David Malpass, Treasury's Pro-Growth Standard Bearer

It appears that the Treasury will soon be getting a champion of the pro-growth conservative crowd on its team in David Malpass, who has his confirmation hearing for Undersecretary for International Affairs in front of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.It is a very good choice. With Malpass, the Treasury not only gets someone who's actually been there before—he was an appointee in the George H.W. Bush Administration—but the department also has someone who understands how Congress works, as well, by dint of his time as the chief economist for the Joint Economic Committee in Congress. The committee carries a lot of street cred in the conservative movement; it has been the focal point on the Hill for cogent thinking about tax reform for nearly four decades, for example. The Republicans who know him view Malpass as an effective spokesperson for the pro-growth, supply-side wing of the party—a quieter and more scholarly version of Larry Kudlow.