Happy Thursday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re keeping the brave Allied heroes of D-Day, and all of World War II, in our thoughts today. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL–BREAKING: Trump plans to declare new national emergency to impose tariffs: President Trump is planning to declare a new national emergency in order to implement sweeping tariffs on Mexico over the flow of Central American migrants to the U.S., according to a draft document of the declaration reviewed by The Hill.
According to the document, the new emergency is necessary due to “the failure of the Government of Mexico to take effective action to reduce the mass migration of aliens illegally crossing into the United States through Mexico.”{mosads}
The new emergency declaration would follow a February emergency declaration, which Trump used to justify sending National Guard troops to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the southern border. The Hill’s Jordan Fabian and Rafael Bernal have the scoop here.
The background:
- Trump on Friday threatened to impose a five-percent tariff on all Mexican goods crossing into the United States, which would increase by another five percent every subsequent month, topping off at 25 percent in October.
- Delegations from both countries held staff-level talks in Washington on Thursday, one day after a meeting convened by Vice President Mike Pence did not result in a deal to avert sweeping tariffs on Mexican goods Trump has threatened to impose by Monday.
U.S. and Mexican officials are discussing an agreement that would ramp up Mexico’s immigration enforcement effort and allow the U.S. to deport asylum seekers as both sides work to clinch a deal that will avert tariffs on Mexican products, according to an administration official.
But It’s not clear if President Trump, who is traveling in Europe, or Mexican leaders would accept the terms of such an agreement.
Anxious GOP senators also sought a delay to tariffs on Mexico, which are broadly opposed within the conference, with hopes that both sides could soon strike a deal to avoid the taxes.
What comes next: We may not know for sure until Monday if Trump will go through with the tariffs, but it’s possible the president may hold off on imposing the import taxes if he thinks he’s within striking distance of a deal with Mexico.
We’ve already seen Trump delay a self-imposed deadline to apply tariffs earlier this year. The president in February delayed increasing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods that were set to rise from 10 to 25 percent in March. Of course, he ended up going through with the increase in May, and may soon impose tariffs on $300 billion more in Chinese products.
The White House as of Thursday afternoon said the U.S. was still planning to go through with them.
“Position has not changed, and we are still moving forward with tariffs at this time,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders in an email.
If Trump goes through with the tariffs, it’ll will likely provoke a confrontation with lawmakers in both parties. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) vowed to take action to block Trump if he declares a state of emergency to impose tariffs on Mexico.
“The President’s proposed tariffs would hurt American workers, businesses, and consumers. Commandeering U.S. trade policy to influence border security is an abuse of power,” Neal said in a press release.
“If the President does declare a national emergency and attempt to put these tariffs into place, I will introduce a resolution of disapproval to stop his overreach,” he added.
- Both the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate voted down Trump’s earlier emergency declaration on the southern border, but Congress was unable to override Trump’s veto of the disapproval.
- Neal’s threat sets Congress up for a similar play, where Democrats in the House are likely to pass the disapproval and force a Senate vote, which is also likely to pass given the deep concern among Republicans on Trump’s trade power and broad use of executive authority.
- But House Republicans have called for supporting the president’s trade moves as a negotiating tactic, raising doubts about their willingness to overturn Trump’s veto.
Meanwhile, Trump on Thursday bashed Republicans opposed to his trade policy, insisting they have “no idea what they’re talking about.”
LEADING THE DAY
Democrats ask Fed to probe Trump’s Deutsche Bank ties: A group of seven Senate Democrats asked the Federal Reserve on Thursday to investigate whether Deutsche Bank managers declined to report to the federal government suspicious transactions involving accounts held by President Trump and his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
The New York Times reported last month that senior Deutsche Bank wealth management officials repeatedly ignored requests from internal anti-money laundering watchdogs to file suspicious activity reports on transactions conducted by Trump, his businesses and Kushner.
In a Thursday letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, the seven Democratic senators asked for an investigation into the allegations raised in the Times article. I’ll tell you why here.
The background:
- Democratic lawmakers have homed in on Deutsche Bank and the international legal scrutiny it has drawn, along with its close connections to Trump, his family and business empire. The German lender has paid billions in fines and legal settlements, including nearly $700 million in fines related to a Russian money laundering scheme.
- Three Democratic-led House committees are investigating Deutsche Bank’s involvement in potential money laundering and financial crimes, along with Trump’s long-standing relationship with the bank. The panels have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for its financial records pertaining to Trump, which the president has sought to block in court.
- Over the past two decades, Deutsche Bank has lent roughly $2 billion to Trump, including unconventional loans for real estate projects through its private wealth management wing. The president owes roughly $300 million to Deutsche Bank, the only major bank which would lend to Trump after a series of bankruptcies and defaults ruined his standing among most financial firms.
Lawmakers reintroduce bipartisan IRS bill with ‘Free File’ provision removed: House lawmakers on Thursday introduced a revised version of their bipartisan IRS modernization bill — removing a provision from earlier versions that would codify the IRS’s “Free File” program, which drew criticism in recent weeks.
The bill, known as the Taxpayer First Act, includes provisions designed to improve the IRS in several areas, including taxpayer services, taxpayer rights during the enforcement process, identity theft protection and information technology.
The controversy: The versions that previously passed the House included a provision to codify the IRS’s Free File program — a partnership with tax-preparation companies in which the companies offer free online tax-filing services to low- and middle-income taxpayers.
But some Democrats raised concerns about the Free File provision when the House held the April vote on the package, referencing a ProPublica article highlighting lobbying from tax-prep companies.
In the following weeks, ProPublica followed up with more reporting that tax preparation companies took steps to hide their options under the Free File program. That drew concerns from lawmakers in both parties and prompted the IRS to start a review of the program.
Affordable Housing & the American Dream
On Tuesday, June 11th, The Hill will host Affordable Housing & the American Dream at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Hill’s Editor-at-Large Steve Clemons and staff writer Rafael Bernal will sit down with Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and an expert panel for a discussion on how leaders in Washington and the private sector can help ensure that every American has an equal chance of owning a home. RSVP here.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law one of the nation’s strongest privacy bills on Thursday, banning internet service providers (ISPs) from using, selling or distributing consumer data without their consent.
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to allow phone carriers to block suspicious calls by default in an effort to bolster industry efforts to filter out robocalls and scammers.
- Progressive House Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated with their party’s leadership, accusing them of writing Democrats’ signature bill to lower prescription drug prices in secret and without their input.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue, who just announced he is stepping down, has been racking up miles on corporate jets provided by the business trade group for both professional and personal trips, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
- An unlikely pairing between progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has given new momentum to efforts to pass a lifetime ban on former lawmakers lobbying. But lobbyists and K Street-watchers are skeptical, saying they have seen similar efforts falter in the past.
ODDS AND ENDS
- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) on Thursday endorsed the Green New Deal, putting it at odds with other unions that have been critical of the ambitious environmental agenda.