As promised, Trump is ready to raise risk of trade war

A headbanging metal scene

The White House advisers who restrained President Donald Trump from acting on his campaign threat to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports ran out of time and fell short on guile.

A Washington Post account describes how the pro-tariffs protectionist faction in the administration exploited an ever-more-scattered policymaking process. Opponents were kept in the dark on the emerging plan Wednesday and could not talk Trump out it Thursday morning. The president announced that a plan will be unveiled next week.

“All of you will immediately be expanding if we give you that level playing field,” Trump told industry executives.

One factor in the timing: Trump’s concern about a special House election this month in a western Pennsylvania district that has bled steel jobs. Trump has long blamed unfair foreign competition for the industries’ decline.

A big loser in the fight: Top economic adviser Gary Cohn, who warned Trump that the tariffs could spark a trade war.

The good war

Fear of foreign reprisals shook the stock market and pro-free-trade Republicans in Congress.

“Every time you do this, you get a retaliation and agriculture is the No. 1 target,” said Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas. But Rust Belt Democrats cheered the move. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called it “long overdue” for steelworkers who fear losing their jobs to “Chinese cheating.”

On defense, Trump added early Friday on Twitter that when the United States is losing billions on foreign trade, "trade wars are good, and easy to win." 

Janison: Chaos as constant

So Jared Kushner’s company got huge loans from two companies after he hosted their leaders at the White House? Potential conflicts of interest have been a constant theme at Trump’s White House.

His communications director resigned? There’s been so much senior staff turnover that the hinges on the revolving door are wearing out. Newsday’s Dan Janison takes inventory of this week in chaos.

Job security updates

From press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ briefing, when asked the status of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and of Jared Kushner, the senior adviser and Trump son-in-law:

Q. Does the president want to get rid of his attorney general?

A. Not that I know of.

Q And how about Jared Kushner?

A. No.

Kelly off the brink

Chief of staff John Kelly’s status was precarious after the bungled handling of domestic violence allegations against since-ousted White House aide Rob Porter.

The Associated Press reports that Trump first considered firing him. Then, the president decided to give his chief of staff a chance to defend himself before reporters in the briefing room, and to gauge the reaction.

The briefing was canceled after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and Kelly’s standing has stabilized somewhat, the report said.

McMaster’s domain

The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month, and wants to bring in a Ford Motor Co. executive for the job, NBC News reported.

Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis are orchestrating the planned change, which includes finding McMaster a landing spot back in the military, NBC said. The three-star Army general joined the White House last year to replace the fired Michael Flynn.

The Ford executive, Stephen Biegun, served on the NSC staff during the George W. Bush administration.

In response to the report, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said, “We frequently face rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials. There are no personnel announcements at this time.”

Flipping the table

HUD Secretary Ben Carson, after resisting the idea of returning a $31,000 dining room set for his office, is sending it back.

A New York Times story about the furniture sparked outrage, including reportedly from inside the White House.

“They are looking for another option that is much more responsible with taxpayer dollars,” Sanders said.

Shellshocked GOP

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats were “stunned and surprised — many of us pleasantly” — by Trump’s call Wednesday for comprehensive gun legislation, including provisions the NRA would oppose.

Republicans, however, were confused, irritated and scrambling to figure out what to do next, The Associated Press reports. In the short term, the decision is to do nothing and focus on other legislation.

What else is happening

• Kelly said he didn’t want to leave his job as Homeland Security secretary last year, “but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.” He said it as a joke, sort of, during an event marking DHS’ 15th anniversary. (Video here)
• Trump pushed to drive out FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, seeing him as a political enemy. Here’s a surprise: An internal watchdog’s report will fault McCabe for feeding information to reporters for a negative article about Hillary Clinton nine days before the election, The New York Times reported.
• EPA chief and frequent first-class flyer Scott Pruitt told CBS News he may start flying coach amid increasing scrutiny of claims that he has avoided the cheaper seats because of security concerns.
• At a meeting on the opioid epidemic, Trump renewed his oft-voiced admiration for countries that execute drug dealers. “Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do,” he said.
• The Trump administration told Congress it plans to sell Ukraine 210 anti-tank missiles to help it defend its territory from Russia.
• Trump in private has a derisive nickname for Sessions — “Mr. Magoo” — a reference to the 1950s and ’60s animated cartoon character, The Washington Post reported.
• Alec Baldwin has gotten in Trump's head again, as shown by an early Friday Twitter fit in which he says Americans were "forced" to watch the SNL act. Baldwin: "Anybody over this guy. It doesn't matter. We have to get rid of him."