TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: WARREN WINS — WEISS BOWS OUT, via me for The Hill: “Investment banker Antonio Weiss, President Obama’s pick for the No. 3 spot at the Treasury Department, is withdrawing his nomination amid opposition from liberal Democrats… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other progressives had opposed Weiss’s nomination, arguing that he was too close to Wall Street. Weiss is an executive at the investment bank Lazard.”
{mosads}— WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT, via spox Jennifer Friedman: “Over the weekend, Mr. Weiss asked the White House not to re-nominate him to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department… Mr. Weiss made the request to avoid the distraction of the lengthy confirmation process that his renomination would likely entail… We strongly believe that the opposition to his nomination was not justified, and we are confident that he will prove himself to be a dedicated, talented, and effective public servant.”
Weiss will accept an appointment as counselor to the Treasury Secretary. Story: http://bit.ly/1ycY3Ry
— PROGRESSIVE GROUPS CHEER, via Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee: “This is a victory for the Elizabeth Warren wing of American politics. Voters in red, purple, and blue states are done with Wall Street and special interests running our government and our economic policy. To inspire the public, Democrats must fight for the little guy.”
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. What a rainy day in Washington. Hope you had a great weekend. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-stage.thehill.com; and subscribe:http://digital-stage.thehill.com/signup/48.
REPUBLICANS READY FOR DODD-FRANK SHOWDOWN. Can House Republicans head to their Hershey retreat with a Dodd-Frank win? That’s the goal. Republicans will take up H.R. 37 for a second time tomorrow at 6:45 p.m., with a vote expected Wednesday morning.
— WHAT’S THE ISSUE? The House is moving quickly to pass a package of 11 bills, each of which passed with bipartisan support in the last Congress. But now Democrats are balking at one of the bills that would delay for two year’s implementation of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law’s Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule limits how much trading banks can do with collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), a type of financing deemed riskier than traditional instruments. Democrats blocked a GOP-led effort last week to fast track the legislation.
— WHAT’S AT STAKE: A lot for Democrats. This is perhaps the first real test as to whether they’ll work with Republicans on controversial aspects of Dodd-Frank, or whether they’ll side with the Elizabeth Warren-wing of the party, opposing any changes. Remember that President Obama has already threatened to veto the bill.
QUOTABLE, via White House press secretary Josh Earnest, telling reporters earlier today that the administration was wrong for not sending a high-level official to Paris over the weekend for a unity march: “It’s fair to say we should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there. Had the circumstances been a little bit different, I think the president himself would have liked to be there.” Justin Sink: http://bit.ly/1BdN391
NOTABLE — PROTESTORS BREAK UP SENATE SESSION, via me: “Capitol Police arrested 11 people for interrupting Senate proceedings on Monday after they screamed chants against U.S. interrogation techniques, according to the law enforcement agency’s Public Information Officer Shennell Antrobus. The protests came from the visitors’ gallery overlooking the Senate chamber, where tourists and interested parties are able to watch sessions, provided they do it more quietly than Monday’s activists.” Full story: http://bit.ly/14RB843.
ON-TAP FOR THE WEEK, via me, check out our preview of wonk world for Washington’s financial services crowd: http://bit.ly/1C09JaM.
WARREN WATCH: WARREN BACKS BIG BIZ PLAN TO REPEAL OBAMACARE TAX, via me: “Republicans are looking to an unlikely ally in their bid to repeal a controversial piece of ObamaCare: Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts Democrat, who has emerged as a liberal hero, has shown support for efforts led by the GOP and business groups to scrap ObamaCare’s medical device tax, a 2.3 percent levy on medical devices and supplies projected to raise almost $30 billion over the next decade.
Now, Republican aides and industry sources say they’re urging Warren to sign onto Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) legislation to repeal the tax. Warren’s office declined repeated requests for comment. It’s a complicated position for a rising Democratic star who progressives are urging to launch a 2016 presidential campaign…”
— WARREN PROTECTING HOME STATE BIZ? “Warren, who supports ObamaCare in substance, has opposed the medical device tax ever since she defeated then-Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in 2012. Other prominent progressives, including Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) also support nixing the tax. Both Massachusetts and Minnesota are home to prominent medical device companies, including Andover-based Philips Healthcare and Minneapolis headquartered Medtronic.”
— GOP: WARREN’S A HYPOCRITE. “Republicans praised her policy position, but [criticized] what they said was hypocritical politics for a lawmaker who has crafted an image as a crusader against giant corporations. ‘Don’t be fooled — she’s neither the first nor the last politician to want to have it both ways. Take her at face value, this is a hypocritical political position given everything else she says,’ said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the conservative American Action Forum and former economic adviser to 2008 GOP presidential nominee and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz).”
— LIBS: WARREN STILL HAS OUR BACK. A senior Democratic strategist tells me: “I have a hard time seeing Sen. Warren or other progressives supporting any type of broader bill that would repeal the medical device tax and hurt other parts of ObamaCare.” The strategist added that “every now and again Warren and K Street might agree.” Full story: http://bit.ly/1KDsKWC
WHAT RECOVERY? FEW COUNTIES HAVE RECOVERED POST-2008, Rebecca Shabad reports: “Only 65 counties fully recovered to pre-recession levels in 2014, according to a study released Monday by the National Association of Counties. Out of more than 3,000 counties in the U.S., those 65 recovered on jobs, unemployment rates, economic output and median home prices, the study found. Nearly three-quarters of counties recovered in at least one of those four indicators.” http://bit.ly/1Ca5PMI
ROMNEY WORLD – – > ROMNEY COURTS GOP AHEAD OF THIRD PRESIDENTIAL RUN. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told NBC News he’s not running for president. Meanwhile, The Washington Post is reporting that former 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is telling Republicans he’s serious about 2016. Via WaPo: “Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, spending the weekend and Monday calling former aides, donors and other supporters — as well as onetime foes such as Newt Gingrich…
“Over the past few days, Romney has been in touch with an array of key allies to discuss his potential 2016 campaign, according to people with knowledge of the calls. They include Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), his former vice presidential running mate; former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R); Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman; former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown; former Missouri senator Jim Talent; and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).” http://wapo.st/1z1FGC2
HACKERS BREAK INTO GOV’T SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS. Martin Matishak is all over this story for The Hill: “Hackers claiming to be the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday took over the Twitter and YouTube accounts for U.S. Central Command… Central Command (CENTCOM) is responsible for overseeing the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, which controls large swaths of territory inside Iraq and Syria.” http://bit.ly/1u0I0lL
Meanwhile…
— OBAMA CALLS FOR CYBER LEGISLATION, via Justin Sink for The Hill: “Obama unveiled the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act, a bill that would require all corporations to notify consumers within a month if their personal information had been exposed in a data breach. The bill would criminalize the overseas trade of identity information and would attempt to standardize the individual state privacy laws that currently govern data beach notifications.”http://bit.ly/1yZHyv0
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