President Donald Trump intends to nominate former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) to head the Export-Import Bank, finding a place for a congressman who lost his re-election bid in large part because of anti-gay comments that turned off big financial donors. In 2015, Garrett told fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he wouldn’t pay his dues to the National Republican Congressional Committee because the organization supported some gay candidates, Politico reported. It was a notable show of no confidence since the congressman chaired a key House financial services subcommittee, and financial firms would normally want to curry his favor. Trump recently shifted his position on the Export-Import Bank, telling The Wall Street Journal last week that small companies are “really helped” by the institution. Similarly, as a congressman, Garrett opposed the Export-Import Bank and called it a “corporate welfare program.”

Source: Huffington Post April 17, 2017 17:03 UTC