13 Feb
2017
A New Border Security Plan, Talks With Foreign Leaders and a Fed Review
- President Trump intends to issue new measures to improve America’s security this week, perhaps including a new immigration order to replace the one whose suspension was upheld by a federal appeals court last week. “We will be doing something very rapidly having to do with additional security for our country,” Mr. Trump said last week, adding that his administration will also continue to fight the court decision that put his initial order on hold.
- Trump continues his program of entertaining foreign leaders this week, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visiting Washington on Monday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the schedule for Wednesday. Canadian officials said their talks with the new American president would focus on shared goals. But refugee policy and the North American Free Trade Agreement, two areas of distinct differences between the countries, could also rear their heads.
- Talks with Netanyahu are almost certain to touch on settlements, particularly after President Trump gave an interview Friday to an Israeli publication saying that he doubted that “going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace.” Trump also hedged on his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, saying it “is not an easy decision” and “we will see what happens.”
- Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen treks to Capitol Hill this week for her semiannual testimony on monetary policy, which is certain to focus on the Fed’s most recent statement and the possibility of further interest rate increases when the Federal Open Market Committee meets again next month. Yellen reports to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
- Questions to the Fed chairwoman might also touch on the surprise resignation on Friday of Daniel Tarullo, who had played the role of the chief regulator of financial institutions, overseeing capital and liquidity requirements. President Trump now will have the opportunity to nominate three Fed governors in his first year in office; a full board has seven members and two seats were already empty prior to Tarullo’s resignation, which takes effect in April.
- More cabinet posts are likely to be filled this week, with the Senate scheduled to conduct its final vote on Monday on the nominations of Steven Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and David Shulkin to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on whether to confirm Linda McMahon, the former pro wrestling executive, as chief of the Small Business Administration.
- Andy Puzder, the fast-food magnate whose hearing for nomination as Labor Secretary has already been rescheduled four times, is now slated to go before the Senate Labor committee on Thursday. The hearing has been delayed because of shortcomings in Puzder’s disclosures about his financial holdings as well as his plans on how he will avoid any financial conflicts of interest.
- As President Trump awaits the approval of the remainder of his cabinet, the White House is also said to be considering whether to keep National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who initially failed to disclose that he talked with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. before Trump took office about sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration. A key Trump advisor, Stephen Miller, pointedly declined to say on Sunday whether Flynn retains the confidence of the president.
- The Senate will also begin the process of approving the appointment of ambassadors on Thursday when the Senate Foreign Relations committee hears from David Friedman, nominated to be ambassador to Israel. Likely to come up at the confirmation hearing are two of Trump’s campaign promises – regarding settlements and the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem – from which he has since backed away.
- After this week, Congress takes a week off to visit constituents back home, but from the looks of it those trips will be anything but restful. Several town hall meetings by Congressmen in deeply red districts last week were met with swarming crowds of progressive protestors there to express their anger at President Trump, his immigration policy and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Such town hall meetings galvanized the Tea Party movement eight years ago; could a movement among Democrats be next?