Black list push back Presented by U.S. Bank

BLACK LIST PUSH BACK — Some senior Democrats in DC are not at all happy that the left has its knives out already for prospective Hillary Clinton administration officials including Lael Brainard and Tom Nides.

A former senior Obama Administration official who worked with both Brainard and Nides emails: “Message from the Real World to Planet Tofu: Character assassination is an ugly and reprehensible thing, whether practiced by Joe McCarthy or people calling themselves progressives. Before publicly attacking people you’ve never met, try getting to know them first. If you bothered to do that, you’d learn that Lael Brainard is a committed public servant and former academic with progressive Democratic values.


“And that Tom Nides’ years at Morgan Stanley don’t detract in any way from his equally strong Democratic values and his decade-plus of exemplary public service in the Congress and two Democratic Administrations. As for the unseemly threats to derail consideration of these good people, it should simply be noted that Brainard has been confirmed twice by large majorities of the Senate, with every single Democratic Senator voting in favor, and that the White House chief of staff is not subject to confirmation …

“Progressives have had to sheepishly admit that they were wrong in their early opposition to Gary Gensler and Antonio Weiss, and they are wrong again now. They should do us all a favor and leave the threats and insults to Donald Trump.”

DC ECON NERDS UNITE FOR HRC — Former OMB Director and current Lazard Banker Peter Orszag is hosting a $250-a-head fundraiser in DC on Thursday for Clinton that will also feature former CEA Chairs Austan Goolsbee and Alan Krueger. The event, put together by former OMB’er Kenneth Baer, is said to be “way over-subscribed” and will include lots of folks from all wings of the party. Said one person who plans to be there: “It's a testament to how much those who know how to count see Trump as a threat to the economy.” Invite: http://politi.co/2cWkshi

Not everyone is happy about the event. Per a Wall Street activist: “I wonder if Orszag is hosting this fundraiser with an eye toward greasing the skids for another trip through the Washington-to-Wall Street revolving door. It would be a small price to pay if a role in a future Clinton administration comes with a golden parachute from Lazard”

Orszag emailed MM in response: “(A) I have my dream job and have no plans to leave and (B) Gotta love that DC cynicism rearing its ugly head.”

OVERHEARD — Larry Summers, at a fundraiser at his Brookline, Mass. home for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate and former Bill Clinton administration environmental official Katie McGinty: “In the Clinton Administration when I heard green, I thought of a dollar bill and Katie thought of a tree.”

HOUSE PANEL ADVANCES DODD-FRANK ALTERNATIVE — Per POLITICO Pro: “In a 30-26 vote, the House Financial Services Committee approved Chairman Jeb Hensarling's bill to repeal and replace parts of Dodd-Frank after a markup that lasted less than two hours. One Republican member, Rep. Bruce Poliquin, voted with all of the panel's Democrats against the bill. (Poliquin, who is running for reelection in Maine, declined to discuss his vote afterward.)

“Democrats did not offer any amendments to Hensarling's bill. The reason? As ranking member Maxine Waters put it: The bill is ‘so bad that it simply cannot be fixed. And so we're not going to waste any more time on this. Democrats are not going to offer any amendments.’” http://politico.pro/2cToU4B

ECON NUMBERS COULD BOOST CLINTON — POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine and Timothy Noah: “U.S. incomes saw their largest single-year boost last year in nearly half a century, according to a new Census Bureau report that could boost … Clinton's campaign while undercutting Donald Trump's message of Americans being left behind. Median household income increased 5.2 percent in 2015, to $56,516, the census said.

“This was the first annual increase of any kind, after inflation, since the Great Recession of 2007-2009, and the largest recorded annual increase since the data series started in 1967. … Clinton immediately retweeted a favorable comment on the findings by the University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers — adding, mischievously, a 2004 quote from Trump: ‘It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than under the Republicans.’” http://politi.co/2cpZEzB

NY AG OPENS TRUMP FOUNDATION PROBE — POLITICO’s Louis Nelson: “New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation ‘to make sure it’s complying with the laws governing charities in New York,’ he said Tuesday. A source familiar with the matter confirmed Schneiderman’s remark and said the New York Attorney General’s office ‘has opened an inquiry into the Trump Foundation based on troubling transactions that have recently come to light.’

“Schneiderman — who for months has tangled with Trump over a fraud lawsuit his office filed against Trump University, the Manhattan billionaire’s real estate seminar program — told CNN’s ‘The Lead’ that the GOP nominee’s charitable foundation is also under scrutiny. … Trump’s charity has face growing questions in the wake of a damaging series of stories by the Washington Post and the Associated Press” http://politi.co/2cYiikh

PRESSER WEDNESDAY — Per release: “Democratic Members of the House Judiciary Committee … will hold a press conference on Wednesday, September 14th at 11:30am following their call for an immediate investigation by the Department of Justice of allegations of bribery and other criminal misconduct concerning the $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi”

STERNLICHT AND LASRY — Marc Lasry, Avenue Capital Group Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, and Barry Sternlicht, Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO, spoke over lunch at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference in NYC on Tuesday. Sternlicht on 2016: “I was hoping everyone would get indicted and we'd get to start over.” More: http://cnb.cx/2c7AvXK

ICAHN LAUDS TRUMP — Reuters: “Billionaire investor Carl Icahn continued to throw his support behind the Republican U.S. presidential candidate on Tuesday, saying Donald Trump would reduce the regulation of U.S. companies. … ‘If you look ahead three years, this economy will be a lot better if Trump gets elected’ rather than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Icahn said, speaking at the CNBC ‘Delivering Alpha’ event in New York” http://reut.rs/2cmitlg

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING — We are now less than two months from Election Day! That thought should fill you with joy. Email me on [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben.

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES – Patrick Temple-West on a push by Clinton allies on corporate disclosure -- and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. -- please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or [email protected].

DRIVING THE DAY — House Budget Committee has a hearing at 10:00 a.m. on “Growing Risks to the Budget and Economy” … Senate Budget Committee has a hearing at 2:30 p.m. on “Oversight of the Congressional Budget Office” … Treasury Secretary Jack Lew meets this afternoon with President Obama at the White House.

REPORT: TRUMP COULD COST ECONOMY $1 TRILLION — Reuters: “The U.S. economy could be $1 trillion smaller than otherwise expected in 2021 if … Trump wins the presidential election in November, economics research firm Oxford Economics said … While the firm said Trump's policies - including more protectionist trade measures, tax cuts and mass deportation of illegal immigrants - may be watered down in negotiations with Congress, they could have ‘adverse’ consequences.

“‘Should Mr. Trump prove more successful in achieving adoption of his policies, the consequences could be far-reaching — knocking 5 percent off the level of U.S. GDP relative to baseline and undermining the anticipated recovery in global growth,’ it said. … At a campaign event in Clive, Iowa, on Tuesday, however, Trump reasserted that he would grow the U.S. economy” http://reut.rs/2cq4NYy

BANKS CLAIM WIN ON DURBIN — From a financial services lobbyist: “The debit-card networks and issuing banks scored an under-the-radar win Tuesday when the House Financial Services Committee passed a Dodd-Frank replacement that included a repeal of Durbin. The anti-Durbin crowd, led by the Electronic Payments Coalition, worked hard for months to make sure Durbin was included in the bill — and stayed there, despite pressure from the retailers to strip it.

“That included member meetings, calls in the district, newspaper and online ads, etc. The merchants applied similar (perhaps greater … ) pressure on members to offer an amendment to remove the Durbin repeal.”

TWEET OF THE NIGHT — @KurtEichenwald: “My big cover story in @Newsweek that could change the dialogue about this election season will be published online tomorrow.”

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow read a few grafs from the piece, which alleges Trump associations with foreign entities and “even criminals” that could create enormous conflicts for a Trump White House. http://on.msnbc.com/2cdu7kX

CLINTON RETURNS TO TRAIL THURSDAY — POLITICO’s Gabriel Debenedetti: “Hillary Clinton is returning to the campaign trail Thursday after scrapping her West Coast travel for Monday through Wednesday as she recovers from a case of pneumonia at home in Chappaqua, New York, said campaign spokesman Nick Merrill.

“Fundraiser invites circulated on Tuesday also show that she’s still due in battleground states next week. … Clinton has at least one campaign cash event scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia, one on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and one on Wednesday in Heathrow, Florida, according to invitations obtained by POLITICO” http://politi.co/2cDgEnr

OUT TODAY — Center for American Progress has a new report out today that “focuses on public investments, economic analysis, and dynamic scoring” http://ampr.gs/2cmfJEq

BUFFETT TAKES HIT ON WELLS — Bloomberg’s Tom Metcalf: “Warren Buffett had $1.4 billion wiped from his fortune Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Co. fell 3.3 percent as the fallout continued from revelations that bank employees had opened more than 2 million accounts without clients’ approval.” http://bloom.bg/2cmhzoM

Jeff Hauser, Director, Revolving Door Project emails: “The ongoing fallout from the Wells Fargo imbroglio illustrates not only why the CFPB is *necessary,* but why the CFPB is not sufficient. The discrepancy between low-level Wells Fargo employees fired and senior executives collecting inflated stock options demonstrates why pro-consumer forces need to also monitor potential appointments at, for example, the Department of Justice.”

WELLS CEO BLAMES EMPLOYEES — WSJ’s Emily Glazer and Christina Rexrode: “As public and congressional pressure mounted on Wells Fargo & Co. executives, its top two bankers had an explanation Tuesday for allegedly illegal sales practices across the company: It was employees’ fault. Chief Executive John Stumpf defended the firm and the efforts it had taken to stop the behavior, which included opening accounts for customers without permission.

“‘There was no incentive to do bad things,’ Mr. Stumpf said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He called the conduct that led to last week’s settlement with federal and local authorities ‘not acceptable,’ adding that the bank doesn’t ‘want one dime of income that’s not earned properly.’ … On Monday afternoon, Wells Fargo was the country’s largest bank by market capitalization. But by Monday evening, word came of planned congressional hearings. By the end of the day Tuesday, a 3.3 percent stock decline meant that Wells Fargo, with a market capitalization of $236.9 billion, was now second in value to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., with $240.3 billion” http://on.wsj.com/2cM3d1E

DALIO DEFENDS PRACTICES — NYT’s Alexandra Stevenson and Matthew Goldstein: “The billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio on Tuesday defended the ‘unusual’ culture at his $150 billion firm, Bridgewater Associates. Speaking at a hedge fund conference in Manhattan, Mr. Dalio said Bridgewater’s policy of ‘radical transparency’ was not for everyone. He said the firm had a policy of taping all meetings ‘for everybody to see so that there’s no spin.’ ‘Some people absolutely hate it, and some people could never work anywhere else,’ he said” http://nyti.ms/2c7ERxU

HITTING BLOOMBERG THIS A.M. — Matthew Winkler: “Manufacturing jobs increased under each of the seven Democrats and decreased under the six Republicans who became president during the past eight decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Even as U.S. employment expanded — as it did under every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt — manufacturing jobs declined only under Republican presidents.”

GREENBERG TRIAL KICKS OFF — FT’s Alistair Gray: “Hank Greenberg, the nonagenarian who ran AIG for almost four decades, is finally on trial over allegations he was involved in an accounting fraud at the insurance company about 16 years ago. After years of protracted legal wrangling, his courthouse showdown with state authorities began in Manhattan on Tuesday in a case originally brought by Eliot Spitzer, the former New York attorney-general, in 2005.

“The civil case, which will be decided by a judge without a jury, is expected to last months. Mr Greenberg sat mostly stony-faced as David Ellenhorn, the lawyer who represented the state, presented his case that the ex-AIG chief had engineered financial schemes to make the insurer’s accounts appear better than they really were. Mr Ellenhorn contended the defendant had ‘created, negotiated and implemented every aspect’ of two deals that allegedly inflated loss reserves and concealed underwriting losses” http://on.ft.com/2cF7at2

PRESSURE ON ATLANTA FED — “Fed Up” responds to news that Atlanta Fed President Lockhart will retire: “When the Atlanta Federal Reserve chooses who will succeed Dennis Lockhart as the next president, both process and outcome will matter. The Federal Reserve’s process of appointing regional bank presidents has been characterized by a lack of transparency, conflicts of interest, and no engagement from the public, particularly the low-income people of color most affected by the Fed’s policies.”

AMERICANS FINALLY GET A RAISE — WSJ’s Nick Timiraos and Janet Adamy: “A surge in U.S. incomes last year delivered the first significant raise for the typical family after seven years of stagnant and declining earnings, the result of sustained job growth finally lifting a broad swath of American households. The median household income … rose 5.2 percent, or $2,798, to $56,516, from a year earlier, after adjusting for inflation, the Census Bureau said … The increase was the largest annual gain recorded since the yearly survey of incomes began in 1967, though it didn’t fully close the gap left by last decade’s recessions.

“Median household incomes stood 1.6 percent shy of the 2007 level, before the last recession took its toll, and 2.4 percent below the all-time high reached in 1999. The figures show how several years of robust employment growth, including 2.4 million people who gained full-time work last year, helped regain ground lost after an especially wrenching downturn, particularly for lower-income households. Longer hours, higher wages and lower inflation also have contributed to the improvement” http://on.wsj.com/2c7CPOg

ARE POLITICIANS GETTING IT WRONG? — WP edit page: “For much of the past year, American voters have been subjected to a bombardment of negativity about the U.S. economy. During the Democratic presidential primaries, left-wing candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) served up a story of beaten-down employees serving their corporate bosses ‘longer hours for lower wages.’ On the Republican side .. Trump portrayed the United States as a near-prostrate victim of trading partners’ cheating, in which official statistics have been nefariously manipulated …

“Clinton has seemed to hesitate to talk about the real recovery that has taken place … [D]uring the entire time candidates such as Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump were out on the stump, the U.S. economy was performing contrary to their respective tales of woe” http://wapo.st/2ckWDDZ

TRUMP LAYS OUT FAMILY LEAVE PLAN — POLITICO’s Eli Stokols: “Trump made an overt appeal to the women voters he is struggling to win over, outlining a family leave plan for new mothers and fleshing out a proposed childcare tax credit that he says were both inspired by his daughter, Ivanka. …

“In his speech before a crowd of 300 supporters here in this working-class Philadelphia suburb, Trump gave more definition to his proposal to make childcare tax deductible, explaining that he would try to cap the deduction at the average cost of care in each state and that the wealthiest Americans — individuals earning more than $250,000 annually and families whose combined yearly income exceeds $500,000 — would not qualify for the credit” http://politi.co/2cWqOgV

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