Trump Set to Pick Vance Ally James Braid as Congress Liaison
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump is slated to soon name a close JD Vance ally, James Braid, to serve as the White House Director of Legislative Affairs, according to people familiar with the process.
Most Read from Bloomberg
In Cleveland, a Forgotten Streetcar Bridge Gets a Long-Awaited Lift
Amtrak Wins $300 Million to Fix Its Unreliable NJ-to-NYC Service
Braid has worked in Vance’s Senate office as deputy chief of staff and also worked for the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term. If officially named to serve as the White House’s congressional liaison, he’ll be charged with pushing Trump’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. A representative for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
One of the biggest legislative tasks will be securing a major tax bill that renews the individual and small business cuts Trump passed during his first term, provisions which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
Trump, on the campaign trail, also floated a series of fresh levy reductions — no taxes on tips, overtime pay or Social Security checks, and corporate rate cuts — that lawmakers could package together as a mega-tax bill. The legislative affairs director will be at the center of negotiations to advocate for Trump’s priorities.
It has the potential to be a fraught debate. House Speaker Mike Johnson in an interview Sunday said that tax cuts would have to be paid for, potentially constraining many of Trump’s pledges.
Earlier: Republican Election Sweep Emboldens Trump’s Tax Cut Dreams
The tax-cut process will also be in the purview of the Treasury secretary, a key position in Trump’s cabinet that has yet to be filled. Trump is still weighing who to select with candidates publicly tussling for the job and frustrating the president-elect.
Trump’s staff has been looking for alternatives to Key Square Group LP founder Scott Bessent and Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick, who have been among the most public candidates seeking the role. Robert Lighthizer, Senator William Hagerty, Apollo Global Management Inc. CEO Marc Rowan and Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, are among those also being discussed, according to people familiar with the talks.
Here’s what’s happening with the transition on Monday:
Hagerty Pushes Tax Cuts
Hagerty, who is in the mix for Treasury secretary, sought to sidestep speculation over who Trump might pick for the top economic post during an interview on Monday.
Hagerty, when asked if he has met with Trump about the role, said only that the president-elect has a “number of wonderful choices.”
“I’m continually in conversations with President Trump, and often on matters of the economy that relate to Treasury, but I’m not engaging in any speculation about who might go into a specific position,” he told host Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Fox Business Network.
Hagerty identified renewing Trump’s landmark 2017 tax law as one of the top issues for the incoming Treasury chief.
“That’s got to be job No. 1 for the incoming Treasury secretary — is to get that incredible piece of legislation extended and through. If we don’t deal with it, America is going to be faced with enormous tax increases,” Hagerty said.
“He’ll need a Treasury secretary that’s going to be capable of working with this legislative branch to get that done,” he said.
Trump on Media
Trump on Monday sought to downplay tensions with the press, whom he regularly criticizes and has accused of bias.
“It is very important — if not vital — to have a free, fair and open media or press,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital, adding that he believes he has an “obligation” to work with the media.
The president-elect during the campaign regularly attacked the press as “fake news” and has sued CBS Broadcasting Inc., alleging it altered clips of an interview with his general election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The president-elect said he had also met with two of his most prominent media critics, the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, telling Fox News Digital that the meeting — at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday morning — was “extremely cordial.”
Brzezinski also discussed the meeting on her show Monday, saying it was the first time they had spoken to Trump in seven years other than a call Scarborough made after the failed assassination attempt on Trump this summer at a rally in Pennsylvania.
“President Trump was cheerful and upbeat and he seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues,” she added. “And for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back — why wouldn’t we?
Scarborough said they discussed many issues with Trump, “including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets.”
“It will come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so,” he added.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Trump’s Impossible Task: Delivering for the Working Class and Billionaires
FedEx’s CEO Is Charting His Own Path—in the Smith Family’s Shadow
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
