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THE BIG DEAL: President Trump is moving full speed ahead on his plan to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel, the White House said Wednesday.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that President Trump intends to stick with the plan to make an announcement on sweeping tariffs that will hit global steel and aluminum imports.
“Yes, we are still on pace for an announcement on that at the end of this week,” Sanders told reporters.
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Trump has vowed to impose sweeping tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports, a plan that has brought a backlash from congressional Republicans and key U.S. allies, who are concerned about the political and economic fallout.
Republicans are scrambling to stop Trump from following through and are mulling several ways to do it. More than 100 Republican lawmakers signed a letter to Trump urging him to narrow the focus of the tariffs to bad actors and unfairly traded goods. GOP senators are brainstorming legislative ways to block or moderate the tariffs, though they would need Trump’s signature.
COHN’S EXIT SHAKES GOP: The departure of Gary Cohn, the former White House National Economic Council director, has also stoked GOP concerns over the tariffs. Cohn, who resigned because of the tariffs, was seen as Wall Street’s man in the White House, advocating for free trade against Trump’s protectionist tendencies.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (Texas) told reporters on Wednesday that the departure of Cohn leaves a major gap in the White House’s policymaking process.
“I don’t think it’s good news,” Cornyn told reporters.
“I’m concerned who the president will turn to for advice,” he added. “I think Mr. Cohn was an outstanding public servant and somebody who had the credentials and experience to help the president decide what the policies of the government should be.”
More reactions
- “The current signals from the U.S. make me worried.” — Brigitte Zypries, German economic minister.
- “Government imposed barriers to materials, labor and capital are disruptive to modern supply chains and represents liberal central-planning in its worst, most arrogant form.” — The Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 100 House conservatives.
- “I’m not sure he has made up his mind.” — Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Trump’s tariff decision.
What comes next: Trump is expected to sign the tariffs Thursday, which would open the floodgate for retaliation from trading partners. The European Union has floated tariffs on bourbon, peanut butter and orange juice, among other iconic American products.
On tap tomorrow
- Senate continues debate on the bill to rollback Dodd-Frank.
- House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled: “Legislative Review of H.R. 5059, the State Insurance Regulation Preservation Act”
Joint Economic Committee: Hearing on the White House economic report with Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett, 2 p.m.
House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled: “Legislative Proposals to Reform the Current Data Security and Breach Notification Regulatory Regime,” 2 p.m.
LEADING THE DAY
Is there a deal to be made on Dodd-Frank? House Republicans are warming up to a Senate bill that would loosen the banking rules put in place after the financial crisis.
The Senate is poised this week to pass the most significant changes to the Dodd-Frank Act since it became law in 2010. The bill has the support of more than a dozen Democrats, making it one of the few measures with a chance to become law this year.
With the GOP searching for accomplishments to tout in the midterm elections, House conservatives who once derided the Senate bill are taking a second look, suggesting they may be open to compromise.
“I want to do what’s good for Main Street. I’m a dealmaker, so maybe not everything’s in it, but maybe there’s something that we can be happy with in it,” said Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas). He had called the Senate’s plan a “non-starter” in December.
“I want to find a way to support it. We’ll see if we can get there.”
Check out tomorrow’s print edition of The Hill or TheHill.com tomorrow morning for insight on how a deal could come together — or fall apart.
SEC cracking down on cryptocurrency platforms: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday announced that all platforms used for exchanging cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, must register with the agency.
“If a platform offers trading of digital assets that are securities and operates as an ‘exchange,’ as defined by the federal securities laws, then the platform must register with the SEC as a national securities exchange or be exempt from registration,” the SEC said in a statement.
The SEC also warned investors that many places where cryptocurrencies are currently being exchanged aren’t SEC-registered despite their appearances and are actually “potentially unlawful.”
The Hill’s Ali Breland explains what it means.
MARKET CHECK: Rattled. Stocks ended the day mixed after falling sharply this morning after Cohn’s resignation. The Dow Jones industrial index closed with a 0.3 percent loss, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 ended down by 0.05 percent. The Nasdaq closed with a slight gain of 0.3 percent.
Stocks fell at the opening bell on Wednesday as markets reacted to Cohn’s resignation, which was announced after the closing bell on Tuesday.
The Dow opened 149 points lower than its Tuesday close, a 0.6 percent drop. The Nasdaq and S&P also fell by 0.4 and 0.8 percent each upon open.
While Cohn’s resignation was not a huge surprise, it’s also being viewed as a sign of growing strength for trade skeptics in the administration who would like to reset the rules of the system.
GOOD TO KNOW
- House Democrats are pushing legislation to stop employers from being able to pocket a portion of workers’ tips.
- Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed undoing some of the tax cuts in the law President Trump signed in December in order to pay for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin if he is worried about “threatening millions of jobs in other industries” by attempting to protect “thousands of jobs in the steel industry” with tariffs.
Support for the Republican tax cut legislation signed into law late last year has steadily increased in recent weeks, but less than 40 percent of Americans approve of the bill, a poll released Wednesday showed.
GOING DEEPER: The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us about the battle over online sales taxes that is headed to the Supreme Court.
ODDS AND ENDS
- Amazon has committed to roughly $22 billion in future food purchases as it bulks up Whole Foods, according to CNBC.
- Never tweet: Russian agents posed as Americans to collect personal information from U.S. citizens on Facebook and other social media platforms during the 2016 election, The Wall Street Journal reported.