Trump files for re-election — to hold on to his campaign cash

On the day of his inauguration, President Trump filed paperwork to declare his candidacy in the 2020 election, but it wasn’t necessarily a show of supreme confidence — more like a grasp for cash.

Financial disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission show that a lucrative December made the move an accounting necessity. The Trump campaign ended the year with $7.6 million in the bank and no debt, so any funds raised over $5,000 by the campaign in 2017 would have to be returned unless Mr. Trump registered as a candidate for 2020. He obviously was not prepared to offer refunds.

And the money has kept flowing. The campaign brought in more than $4 million in expense refunds, mostly from members of the media and the Secret Service for the seats they used on his campaign planes. This arrangement is typical — campaigns are required to charge the Secret Service and the press a fair rate. What’s unusual is that most of the campaign’s air travel expenses, nearly $9 million, were paid to companies owned by Trump.

There is one expenditure that has not slowed: Making America wear red hats again. The Trump campaign, along with two fundraising committees that raise money jointly with the Republican Party, brought in $6.5 million in contributions in the last month of 2016. More than a third of that was spent on on hats, mugs, stickers and other collateral.

Wall Street financier tied to Chinese conglomerate won’t get White House job for now

Anthony Scaramucci, an investment firm founder and Republican donor, won’t be assuming the role of director of the White House office of public liaison, as previously announced, a senior administration official said.

Mr. Scaramucci on Wednesday was told by Reince Priebus, the chief of staff to President Trump, and by the chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, that someone else would have to be given the job. However, the official said, the two men plan to find another role for Mr. Scaramucci in the West Wing down the road.

At issue is Mr. Scaramucci’s sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a division of HNA Group, a politically connected Chinese conglomerate that will become the investment firm’s majority owner. The sale has not been completed, and West Wing officials said that the White House Counsel’s Office predicted it would take up to 90 days for Mr. Scaramucci to be cleared of potential ethics conflicts.