Consumer Protection
2017
2017-11-24 The Trump administration attempted to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2017.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/24/richard-cordray-successor-cfpb-leandra-english-259612
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48295
2025 January
2025-01-06 The CFPB sued Vanderbilt for setting up borrowers to fail in manufactured home loans. Context: Clayton homes owns 50% of the manufactured home market - that’s mobile homes. The same company that owns Clayton (Berkshire Hathaway) owns the finance company, the lease company, the insurance company, and the property management company that owns the land on which the mobile home sits. The allegation was that the company would make the home virtually unaffordable after buyers already settled a deal, then take the property back from the buyer later. Homeowners also complained of quality issues such as a form of linoleum they called “congolium”, particle board, heavy leaks, safety issues, cardboard under the vinyl, sheetrock under insulation, and mold. Also, Berkshire Hathaway also owns three of the largest RV manufacturers in the country, and a record number of people are living in vans and RV’s due to economic pressure and a housing crisis since Trump’s first term.
2025 February
2025-02-10 The Trump administration attempted to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2025, claiming it is burdensome and an overreach. In a post, Russell Vought of the Heritage Foundation claimed the consumer protection is too “woke”.
https://www.epi.org/policywatch/trump-administration-closes-the-cfpb/
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/12/nx-s1-5293382/x-elon-musk-doge-cfpb
https://x.com/russvought/status/1888625239703110013
https://consumerchoicecenter.org/
THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS WHAT THEY DOhttps://www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5292123/the-trump-administration-has-stopped-work-at-the-cfpb-heres-what-the-agency-does
THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS WHO BENEFITS FROM THE SHUTDOWNhttps://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/who-benefits-trumps-move-shut-down-consumer-financial-protection-bureau
2025-02-14 Hundreds of videos were removed from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau YouTube channel.
https://www.theverge.com/news/613567/trump-youtube-videos-cfpb
2025 May
2025-05-10 Congress repealed the CFPB’s overdraft rule which would have capped overdraft fees for consumers.
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12513
2025-05-14 the CFPB removed a rule designed to shield Americans from data brokers. The rule was supposed to limit the ability of US data brokers from selling sensitive information including financial data, credit history, and SSN.
https://www.wired.com/story/cfpb-quietly-kills-rule-to-shield-americans-from-data-brokers/
https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118362/documents/HHRG-119-GO00-20250610-SD003.pdf
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/05/data-broker-protection-rule-quietly-withdrawn-by-cfpb
2025 July
2025-07-04 Trump signed a bill which changed the rules for gambling loss deductions starting in 2026 from 100% down to 90%, potentially causing what some critics worry will be a “tax on phantom income” as well as unregulated offshore betting.
2025-07-09 The Trump administration removed a “click to cancel” rule which was intended to make canceling subscriptions (example: Amazon) easier. Some critics claim this is to make cancelling an unwanted subscription tough on purpose.
https://theintercept.com/2024/11/15/click-to-cancel-ftc-trump/