TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: JEB BUSH PAC RAKES IN BIG BUCKS. Bush made BANK. Ben Kamisar for the hometown paper: “The main super-PAC supporting former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.) has raked in more than $103 million over the past six months, a historic figure that will likely dwarf the rest of the field.
“The PAC announced the haul on its website on Thursday, noting that the group has more than $98,000,000 on hand. It’s donations came from about 9,900 donors. The news came just minutes after Bush’s campaign announced it’s official fundraising numbers: $11.4 million, an average of more than $700,000 for each day that he’s been an official candidate.” http://bit.ly/1HfZ6m2
{mosads}– BUSH ON ‘THE DONALD,’ to Fox News’ Brett Baier: “I’m done. I’m through. I gave my views. I just think that we need to be much more hopeful and optimistic about our ideology… We should focus on that and not get into a food fight that only brings energy to someone who I doubt will be president and is not a constructive force for our party.” http://bit.ly/1HR49x6
Now that’s a frontrunner, folks…
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and tomorrow is Friday. This week the presidential politics were really, really weird: from rope lines to a reality show star. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe:http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DODD-FRANK! I’ll be joining Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Tues., July 21 at 11 a.m. to discuss the anniversary of Dodd-Frank at the Heritage Foundation. I’ll be joined by Paul G. Mahoney, the dean of the University of Virginia Law School; and Norbert Michael, a financial regulations research fellow at Heritage. Diane Katz moderates. Don’t miss this one, folks. Register here: http://herit.ag/1dP6MDf
MORE GLASS-STEAGALL ON 2016 CAMPAIGN… THIS TIME FROM O’MALLEY. Pete Schroeder has the story: Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley took aim at Wall Street and the regulators overseeing it, laying out an ambitious plan to overhaul the financial sector. The Democratic presidential candidate argued massive banks have gotten a pass since the financial crisis, painting regulators as beholden to industry interests…
— O’MALLEY WANTS TO SLAM SHUT THE REVOLVING DOOR. Shroeder: Among O’Malley’s proposals are barring a number of top financial regulators from working in the financial sector for three years after leaving public service, aimed at what he called a “constantly spinning revolving door.” He also would require more top regulatory positions to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
— MORE GLASS-STEAGALL TALK, via Schroeder: If elected, O’Malley also vowed to overhaul the structure of the financial sector, first by re-establishing the firewall between conventional and investment banking by reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act. Such an effort could be a tall order though, as similar legislation introduced in recent Congresses have gone nowhere. http://bit.ly/1fs45JJ
WHITE HOUSE WISH-LIST: WE WANT A LONG-TERM HIGHWAY BILL. Keith Laing: “The White House said Thursday that President Obama has a ‘strong preference’ for a long-term highway bill, a day after Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx hinted at a potential veto of a temporary patch.
“Foxx said Wednesday that he might recommend that Obama veto a temporary extension of a highway funding measure that is currently scheduled to expire at the end of the month because ‘we’re quickly getting to the point where the value of another extension may be less than the value of breaking the cycle.’
“White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday that ‘our strong preference is that Congress get to work on a longer-term agreement that would allow the federal government to make a long-term commitment, a long-term investment in America’s infrastructure.'” http://bit.ly/1J6SXce
ON-TAP FOR TOMORROW: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will speak at the City Club of Cleveland at 12:30 p.m. Stream live here: http://bit.ly/1HiTUzZ
ELIZABETH WARREN: MAGAZINE STAR. The Boston Globe’s Eric Levenson on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and magazine covers: “Elizabeth Warren appears on the cover of Time magazine this week alongside the suggestive headline, ‘Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Warren?’ ‘She’s hounding Obama, haunting Hillary, and paving the way for Bernie Sanders. How she’ll shape the 2016 race,’ the tagline reads.
“The cover portrays Warren as a Hound of the Baskervilles-like presence, ‘haunting’ and ‘hounding’ the political powers that be. If that sounds familiar, that’s because Time is the third magazine to recently put the Massachusetts senator on its cover next to some description of her scariness and ghoulishness…
“The trend was memorably started by The New Republic with its Being John Malkovich–inspired cover in November 2013. ‘HILLARY’S NIGHTMARE,’ the spooky headline screamed, buttressed by dozens of people holding up blank-faced Warren masks… Just last month, Bloomberg Markets picked up on that similar ‘fear’ theme with their cover portraying Warren as a lurking threat.” http://bit.ly/1Hfss3Y
NOT THE ONION – – > GAO SAYS TO ELIMINATE THE DEBT CEILING. Rebecca Shabad: “A government watchdog on Thursday suggested in a new report that the debt ceiling should be killed. It’s one of the three alternative approaches to the debt limit the Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlined in the 80-page report. The agency’s recommendations stem from interviews with both Treasury Department officials and investors.
“Under the option that would abolish the debt limit, the administration would be given broad borrowing authority to pay for enacted laws. The United Kingdom and New Zealand operate under a similar policy, the GAO noted. This option would alleviate the dangers associated with defaulting on the nation’s debt and would allow for a more flexible borrowing process based on changes in the economy and laws, the report said.” http://bit.ly/1HmsRAP
EX-IM WATCH, via me: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday said he opposes attaching an amendment that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank to a transportation funding bill. The Republican presidential candidate has emerged as a top critic of the bank in the Senate, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), another presidential candidate who also opposes attaching Ex-Im to the bill. http://bit.ly/1HiTCct
WONK WARS – – > INSURANCE REGULATION EDITION. The Hill is hosting a special forum on Tues., July 28. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the financial sector is coming under increased scrutiny and international regulators are seeking to reform how insurers are supervised. But have overseas regulators become too powerful? Register here: http://bit.ly/1flwjpn
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