On The Money: Supreme Court stays House subpoena for Trump financial records | Pelosi says trade deal is ‘within range’ | Dems target housing shortage amid talk of crisis
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THE BIG DEAL– Supreme Court puts temporary hold on House subpoena for Trump financial records:
The Supreme Court on Monday granted President Trump’s request to temporarily stay a subpoena for his financial records from the House Oversight and Reform Committee while the court considers whether to take up his appeal in the case.
Trump filed an emergency request on Nov. 15 to the Supreme Court asking the justices to block a subpoena from House Democrats after a lower court said his accounting firm must turn over his financial documents.
What’s next: The justices gave Trump until noon on Dec. 5 to file a formal petition to the court.
How we got here: The case arose after Democrats subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, in April for years of Trump’s personal and corporate financial records.
Democrats said the information would help them determine if updates were needed to current ethics-in-government laws.
Trump challenged the subpoena, arguing the lawmakers lacked a legitimate legislative purpose.
A federal district court judge sided with the Oversight and Reform Committee, as did the D.C. Circuit on appeal.
The Hill’s John Kruzel has the full story here.
LEADING THE DAY
Pelosi says new NAFTA deal ‘within range’: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday said that Democrats were “within range” of a deal with the White House on updating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“We are within range of a substantially improved agreement for America’s workers. Now, we need to see our progress in writing from the Trade Representative for final review,” she said in a statement.
The back story: Democrats have been negotiating terms of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) with the White House for months, seeking to entrench strong enforcement mechanisms on issues such as labor, environment and pharmaceuticals.
President Trump, who inked the deal with America’s neighbors late last year, has accused Democrats of dragging their feet in talks. The ongoing impeachment inquiry, he has repeatedly said, was impeding progress.
Timeline?: While Democrats had said it was possible to wrap up work and pass legislation on the deal by year’s end, Pelosi said last week that the process could stretch into 2020.
The Hill’s Niv Elis has more here.
‘Trump directed Treasury, DOJ to address Erdoğan ‘concerns’ about Turkish bank: President Trump asked multiple federal agencies to address Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “concerns” that Turkey’s state-owned bank would be under threat of U.S. sanctions, according to a response from the Treasury Department to a senior Democratic senator.
It is the first public U.S. admission of Trump directing Cabinet officials, in this case in Treasury and the Department of Justice, to involve themselves with Erdoğan’s concerns around Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank indicted last month by federal prosecutors for allegedly funneling billions of dollars to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
It also raises questions about how Trump’s personal relationships and business dealings influence his foreign policy decisions, at a time when his dealings with Ukraine are under scrutiny as part of a formal impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats.
The Hill’s Laura Kelly explains why here.
Democrats target housing shortage as advocates warn of crisis: The severe national shortage of affordable homes and deepening homelessness crises across the U.S. have thrust housing policy into the center of the Democratic presidential primary.
- Affordable housing advocates estimate that the U.S. lacks roughly 7 million affordable homes or apartments needed to house low-income Americans.
- Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, explained that for every 10 low-income renters in the U.S., there are fewer than four homes within their price range.
“There is no state or major metropolitan area or community that has a sufficient supply of homes for its lowest-income renters,” Yentel said.
“The fact that more and more people are either seeing the effects of the housing crisis in their communities or they’re feeling it themselves is increasing the pressure on policymakers to put forward solutions,” she added.
I explain how the shortage is influencing the Democratic presidential primary, where the candidates overlap and differ on how to address the problem, and how their views compare to Trump’s.
Blue Dogs issue new call for House leaders to abide by pay-go rule: The Blue Dog Coalition of centrist Democrats on Monday stepped up its push for House Democratic leaders to abide by the chamber’s pay-as-you-go rule and only advance legislation that is fully offset.
The coalition sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) after 12 lawmakers in the centrist group last week voted against waiving the pay-go rule for a bill focused on tackling workplace violence in the health care and social services sectors.
“Last week, our members sent a clear message: The House must abide by PAYGO to prevent our fiscal state from getting worse,” the Blue Dogs Coalition said in its letter.
The rule that waived pay-go for the workplace violence prevention bill passed narrowly despite objections from the Blue Dog lawmakers. The bill itself passed with no Democrats voting against the measure.
GOOD TO KNOW
- McDonald’s will settle a class-action lawsuit brought by workers over wages and working conditions in California for $26 million, according to The Associated Press.
- The chances of a recession in the coming 12 months have dropped, according to ratings agency S&P Global.
- The Texas and Nevada attorneys general announced settlements with T-Mobile over the company’s planned merger with Sprint on Monday as a coalition of states continues to push to stop the deal.
- Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) proposed a bill Monday to allow more sanctions against foreign companies and individuals for “egregious behaviors” that contribute to climate change.
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