Plus: Why Trump picked Vance
â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â [The Fisc]( Â Â By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Good evening. Republicans are gathering in Milwaukee this week, where they officially nominated Donald Trump to be their presidential candidate for a third time. As GOP sets its November ticket, Trump on Monday announced his choice for running mate, concluding a process that he had likened to âa highly sophisticated version of âThe Apprenticeââ by picking Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Earlier in the day, the former president got a huge gift from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the classified documents case against him in a stunning decision that is expected to be appealed but, for now at least, adds another major win to Trumpâs recent streak of good fortune. Hereâs what weâre watching while waiting for the first night of the Republican National Convention, where the prime-time speakers are reportedly scheduled to include Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Byron Donalds of Florida; Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina; and Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Katie Britt of Alabama and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Trump and Vance (Reuters) Trump Picks Sen. JD Vance as His Running Mate
Two days after he survived an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump kicked off this weekâs Republican National Convention by tapping 39-year-old first-term Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to join the GOP ticket as his vice-presidential nominee. Vance, who won out over other GOP contenders, including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, may be half Trumpâs age, but heâs more closely aligned with Trumpâs America First ideology, including support for tariffs, concerns about immigration and opposition to U.S. funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Vance is also an election denier who has said that if he had been in Vice President Mike Penceâs position, he would have rejected electoral votes contested by Trump in 2020. âHe is a younger and more articulate version of Trump,â Republican pollster Frank Luntz told [Bloomberg](. Vanceâs background is much different than Trumpâs, though. Vance served as a Marine in the Iraq War before earning a Yale Law degree and becoming a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He rose to prominence as the author of the bestselling 2016 memoir âHillbilly Elegy.â He has been in the Senate for less than two years, with his meteoric political rise fueled by a shift from fierce Trump critic (he had called Trump and âidiotâ and âunfit for our nationâs highest officeâ) to loyal MAGA ally â or, as [The New York Times]( put it, âan ambitious ideologue who relishes the spotlight and has already shown he can energize donors on behalf of the presumptive nominee.â In his statement announcing the pick, Trump said Vance âwill be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyondâ¦.â President Joe Biden knocked Trumpâs pick in a fundraising pitch on social media: âHereâs the deal about J.D. Vance. He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich.â Chart of the Day: Betting on Trump
This weekendâs assassination attempt against Trump dramatically shifts the tenor and substance of the presidential race. Acknowledging that financial journalism âcan feel bloodless, if not tasteless, at times like this,â Bloomberg Columnist John Authers nevertheless notes that prediction markets now see a dramatically higher chance of Trump winning another term in the White House, with the Real Clear Politics Trump betting average surging above 63% as of Saturday, when the former president survived a rifle shot. âThe election is four months away, and there is some doubt over whom his competitor will be, so itâs not a done deal. But it looks ever closer to one, and heâs in fantastic political shape,â Authers writes. âWhatever his chances of victory before the assassination attempt, theyâre better now. Itâs absurd to suggest otherwise. Heâs plainly the favorite.â Authersâ Bloomberg colleagues [reported]( that the âTrump trade is gaining momentumâ in financial markets, âbased on anticipation that the Republicanâs return to the White House would usher in tax cuts, higher tariffs and looser regulations.â But Authers adds that thereâs relatively little sign so far of a major bond market revolt against âan agenda that seems almost designed to drive up the deficit and stoke inflation.â He explains: âEither traders donât think itâs worth pricing in a Trump victory yet, or they donât think he would be that bad for the bond market. The latter is more likely.â A Fiscal Twist as Judge Dismisses Trumpâs Classified Documents Case
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday threw out the federal case involving former President Trumpâs allegedly improper retention of dozens of classified documents, ruling that the appointment of the special prosecutor handling the case was unconstitutional. Cannon, who was appointed to the Southern District of Florida by then-President Trump in 2020, said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unlawful, since he was neither appointed by the president nor confirmed by the Senate, violating the Constitutionâs Appointments Clause. âThe Appointments Clause is a critical constitutional restriction stemming from the separation of powers, and it gives Congress a considered role in determining the propriety of vesting appointment power for inferior officers,â Cannon wrote in her decision, referring to the special counsel. âThe Special Counselâs position effectively usurps this important legislative authority, transferring it to a Head of Department, and in the process threatening the structural liberty inherent in the separation of powers.â In addition, Cannon ruled that the special counsel violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, since Congress did not properly appropriate the funds to operate the counselâs office. âFor more than 18 months, Special Counsel Smithâs investigation and prosecution has been financed by substantial funds drawn from the Treasury without statutory authorization, and to try to rewrite history at this point seems near impossible,â Cannon wrote. âThe Court has difficulty seeing how a remedy short of dismissal would cure this substantial separation-of-powers violation.â A boost from Thomas: Cannonâs ruling comes just weeks after Justice Clarence Thomas expressed doubts about the legal status of the special counsel. In an unusual, solo concurrence to the Supreme Court decision that granted U.S. presidents substantial immunity for actions taken in office â a decision that could benefit Trump enormously in his various criminal trials â Thomas said there are âserious questionsâ about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland acted properly in appointing a special counsel whose office had not been established explicitly by law. Cannon quoted from Thomasâs concurrence in her ruling Monday. Still, some legal experts say that the question about the status of special counsels has already been adjudicated, including in the case of Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who was appointed to investigate connections between Trump and Russian intelligence efforts to interfere with the 2016 election; Muellerâs appointment was challenged in court but found to be legitimate. The special counselâs office said it plans to appeal Cannonâs decision. âThe dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel," spokesperson Peter Carr said in a statement. Number of the Day: $3.1 Billion
In the wake of what appears to be significant failures by the Secret Service as it provided security for former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday, some have asked whether budget constraints played a role in the agencyâs shortcomings. Roll Callâs Peter Cohn points out that the Secret Service, which is part of the Homeland Security Department, received a 9% increase in appropriations in the current fiscal year, totaling nearly $3.1 billion â its largest budget in an election year in decades. âAny errors in judgment or personnel deployment donât appear to be for lack of money,â Cohn [wrote](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Send your feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com. And please encourage your friends to [sign up here]( for their own copy of this newsletter.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal News Roundup - [Trump Selects Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as His Running Mate]( â CNN
- [J.D. Vance on the Issues, From Abortion to the Middle East]( â New York Times
- [Private Meeting, Billionaires and a G6 Gulfstream: The Backstory on How Trump Picked Vance]( â Politico
- [J.D. Vanceâs Journey From a âNever Trumpâ Guy to Trumpâs VP Pick]( â Washington Post
- [âIâm a Never Trump Guyâ: All of J.D. Vanceâs Trump Quotes That Could Come Back to Bite Him]( â Politico
- [55 Things to Know About J.D. Vance, Trump's VP Pick]( â Politico
- [Both Sides Skeptical That Calls for Unity Will Stick]( â The Hill
- [Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case Over Concerns with Prosecutorâs Appointment]( â Associated Press
- [The RNCâs First Day Will Still Focus on the Economy. Hereâs What to Know About Trumpâs Plans]( â Associated Press
- [Powell Says Recent Data Raise Confidence Inflation on Path to 2%]( â Bloomberg
- [Global Markets Ramp Up the âTrump Tradeâ After Rally Attack]( â Bloomberg
- [Chinaâs Economy Slowed in the Last Quarter as Weak Consumer Demand Dragged on Growth]( â Associated Press Views and Analysis - [A Second Trump Term Would Break the Back of the Bureaucracy]( â Nicholas B. Creel, The Hill
- [The Background Hum of Political Violence]( â David Dayen, American Prospect
- [The Dismissal of the Trump Documentsâ Case Is Yet More Proof: The Institutionalists Have Failed]( â Elie Mystal, The Nation
- [Can a Medicaid Plan That Requires Work Succeed? First Year of Georgia Experiment Is Not Promising]( â Sudhin Thanawala, Associated Press
- [The Economy's Big Split: Poor Consumers Feel Slowdown, Rich Ones Don't]( â Courtenay Brown, Axios
- [The Galling Mistake That Led the US to Its Current Debt Problem]( â Maya MacGuineas, CNN
- [Quality Child Care for $15 a Day? We Can Do It!]( â Kathryn Anne Edwards, Bloomberg
- [The Dangerous Authoritarian Gunning to Serve as Trumpâs Grand Vizier]( â Chris Lewis, Revolving Door Project
- [Hiding Medical Debt Wonât Make It Go Away]( â Bloomberg Editorial Board Copyright © 2024 The Fiscal Times, All rights reserved.
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