Trump pick rejected for trade bank chief
WASHINGTON — A Republican-controlled Senate panel rebuffed President Donald Trump on Tuesday, killing the nomination of his choice to run the Export-Import Bank.
Two Banking Committee Republicans, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, joined with Democrats to shelve the nomination of former GOP Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey to head up the bank, which provides loans, credit insurance and loan guarantees to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. exports.
The Export-Import Bank has many Republican critics who say it distorts markets and that too much of its help benefits large corporations like Boeing. Some U.S. businesses, including airlines, say the bank effectively subsidizes foreign competitors.
But the bank has significant bipartisan support in Congress, including backing from the Republicans’
establishment wing, as well as outside Republican allies such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“We need to both reform the Export-Import Bank and ensure it continues to function as an important tool for American businesses large and small,” said Scott, whose state is home to a huge Boeing plant. “Given Mr. Garrett’s long history opposing the ExIm Bank, I believe it would be hard for him to accomplish both of those goals.”
Garrett voted to close the bank when serving in Congress and didn’t apologize for his opposition when testifying at his confirmation hearing. The bank has been languishing since 2015 without the quorum of board members required to approve larger transactions.
“We are disappointed that the Senate Banking Committee missed this opportunity to get the Export Import Bank fully functioning again. We will continue to work with the committee on a path forward,” said Marc Short, the White House’s director of legislative affairs.
“To put it plainly, we have lost American jobs because of the games that have been played with the Export-Import Bank,” said top banking panel Democrat Sherrod Brown of Ohio. “Our manufacturers and their employees don’t have a level playing field when competing for overseas business. … American jobs have been lost as deals stall and U.S. manufacturers consider moving their production abroad.”
The panel approved several other nominees to the Ex-Im board, however.
The Ex-Im Bank, which was created during the Great Depression, helps foreign
companies buy U.S. products when private banks won’t provide financing. Some of its biggest beneficiaries include manufacturing and aerospace companies such as Boeing and General Electric Co., as well as big banks, like JPMorgan Chase & Co., that help finance deals.
Dubbed the “Bank of Boeing” for the backing it has given to aircraft purchases by airlines unable to tap conventional credit markets, the Ex-Im Bank has been blocked from providing loan guarantees of more than $10 million because it has lacked a quorum since 2015.
Nominations for five other Ex-Im positions moved forward: Kimberly Reed to be the first vice president of the bank, former GOP congressman Spencer Bachus, Judith Pryor and Claudia Slacik to be board members, and Mark Greenblatt to be inspector general.
The Aerospace Industries
Association applauded the approvals of the board nominations, which means the bank will now be fully functional, as well as the rejection of Garrett. In a statement, the association said that “Garrett is not the leader that the Ex-Im Bank needs and that American manufacturers deserved.”