President Donald Trump is once again forcing a tough fealty test on GOP lawmakers — this time over the fate of the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell.
The Fed chair’s Sunday night revelation of a DOJ probe into the central bank immediately rattled a number of Capitol Hill Republicans and raised serious doubts about the confirmation of Trump’s upcoming pick to succeed Powell.
“Will they stop at nothing to force their way on everything?” one senior House Republican granted anonymity told POLITICO. “The administration is setting a standard they cannot achieve themselves and will haunt us all for a generation.”
The DOJ move is the epic culmination of Trump’s years of enmity toward Powell over interest rates. It may be the point at which Republicans who believe in Fed independence — and who are generally fans of Powell — can no longer stand on the sidelines.
Powell himself, whom DOJ is scrutinizing over Senate testimony about office building renovations, is pushing back like never before. Powell is warning out loud that it all comes down to whether monetary policy “will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is now threatening to use his seat on Senate Banking to derail the confirmation of Powell’s successor. Assuming no Democrats voted for the yet-to-be-named nominee, it would take only Tillis to stand in the way of the pick from being reported out of committee.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis said. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”
The latest Trump rift comes as Senate Republicans are poised to defy the president later this week when the chamber votes on whether to check his war powers in Venezuela.
The Senate is currently looking at Wednesday to hold a vote-a-rama before final passage of the war powers resolution. Republican leaders are trying to flip at least some of the five GOP senators who agreed to advance the measure last week and enraged Trump.
“We’ll see what happens,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO. “I can’t make any predictions at this point, but I think you have to be prepared for all contingencies but also realize you’ve got to pivot and move forward.”
Democrats hope GOP support stays firm — or even increases — as Trump floats the prospect of military action elsewhere, including Iran.
What else we’re watching:
— What’s next in government funding: House GOP leaders want to pass the latest bicameral, bipartisan funding deal as soon as Wednesday, after appropriators nailed down a two-bill package consisting of State-Foreign Operations and Financial Services.
Appropriators were hoping to include a third bill to fund DHS but were unable to reach an agreement after last week’s fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis created new complications.
Senate leaders are working to clear the previous appropriations minibus the House passed last week for the departments of Justice, Interior, Energy and Commerce.
— Senate negotiators close in on ACA deal: A bipartisan Senate group is poised to release a plan as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday to revive expired Obamacare subsidies, according to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), one of the negotiators.
The main sticking point is how to address the use of federal funds for abortions. The bipartisan Senate group is expected to meet Monday night to continue talks.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
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