President Trump revoked a Biden-era Executive order that promoted fair competition in the American economy and protected consumers from harms that result from consolidation. In the context of the financial system, such harms include less choice, higher cost, or reduced access to banking and other financial services.

This action adds to the Trump Administration’s banking regulators’ track record of favoring corporations over consumers in bank merger decisions. For example, the CapitalOne-Discover merger was approved in April 2025 despite significant evidence of consumer harm, insufficient management, and risks to financial stability.

The CFPB is considering raising the threshold for supervisory regulation of large nonbanks in the certain markets, including of debt collectors, auto finance companies, and consumer reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

President Trump signed an Executive Order that would ensure Federal banking regulators do not get in the way of fair access to the banking system. Fair access to the banking system is vital for all Americans. However, the expectation that banks manage their risk is also necessary. The Executive Order should be focused on the real problem of debanking for underserved communities, such as low-income families and people of color. However, it is instead focused on those who claim they have lost access to the banking system because of religious or political reasons.

The banking regulators should hold all banks accountable for treating their customers fairly and following laws and regulations. However, forcing banks to take on customers that exceed their risk tolerances is a danger to financial stability and safety and soundness.

The SEC issued guidance stating its view that, generally, the liquid staking of crypto assets does not involve the offer or sale of securities.

The guidance leaves unprotected investors who deposit their crypto assets with a staking service provider in return for a token that evidences their ownership of the deposited asset and any rewards that accrue as a result.

As part of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report recommendations, the CFTC announced an initiative to list spot crypto asset contracts on CFTC regulated exchanges.

The CFTC has no legal authority to impose customer or trading protections for spot transactions on futures exchanges. Therefore, allowing spot trading on these platforms could induce retail customers to trade while not offering meaningful protections. Any regulatory or enforcement authority by the CFTC would be surely voluntary on the part of market participants.

The Administration fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the release of economic data showing a slowdown in job growth, potentially signaling a weakening economy. The White House defended the decision on claims the data was manipulated for political purposes, but as Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis bluntly stated, “The statistics are what they are… It’s not the statistician’s fault if the numbers are accurate and that they’re not what the president had hoped for.”

Independent statistical agencies like the BLS collect and publish economic information that directly impacts American consumers and workers by informing federal and state policymakers and guiding business decisions in hiring and investment. Politicizing statistical data means that consumers, businesses, and the government cannot trust the data. This will distort economic policy decisions, misguide private-sector planning, and ultimately harm everyday Americans.