Wall Street meets Washington? Famed financial journalist Charles Gasparino takes you there. Our weekly newsletter features scoops, insights, and sharp analysis on how business, politics, and finance are shaping the markets and your future.

On first blush, Donald Trump's recent call to bring back the so-called SALT deduction -- the tax gimmick where you can deduct your state and local income taxes from your federal levy – seems like a head-scratcher. He got rid of most of it (a cap at $10,000) after he became president the first time to pay for his broader tax cut plan, which if he doesn't get elected in November is set to expire at the end of next year.

Conservatives have been calling for SALT's elimination for years; it's a backdoor way for high-taxed blue-state pols in New York and California to escape voter angst over their bloated budgets financed by an array of taxes that falls heaviest on the most productive citizens.

So why did Trump recently blurt out in a social media post he’s into bringing it back?

Some intense lobbying for Trump's pals in the New York business community, for starters, who saw their tax bills skyrocket after the cap was installed in 2017.

The same folks also told Trump he's taking blue state voters for granted, particularly in New York, which used to be his home state before he decamped for Florida.

Trump probably can't win New York in the presidential election, but he can make things close in down ballot races that can help keep the House of Representatives in  GOP hands, both by campaigning here and by buying some votes through restoring all of the SALT deduction, they say.

It's not just fat cats on Wall Street who got walloped when SALT was largely phased out. Many homeowners on Long Island, Westchester and Upstate who have been crushed by inflation during the Biden years, and the state’s heavy tax burden, could use the break.

And Trump has been turning these parts of the state increasingly MAGA red. While there was no "red wave" nationally during the midterms, there was one for NY congressional races. Republicans picked up three seats, contributing to the tight GOP majority in the House.

People who worry about the ballooning budget deficit hate bringing back SALT, and Trump probably won't win New York. But by adding a little SALT, maybe he can make it closer, and help the GOP keep the House, which he will need if he's elected in November.

I had dinner with Joe Biden on Tuesday night. Well not with him but in the same restaurant, Sistina in Manhattan. I was seated just a few feet away as I hung out with a small group of Wall Street types.

Biden, of course, was in town to address the UN, which only added to the miserable traffic whenever that globalist and useless confab meets. I didn't cover his speech, but I can report some surprising details about the dinner, which might cast new light on Biden's mental acuity.

I'm not crazy about Biden's politics, but the president has good taste in food.

Sistina is maybe the best Italian restaurant in the city. And based on what I observed, he wasn't sleeping facedown in his spaghetti arrabiata (his meal that night). He was dressed in his usual dark suit and tie, alongside Dr. Jill, herself elegantly attired in a black-silk pantsuit and a string of what looked like double-wrapped white pearls adorning her neck.

They were joined by another youngish couple said to be relatives. He was dining at 6:30 pm and left around 9-ish, not exactly peak Biden hours. Yet he was alert, engaged with people around him, smiling and laughing. He treated the waitstaff with respect.

Maybe he should have filled up on some of chef Giuseppe Bruno’s spaghetti arrabiata before he blew himself up at that Trump debate.

Donald Trump’s allies have been drawing up plans to get rid of SEC chief Gary Gensler after getting wind of his reported secret plan to maintain power should Trump win, On The Money has learned.

News that Gensler is looking to break tradition and remain Wall Street's top cop after a change at the White House was reported by On The Money last week. As you might expect, it went viral in Trump World since The Donald has made it a top priority to fire Gensler on "day one," as he recently put it in a typical Trumpian flourish.

Rarely do SEC chiefs become such hot-button political issues, particularly during an election year. But Gensler, since his appointment to the job by President Joe Biden in 2021, has proved to be anything but the average SEC chief. He has taken what is essentially an investor protection agency and turned into an arm of the activist left.

Gensler may argue that since the SEC is an independent agency and his term ends in 2026, Trump can't fire him, as On The Money reported.

But according to one Trump adviser, a veteran securities lawyer who is in the running for a top economic job, they can simply lock Gensler out of the building. That's right, change the locks on the doors, "cut off his access" to the SEC computer system and deactivate his security badge.

"Then let him sue. He looks pathetic and it will take years," this person told me.

Another plan offered by a different top GOP lawyer looking for a job in a second Trump Administration is a bit more complicated. It basically involves reducing Gensler to a wallflower if he doesn't vacate his seat.

Recall, SEC chairs and commissioners need Senate approval. The Dems now hold a slim, but not a filibuster-proof Senate majority. Dem Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw's term is now up. The GOP needs to delay her reappointment until after the election. If Trump wins, he can tap a Republican to take her spot.

The GOP would hold a 3-2 advantage at the SEC, leaving Gensler a lame duck.

"He will look like an idiot if he does that," the GOP lawyer said.

Charles Gasparino is the author of the forthcoming book “Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story on the Radicalization of Corporate America.”

Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up for On The Money!