? The only thing certain is uncertainty. Pete Schroeder: Congress may have a few more weeks to hammer out a debt limit agreement than once thought, according to new outside analysis. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) announced Wednesday it has determined that the government will likely be unable to pay all its bills without a borrowing boost sometime between Nov. 10 and Nov. 19, up to two weeks later than the deadline laid out by the Treasury Department. http://bit.ly/1PjdnFE

HOUSE DEMS DEFY OBAMA ON HOUSING LEGISLATION, via Trey Garrison at Housing Wire: Defying the threat of a White House veto, the House on Wednesday afternoon passed bipartisan legislation to help homebuyers avoid delays and disruptions when closing on their new homes by a bipartisan vote of 303-121.

— WHAT THE BILL DOES, via Greyson: “The bill, the Homebuyers Assistance Act, provides a four-month grace period for businesses that are working in good faith to comply with a new 1,888-page rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that went into effect Oct. 4…. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., sponsored the bill, which passed the Financial Services Committee on July 29 on a bipartisan vote of 45-13, but it was also championed by prominent Democrats. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said the bill would help ensure access to mortgage credit during the hold-harmless period because it would allow small lenders to work toward full compliance without penalty.”

— SIXTY-THREE HOUSE DEMS BUCK WHITE HOUSE VETO THREAT, via Garrison: “Late Tuesday, the White House said that it would veto the Homebuyers Assistance Act, due for a vote on the House floor this afternoon. ‘The CFPB has already clearly stated that initial examinations will evaluate good faith efforts by lenders. The Administration strongly opposes [the bill], as it would unnecessarily delay implementation of important consumer protections designed to eradicate opaque lending practices that contribute to risky mortgages, hurt homeowners by removing the private right of action for violations, and undercut the nation’s financial stability, the White House said in its release. ‘If the President were presented with H.R. 3192, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill,’ the statement says. Story: http://bit.ly/1Q8LxdH

— OVERNIGHT’S BOTTOM LINE: There’s no doubt this is a political victory for Rep. French Hill. He’s a rising financial services star with wonky chops who will be bolstered by the bipartisan support for his bill. Sixty-three House Dems bucking the White House veto threat to back a freshman lawmaker’s bill? Even if Obama vetoes it, that’s still a win for Hill.

BERNANKE: THE FED IS TRANSPARENT, via The Blaze: “I think the Fed is a very transparent central bank,” said Bernanke, in response to to a question from former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at a book signing in New York City. “I think it’s a very transparent institution in Washington.” Video: http://bit.ly/1FXF4BS

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