Subject: POLITICO's Morning Money: GOP crack-up, Trump administration edition — Don't sweat the jobs report — Former Democratic senator blasts Obama's transparency measure — Big day for Brexit
From: Morning Money <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2016 06:03:11 -0600

By Ben White | 05/09/2016 08:00 AM EDT

GOP CRACK-UP: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EDITION - POLITICO's Darren Samuelsohn and Ben White with Bryan Bender and Eli Stokols on how difficult a President Trump would find it to convince top GOP talent to serve in his administration: "Top Republican political leaders aren't the only ones shunning their party's presidential nominee - a vast number of highly skilled managers and policy experts, veterans of recent GOP administrations who would normally be expected to fill key positions for a new White House, are also vowing to sit out a Donald Trump presidency.

"And while the failure of the two Presidents Bush or House Speaker Paul Ryan to endorse the presumptive nominee carries political consequences, the absence of policy veterans in a new administration would have a substantive effect on the running of government. ... POLITICO interviewed nearly five dozen Republicans over the past two weeks - people with experience working in government and who understand how Congress can enact, or shred, a new president's agenda - and heard the same sentiment expressed repeatedly. 

NEVER GONNA DO IT - "'I would never serve in a Trump administration,' said James Capretta, a former [OMB] under George W. Bush. 'The person at the top is unfit for the presidency. He's made that very clear with his behavior.' Added Matt McDonald, another Bush OMB veteran: 'I wouldn't vote for Trump, much less work for him. I don't agree with half his ideas, and the other half I don't really believe what he said.'

THE TRUMP TREASURY - "At Treasury, which plays a lead role on fiscal and tax policy, the only candidate regularly mentioned by Trump is long-time Wall Street activist investor Carl Icahn. But the 80-year-old Icahn has repeatedly said he doesn't want the job. And few who follow these jobs closely think Trump would even try to persuade him.

'You can't send an 80-year-old Wall Street guy to be Treasury secretary,' one top former Republican White House official said. 'It's not going to be Carl Icahn. You can have an old Wall Street guy as trade representative or at Commerce or something but not Treasury. It doesn't work.'

"Trump could still look to Wall Street for a Treasury secretary, perhaps from the private equity industry. A name often mentioned to replace Jack Lew is Blackstone Group Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman; a person close to Schwarzman described him as a 'great choice" for Trump. Trump has also mentioned KKR co-founder and co-CEO Henry Kravis as a possible Treasury secretary. 

"But Kravis, 72, has said he's not interested. .. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker ... has also been mentioned for Treasury as well as for secretary of state" One other name mentioned by several Republicans as a possible Trump Treasury secretary is Glenn Hubbard, currently dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de8c2567b771ac33e7aec2b8092c903e8c06c8e05febf820c88220ab479aac1d

DON'T SWEAT THE JOBS REPORT - Pantheon's Ian Shepherdson: "The undershoot in April payrolls, relative to the consensus, is a story of a fluke number in just one sector. Retail payrolls reportedly shrank by 3K, after rising by an average of 52K over the previous six months. ... 

"The early Easter might be responsible for the sudden swing in retail jobs, but the evidence is inconclusive. April retail payrolls have been weaker than in March in six of the past nine years in which ... Elsewhere, construction job gains slowed in April to just 1K, from the 24K average over the previous three months, but this was an overdue correction." 

JOBS REPORT CHEAT SHEET - Via Hamilton Place Strategies: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658ecb6dc78bde1a19acb214ade0b9c203df1d2bd0bcfd478a92

GOOD MONDAY MORNING - Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! MM is on CNBC's Squawk Box at 6:20 a.m. talking Trump and the GOP crack up. Email me on [email-masked] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. 

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES - Bernie Becker on Carl Levin's takedown of Obama's financial transparency rules - and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. - please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 [email-masked] 

DRIVING THE WEEK - Primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia on Tuesday, not that they really matter anymore ... Treasury Secretary Jack Lew heads to Puerto Rico on Monday "to highlight Puerto Rico's debt crisis and the need for Congressional action to provide the Commonwealth with access to an orderly restructuring regime, paired with independent oversight that respects Puerto Rico's self-governance" ... 

Ryan and Trump will meet Thursday along with RNC Chair Reince Priebus who has pledged to broker a peace. Trump will also meet with other House GOP leaders ... Senate Banking has a hearing Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. on "Evaluating the Financial Risks of China" ... 

BIG DAY FOR BREXIT - Via the Daily Mirror: "David Cameron will plead for Britain to stay in the EU and help prevent the Continent being ripped apart by another conflict. Mr Cameron will highlight the UK's role in bringing peace to Europe as he hits the referendum campaign trail. ... Both the Prime Minister and his Brexit -backing Tory rival Boris Johnson make speeches this morning in the countdown to the June 23 vote.

"Mr Cameron will refer to Britain's role in 'pivotal moments in European history: Blenheim, Trafalgar, Waterloo, our country's heroism in the Great War and, most of all, our lone stand in 1940'. He will recall how Winston Churchill 'argued passionately for Western Europe to come together, to promote free trade and build institutions which would endure so our continent would never again see such bloodshed'. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658eed5789850bb20a44f04e0345b01fe46361d123b23de179fc

AND ALSO FOR GREECE - Via Ryan Heath's Brussels Playbook: "Christine Lagarde is threatening to pull the IMF out of the Greek bailout if debt relief is not agreed. Jean-Claude Juncker is also telling ministers to see the big picture. Helena Smith: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658efa62997367f677e784eb81ba72abc0863677d91173fc95dd

COULD THE ECONOMY HELP TRUMP? - The Guardian's Larry Elliottt: "The smart money now says that Trump has no chance in a head-to-head in a presidential race with Hilary Clinton ... But Americans are not going to pick the next resident of the White House for another six months. That is an awfully long time in politics and 10-point deficits have been overturned in the past. It is by no means inconceivable that Trump will succeed Barack Obama. Indeed, the state of the US economy suggests that he has a fighting chance.

"The first point to recognise is that the economy is struggling. Growth slowed to an annualised 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2016, which means that it was barely expanding at all. ... Jobs are still being created but at a slower pace. ... Disappointing economic data has become rather too common in recent months. Investment activity has been weak, with companies taking advantage of low interest rates to buy back their own shares rather than investing in new plant and machinery" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658ecc34feee58fe367c69a50c599e51cb8fc189fa03ca46ed22

TRUMP FLY AROUND - Because we don't want to go too heavy on Trump in this space, a speed-read for your use if you want it or to skip over if you don't. ... 

The Atlantic's Derek Thompson says Trump's economic policies could spark a recession (M.M. reported earlier this year that it could actually be a depression): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658ea6b761957ffaa4b66d9b485412382b23a2c92f36420385e4

Trump on Sunday flip-flopped on his massive tax cut plan (which would tilt heavily to the rich) and said he would raise taxes on the wealthy: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658e82f50e936f1f3eafcb77caac3f5c77a2207188ad2a28c92e ... He also said he wants to see the minimum wage go up but would prefer states do it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658ec20241d3fa103396672e36f90e78e457f6929c3b85977381

On his tax returns, Trump very strongly indicated he would not release them: "I have very big tax returns. I'm sure you've seen the picture where the returns are literally from the floor to up to here. They're extremely complex. I get audited - ... If the auditors finish. I'll do it as fast as the auditors finish.

"Remember this, I've already given my financials. And my financials show I'm worth more than $10 billion by any stretch of the imagination. Has tremendous cash. Tremendous cash flow. You don't learn much from tax returns. But I would love to give the tax returns. But I can't do it until I'm finished with the audit." 

MM REALITY CHECK - Trump can release his tax returns whenever he wants, audit or no. There is no law stopping him. And his "financials" are just what he has chosen to tell us. Tax returns provide plenty of information including tax rates paid, charitable giving, use of offshore accounts and the like. It is not a requirement but it is now expected that all major party candidates for president release at least a few years of returns. Could Trump get away without doing it? Of course! Will Democrats seek to hammer him for hiding things? You bet! 

GOP COULD HAVE WON WITH GENERIC CANDIDATE - Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley in POLITICO Mag: "There's good reason to think that, had the Republicans run a 'generic' candidate, the GOP would have had an electoral edge in 2016. But Trump is anything but generic, with historic unfavorables that surpass even Clinton's significant ones - and the math shows that Clinton, as unpopular as she is, could potentially be the first candidate since 1984 to win the two-party popular vote by more than 10 percentage points.

"That said, we're six months out from Election Day - plenty of time for more Trump surprises in an election year already riddled with them. ... Way back in early 2015, there were at least two major reasons to think the GOP would have a leg up in a presidential contest. For one, fundamental factors such as the economy and the president's approval rating were operating in the Republicans' favor. ... Second, parties almost never win three straight White House terms." 

SPERLING RIPS TRUMP DEBT COMMENTS - Via Gene Sperling, former Director of the NEC: "For Donald Trump to casually announce he would consider defaulting on our debt for the first time in our history shows a stunning lack of responsibility and understanding of the global economy. Donald Trump might feel it is fine to renege on his own debts and drive some of his companies in and out of bankruptcy, but that is no way to run the United States economy" 

WHAT TRUMP SAID ON CNBC's "Squawk Box: "I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal ... And if the economy was good, it was good. So, therefore, you can't lose."

HILLARY RAMPS UP WALL STREET MONEY - WSJ's Brody Mullins and Rebecaa Ballhaus: "Hillary Clinton is consolidating her support among Wall Street donors and other businesses ahead of a general-election battle with ... Trump, winning more campaign contributions from financial-services executives in the most recent fundraising period than all other candidates combined. The Democratic front-runner has raised $4.2 million in total from Wall Street, $344,000 of which was contributed in March alone. 

"According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of fundraising data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the former secretary of state received 53 percent of the donations from Wall Street in March, up from 32 percent last year and 33 percent in January through February, as the nominating contests began. The analysis of campaign-finance reports shows that some Wall Street donors have shifted their financial support from Republican candidates who dropped out of the race, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, to Mrs. Clinton in recent months." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d9e1fac91c7658e717f57d9fbc30a677326f4acc1fa69ab0b3bfecab195ca43

DUDLEY SEES HIKES AHEAD - NYT's Binyamin Appelbaum: "William C. Dudley, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York president, who helped pilot the Fed's post-crisis stimulus campaign, sounded pretty calm about the nation's current economic situation. In an interview ... Mr. Dudley said he foresaw continued growth despite bumps in the early months of the year - enough growth for the Fed to get back to slowly raising its benchmark interest rate. And if growth should falter, he said, there is plenty of medicine in the Fed's chest. ... 

"It remains a 'reasonable expectation' that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate twice this year, Mr. Dudley said. 'I think the general story of the economy over the last few years is very much intact,' he said during the conversation at the New York Fed's ornate fortress in Lower Manhattan. 'I think we're still on track.' ... He said he still expected roughly 2 percent growth over the next year. He described the global situation as 'dramatically better,' and said financial conditions have eased 'considerably.' Even government spending is rising modestly now." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de8c2567b771ac33c3601ff8b180473c663721c063dedb480c8e05218ffb2765

FED STILL ON COURSE - Bloomberg: "Three of the world's most influential bond investors and the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York say the U.S. central bank is on course to raise interest rates even after an April jobs gain that was smaller than economists forecast. ... 

Bill Gross, the former manager of the biggest bond fund, said policy makers may act at their next meeting in June. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, said the Fed may move twice this year. Mark Kiesel at Pacific Investment Management Co. and New York Fed President William Dudley echoed the comments" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de8c2567b771ac338c2c13a04b02e93c5a884ec96439679ca54ead6936a0cc75

CHINA TANKS AGAIN - Reuters: "China stocks fell sharply again on Monday, reaching eight-month lows, as investors saw hopes for a strong economic recovery fade and worried about fresh regulatory curbs on speculation. Following the market's nearly 3 percent slump on Friday, China's blue-chip CSI300 index 2.1 percent, to 3,065.62, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.8 percent, to 2,832.11 points. China April trade data, released on Sunday, doused investor hopes of a sustainable economic recovery, with both exports and imports falling more than expected" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de8c2567b771ac335a3323b1a68fd85dfcc4ca1b8883a8df1acbf04c8f8e334c

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