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President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested his pick of Herman Cain for the Federal Reserve was in jeopardy, as he rejected House Democrats’ demands to produce his tax returns on the day they’d set as a deadline.
CAIN COMMENTS
With Cain running into some opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, Trump said he didn’t know how the former pizza executive’s vetting was going but he wished him well. Asked if the nomination — which hasn’t formally been made — is safe, Trump replied: “I like Herman Cain and Herman will make that determination.”
Trump has said Cain is his pick for one of two open seats on the Fed board. But the president hasn’t formally nominated either Cain or former campaign adviser Stephen Moore. The selection of Cain has made some GOP senators uncomfortable, with Mitt Romney for example saying it’d be the “wrong course” to make the Fed “more partisan.” Sexual-harassment accusations caused Cain to drop his presidential campaign in 2011, and Cain himself has said he expects “cumbersome” scrutiny if his nomination proceeds.
Also read: Former Fed insider accuses Trump of trying to pack central bank with political allies.
TRUMP ON TAXES
Democrats want Trump to hand over six years of his personal and business tax returns to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal. But speaking to reporters before departing for a trip to Texas, the president said he would not.
“I would love to give them, but I’m not going to do it while I’m under audit,” Trump said. Using the same defense as during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he declined to release them, Trump said he got elected as he dealt with the same issue. “Frankly, the people don’t care,” he said.
Democrats are seeking Trump’s returns as they try to shed light on his financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest.
Read: House Democrats ask IRS to turn over 6 years of Trump’s tax returns.
Now see: What could be learned from Trump’s tax returns.
WALL TALK, ENERGY ORDER ON TEXAS TRIP
In San Antonio, Trump unexpectedly invited reporters into a roundtable with supporters and said all the people he spoke with wanted a border wall. He said he’d have to mobilize U.S. troops at the border, something outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said last week the administration was considering. Trump ousted Nielsen on Sunday.
While in Texas Trump is expected to announce an executive order that could make it harder for states to scuttle pipelines and other energy projects based on concerns about their impact on water quality.
Trump also commented on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, as Attorney General William Barr was testifying in Congress. Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of it within a week. Trump again claimed the special counsel’s investigation was illegal, even as Mueller’s appointment and authority have been upheld. Barr’s summary of the report said Mueller’s team didn’t find Trump or his campaign had conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. The attorney general also said Mueller hadn’t made a “traditional prosecutorial decision” on whether Trump obstructed justice.
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