Donald Trump may have become president to get even with his predecessor. There was that night at one of the White House Correspondents Dinner when President Barack Obama poked fun at the Donald. Clearly, the real estate mogul could not take a joke. As a result, it looks as if he has been trying to erase everything Obama ever accomplished.
Trump “hit back 10 times hard” by trying to take out Obama Care and all the regulations 44 put into place. The commander-in-chief has also been been working his fingers to the bone, destroying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that Obama installed, signature by signature.
The agency protected against forced employee arbitration, but thanks to Trump, people can no longer sue their employees. It was a great deal for employers.
In addition, the CFPB allowed people to join class-action lawsuits against their banks and credit card companies. Under Trump, they too, have to go into arbitration.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) designed the CFPB, and until Trump took office, Richard Cordray served as the director of the agency. Under Cordray’s direction, auto dealers found that those third-party loan markups would fall under anti-lending discrimination laws and lead to a lawsuit.
The man in the Oval Office has just repealed the 2013 auto-lending guidance aspect of CFPB. Worse, the reason for it was to protect minority customers, who are often the victims of predatory practices.
The CFPB and the Justice Department sued Ally Financial for nearly $100 million in fines and for damages in December 2013. They also sued Toyota and Honda, each for somewhat lesser amounts, according to Auto Finance News.
Fair lending advocates and the CFPB pointed to studies that showed racial disparity in the dealer markups. That meant customers of color paid higher prices than white customers with like credit profiles.
Trump signed into law a congressional resolution on “dealer markups” in a private signing ceremony at the White House. Auto dealers can now add interest to their client’s third-party auto loan and haul in that profit.
Rather than protect the people in this nation, Donald Trump plays to banks and auto dealers and the members of Congress that fall for those industries’ lobbyists winning ways. The businesses claimed that the CFPB policy was unfair and harmless, according to POLITICO.
The CFPB pointed to the policy for numerous lawsuits against automakers and lenders. The agency claimed that they were violating fair credit laws with those markups, which were discriminatory.
Then, in an unprecedented move, Congress passed a resolution revoking a federal agency’s informal guidance. Many consider it an abuse of congressional power.
A small number of Democrats joined with the Republicans to repeal the CFPB guidance. They used the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which lets a simple majority of House and Senate members repeal a federal rule. Not only that, they misused the CRA to ensure the CFPB did not insert a replacement measure at a future date.
This was not the first time the Republican-heavy Congress used the CRA to repeal federal rules put in place by Obama. They have successfully overturned over a dozen rules since 2017.
Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney released a statement of high praise for Trump and Congress members. He also offered to submit more of the agencies’ policies for congressional review.
Featured Image via Getty Images/John W. Adkisson.
