With the fate of the Ex-Im Bank being decided over the next couple months, the bad news for the bank seems to be flowing. From Politico Pro, we find out that the former Ex-Im Bank loan officer under investigation for taking a bribe has now pled guilty:

A former Export-Import Bank loan officer pleaded guilty to taking more than $78,000 in bribes for fast-tracking unqualified loan applications for approval, the Justice Department said today.
The loan officer, Johnny Gutierrez, admitted that in one case he ignored that a company had defaulted in 10 prior deals backed by the government agency at a cost of $20 million, according to the plea agreement. He still recommended the company for approval after taking a bribe. Gutierrez also helped a financing broker fix applications on behalf of clients and expedited the deals in exchange for a share in the profits owed to the broker. He also admitted to funneling the broker inside information from other Ex-Im Bank applicants so that the broker could solicit them as clients.

During last week’s hearing on the bank, we were told that a few other indictments were on the way

Yesterday, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, came out swinging against the reauthorization of Export-Import Bank this year.

Jordan cited the widespread opposition to the bank among GOP presidential candidates, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and conservative activist groups.
“When are the stars going to line up better for that position than now?” Jordan said during an event on Capitol Hill hosted by the Heritage Foundation.
Jordan argued that it would be easy for Congress to simply ignore the deadline and let the bank, which he called “corporate welfare,” lapse.

Also on Wednesday, a coalition of over 50 organizations (not all of them tea-party groups, contrary to the framing of this Hill piece) sent a letter to Congress, calling on members to end the Ex-Im Bank. The groups together represent millions of voters, the letter points out, which should get lawmakers to reconsider just how much they need to rely on the special interests demanding the reauthorization of the bank.

Americans for Prosperity’s Christine Harbin Hanson explains where the signees stand:

Bank beneficiaries and their lobbyists will say that they are open to reform efforts. Congress should avoid their siren song. A reform plan is still an extension, and it does not address the fundamental problems that arise from using tax dollars to subsidize loans for companies based on their political connections. Plus, as Delta CEO Richard Anderson noted during a House Financial Services Committee hearing last year, Congress enacted reforms during the bank’s 2012 reauthorization, but very few if any of these reforms were ever implemented.
Congress should end — not reform, not extend — the Export Import Bank when it expires at the end of June. The main message from the hearing is that Ex-Im is beyond repair. Clearly its myriad problems are systemic and cannot be solved with reform efforts. The bank is on track to expire on June 30 of this year, and Congress should ensure that it does. Over 50 organizations representing millions of Americans are calling on them to do so

Finally, it’s worth noting that at least three big-time Republican presidential candidates – Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz — each oppose the bank. As Ken McIntyre of the Daily Signal reports, the Koch brothers, who will undoubtedly play a major role in 2016, believe that the issue is a good litmus test for whether Republican candidates have the backbone to take on special interests and cronyism.