On The Money: Trump adviser presses House to make Bezos testify | Kudlow says tax-cut proposal coming this fall | NY Fed says Boeing woes could hurt GDP | Delta aims to be first carbon neutral airline

by Sylvan Lane - 02/14/20 4:44 PM ET

Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where we will be back on Tuesday after the long weekend. 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–Trump adviser presses House investigators to make Bezos testify: A top White House adviser is pressing lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee to bring Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify before Congress, a request that could shake up the political dynamics around the investigation into the country’s largest tech companies.

At a private meeting this week, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told the Republicans and Democrats leading the House’s antitrust investigation into Big Tech that they should invite Bezos and other e-commerce executives to testify about counterfeits, sources confirmed to The Hill.
Navarro has been leading the Trump administration’s efforts to curb the spread of fake and pirated products online — particularly on Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer.

The Hill’s Emily Birnbaum tells us why.

Navarro’s take: “What I said clearly was that, given the extreme seriousness of this issue and the failure of the e-commerce hubs to cooperate in any substantive way on any of this, it’s prudent to have the CEOs of the major e-commerce platforms come and talk truthfully to the American people about this on Capitol Hill,” Navarro told The Hill.

The bigger feud: The move is the latest salvo in a public feud between Navarro and Bezos. Last week, Navarro accused Bezos of walking back an invitation to meet with him about counterfeits. Trump has long maintained a personal vendetta against Bezos.

LEADING THE DAY

Delta commits to becoming world’s first carbon neutral airline: Delta Air Lines announced Friday that it will invest $1 billion over the next decade in an effort to become the world’s first carbon neutral airline.

The company said it will invest in technology that removes carbon emissions from the atmosphere, as well as wetland restoration and grassland conservation.

“The time is now to accelerate our investments and establish an ambitious commitment that the entire Delta team will deliver,” Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO said.

The big picture: The airline’s announcement comes two days after oil giant BP announced its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. It highlights how businesses are increasingly under pressure to show they are taking the threat of climate change seriously.

Can it work: The overwhelming majority of Delta’s carbon emissions come from its aircraft, so part of the company’s plan is to decrease its use of jet fuel while increasing the efficiency of flights through an “improved flight operations, weight reduction, and increased development and use of sustainable aviation fuels.”

What we don’t know: Delta did not say when it hopes to achieve carbon neutrality. The Hill has reached out to Delta for comment.

ON TAP NEXT WEEK: Lawmakers will back home (or places that aren’t D.C.) for a district work period, so next week may be slower than most. But we might get a new tranche of tariffs of up to 100 percent on a slew of European products on Monday.

We’ll also be watching for updates on the Federal Reserve nomination of Judy Shelton after Senate Republicans and sources told The Hill that they expected Trump to withdraw her from consideration.

If Shelton pulls out, she would be Trump’s third Fed nominee derailed by Senate Republican opposition, and the fifth overall, counting informal picks as well.

The White House is standing behind Shelton and insisting she will be confirmed by the Senate, which is more or less what they did with Stephen Moore and Herman Cain.

Shelton declined to talk to reporters who hounded her after the hearing (mea culpa), but tweeted what could be seen as a defense of her record: a picture of what appears to be paperweight with a quote from John Adams–“Let us dare to read, speak, think and write.”

pic.twitter.com/09txAP3o98

— Judy Shelton (@judyshel) February 14, 2020

GOOD TO KNOW

The New York Federal Reserve says that Boeing completely halting production on the 737 Max could have a negative effect on the U.S.’s expected quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2020.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on Friday said that the White House hopes to introduce a proposal for new middle-class tax cuts by the fall.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to deliver remarks on Saturday in Germany expressing his company’s acceptance of having to pay more taxes under global tax reforms.
CNBC: “Automakers working to restart manufacturing in China amid the coronavirus outbreak are trying to prevent operations elsewhere from being affected by supply shortages.”
Facebook on Friday announced it will allow social media influencers to produce sponsored content for political campaigns, as long as they clearly disclose who paid for their posts.
Bloomberg News: “Whiskies, cognac, Campari, bottles of Champagne–America’s favorite European wine and spirits may soon be out of reach for consumers.”