Schumer Lays Out Democratic Strategy
Senate Minority Leader articulates oppositional vision. Yahoo! News: "Schumer mentioned infrastructure investments and tax and trade reform as areas of possible cooperation, while vowing to fight 'tooth and nail' on other issues, including a repeal of health care reform ... By signaling a limited willingness to work with Trump, Schumer may be setting a trap for the Republicans. If Congress makes tax cuts for the wealthy a priority but fails to pass a job-creating infrastructure bill, Democrats can argue that Trump and his party betrayed his base of working class voters."
"Schumer Prepared to Hold Supreme Court Seat Open" reports Roll Call: "'It’s hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support,' the New York Democrat told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Tuesday night. Asked if he would do his best to hold the seat open, Schumer responded, 'Absolutely.' ... Schumer said Republicans may be faced with a choice to change Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. But he said it would be 'very hard' for Republicans to do so given that some GOP senators do not want to alter the chamber’s rules."
"Three steps for progressive resistance" from Katrina vanden Heuvel in The Nation: "...progressives must recognize that the most significant resistance to Trump won’t take place in Washington. It’s going to happen in the streets led by grass-roots activists ... there will be 87 state legislative chambers and 36 gubernatorial seats up for grabs in 2018. Progressives would be wise to adopt a laserlike focus on winning these races ... [And] it will be critical for progressive leaders in Washington to amplify local progress to drive a national message."
Obamacare Fight Is On
Republicans begin Obamacare repeal process. NYT: "Budget language released on Tuesday gives House and Senate committees only until Jan. 27 to produce legislation that would eliminate major parts of the health care law. Under arcane budget procedures, that legislation would be protected from a Democratic filibuster and could pass the Senate with a simple majority. And debate will begin on Wednesday, before senators have even moved into their new offices."
Democrats begin grassroots mobilization to save Obamacare. Politico: "They're holding rallies in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, featuring the stories of some of the red-state Americans who have benefited from the law. They’re urging followers to bombard lawmakers’ district offices and phone lines with calls against repeal. And they’re targeting moderate Republicans in Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Nevada and Tennessee who are up for reelection in 2018 — or who could be influential in the repeal vote — with a seven-figure television and print ad campaign."
Trump To Line His Pockets
Trump stands to make billions from his tax reform. Politico: "The Republican tax code overhaul is expected to include across-the-board tax cuts, including one to the top business tax rate that would allow Trump’s companies to keep a greater share of their profits. Beyond the rate reduction, Trump could also benefit from several other provisions likely to be part of the GOP tax reform package, such as a proposed exemption on foreign income generated from overseas sales, from certain business interest deductions on debt-financed projects that are widely favored by real estate developers and from provisions allowing small business owners to tap into a lower 15 percent rate while filing through their individual returns. And Trump’s family stands to significantly benefit — an estimated savings of $4 billion or more ... from a repeal of the estate tax..."
Trump may restrict immigration of nonwhites, argues The Nation's Julianne Hing: "... this past August [he said he would 'keep immigration levels measured by population share within historical norms.' ... What Trump’s hint meant was a return to an explicitly racist immigration system put in place in the 1920s [when] Congress created a system designed to curb immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe ..."
Trump May Break NAFTA Rules
Trump may violate NAFTA. Bloomberg: "...Donald Trump won’t be able to punish General Motors Co. for building cars in Mexico without violating NAFTA. That may not stop him ... Targeting a single company with a tariff as Trump threatened to do with GM in a tweet Tuesday is unheard of and barred under the North American Free Trade Agreement..."
Trump may not be able to stop car companies from moving to Mexico. Bloomberg: "Cheaper labor is only one reason Mexico has seen a surge in new-car production. While the country’s low wages have been the big attraction, one of its key advantages is that it has trade agreements with 44 countries, giving automakers access to half the global car market tariff-free. The U.S. has similar trade deals with just 20 countries, which make up 9 percent of global car sales..."
Breakfast Sides
Senate Republicans may renew push for sentencing reform. Politico: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) plans to take up a bill to revamp U.S. sentencing laws and reform prisons soon after his panel clears the high-profile nominations from Donald Trump. A similar measure passed his committee overwhelmingly last year before stalling out in the face of opposition from law-and-order conservatives."
"Treasury Nominee Steve Mnuchin’s Bank Accused of 'Widespread Misconduct' in Leaked Memo" scoops The Intercept's David Dayen: "Donald Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, ran from 2009 to 2015, repeatedly broke California’s foreclosure laws during that period, according to a previously undisclosed 2013 memo from top prosecutors in the state attorney general’s office."
