Happy Monday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re reminding you to Never Tweet. 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—BREAKING: Tanden’s path to confirmation looks increasingly untenable: Neera Tanden needed a big break in favor after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) announced Friday he would vote no on her nomination as White House budget chief. Instead the dam of opposition broke, leaving Tanden short of the support she needs to become director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Rob Portman (Ohio) joined Manchin (D-W.V.) in opposing Tanden’s nomination, seemingly leaving her at least one vote short for a confirmation.
Why Tanden is in trouble:
- Biden needs one Republican in the narrowly Democrat-controlled Senate to vote in favor of Tanden’s confirmation.
- But on Monday, Collins, Romney and Portman—three of the most likely possible votes— said they would not back her, citing inflammatory tweets.
- While the White House has publicly backed Tanden, officials are already considering backup plans.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant have the latest here.
Where her nomination stands: Without Collins or Romney, there are only a few moderate Republicans who might vote to support her. It’s also not clear Manchin will be the only Democrat to oppose her.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), another moderate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who was the subject of critical Tanden tweets, are among those who have not said whether they will support the nominee.
Yikes: Portman, the top Republican on the Homeland Security committee, said just before announcing his opposition to Tanden that nobody from the White House has reached out to try and convince him to vote for her. That panel is one of two committees that need to approve the OMB director nomination before it goes to the Senate floor.
LEADING THE DAY:
Supreme Court declines to shield Trump’s tax returns from Manhattan DA: The Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a bid by former President Trump to shield his tax returns and other financial records from a New York grand jury subpoena.
The justices issued the order in the long-running dispute between Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (D) without comment or noted dissents.
“The work continues,” Vance tweeted in response.
The background: The court’s order comes in response to an emergency request Trump filed in October to the Supreme Court after losing several rounds in the lower courts.
- Vance’s office has sought Trump’s records since 2019, when a New York grand jury issued a subpoena to Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, for eight years of the former president’s financial records.
- They’re looking into payments made to silence two women who allege they had affairs with Trump, including adult-film star Stormy Daniels, and possible financial crimes by the Trump Organization.
The Hill’s John Kruzel breaks down the decision here.
Trump goes nuclear: As you can imagine, the former president wasn’t super thrilled about this.
“The Supreme Court never should have let this ‘fishing expedition’ happen, but they did,” Trump said in a statement. “This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo.”
Trump described the Manhattan investigation into his financial dealings as a continuation of “the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country,” referring broadly to repeated investigations into his alleged wrongdoing. Brett Samuels has more here.
Stimulus update—House panel advances Biden’s $1.9T COVID-19 aid bill: The House Budget Committee on Monday advanced President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on a 19-16 party-line vote.
“We are in a race against time. Aggressive, bold action is needed before our nation is more deeply and permanently scarred by the human and economic costs of inaction,” Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said at the hearing.
The bill includes:
- $1,400 stimulus checks
- Extensions to emergency unemployment benefits
- Funding for vaccinations and testing
- $129 billion for schools
- Increases to child tax credits and earned income tax credits
- And a plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.
The Hill’s Niv Elis breaks it down here.
What comes next: The bill must be marked up by the House Rules Committee before consideration on the House floor, likely on Friday or Saturday. The legislation will then have to be taken up in the Senate, where it is expected to face considerable procedural and political challenges.
Read more: GOP not worried about voting against popular relief bill
ON TAP TOMORROW:
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m.
- The Senate Finance Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Deputy Treasury Secretary-designate Wally Adeyemo at 10 a.m.
- A House Appropriations subcommittee holds a hearing on oversight of the IRS at 10 a.m.
- The Urban Institute hosts a webinar entitled “Financial Inclusion: Lessons Learned and What’s Next for Innovations on Alternative Credit Data” at 3 p.m.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Democratic women are putting the crisis of female unemployment in their sights, focusing on child care and industry incentives in promoting President Biden’s coronavirus relief package.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday defended President Biden’s proposal to send $1,400 direct payments to the vast majority of Americans, saying they will help people who are struggling but aren’t receiving more targeted forms of assistance.
- President Biden on Monday announced policy changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) meant to target coronavirus relief to the smallest businesses and minority-owned firms.
- The IRS announced Monday that it is extending the tax-filing deadline to June 15 for victims of the winter storms in Texas.
ODDS AND ENDS
- GameStop stock rose 13.3 percent Monday after Keith Gill, the popular online trader behind last month’s frenetic rally, announced he had doubled his investment in the struggling retailer.