It’s been a busy first week in office for President Donald Trump, with executive orders on immigration, energy, trade, health care, and more being handed down daily.
But executive orders are just the preamble to the big initiatives that Trump and the Republican majority in Congress are expected to push for shortly.
Chief among those is the “dismantling” of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.
During the presidential transition, Trump’s transition team stated that dismantling Dodd-Frank would be one of the president’s main priorities.
And on Thursday, the American public got a reminder that the president and his party plan to keep that promise.
Speaking before the Congressional Republican Retreat, Vice President Mike Pence said that dismantling Dodd-Frank and its “overbearing mandates” remains a top priority for the Trump administration, a statement that was greeted by applause from the collected Republicans.
(To see Pence’s speech in full, click here. To see the Dodd-Frank section of the speech, fast-forward to the 18:01 mark.)
After Trump and Pence spoke to the GOP retreat, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, issued a statement saying that he intends to continue pushing for the replacement of Dodd-Frank with a new financial reform package.
Last year, Hensarling introduced the Financial Choice Act, a Republican-crafted Dodd-Frank replacement that would “end taxpayer-funded bailouts of large financial institutions; relieve banks that elect to be strongly capitalized from ‘growth-strangling regulation’ that slows the economy and harms consumers; and impose tougher penalties on those who commit fraud as well as greater accountability on Washington regulators.”
On Thursday, Hensarling said that he will advance the Financial CHOICE Act in the new Congress.
“No bureaucrat in Washington should be able to tell hardworking Americans what kind of credit card, bank account, mortgage or retirement advice they can have, but that’s exactly what Dodd-Frank does,” Hensarling said.
“As the president and vice president have said, Dodd-Frank makes it harder for people to get loans to buy a home or start a small business. Consumers are paying more in fees and are losing benefits and access to services they want and need,” Hensarling continued.
“Instead of ending ‘too big to fail,’ Dodd-Frank institutionalizes bailouts for big banks. Dodd-Frank’s regulations give Wall Street a competitive advantage over community banks and credit unions,” Hensarling added.
Hensarling said that he plans to “dismantle” Dodd-Frank this year.
“Fulfilling the Trump Administration’s pledge to dismantle Dodd-Frank this year is essential to leveling the playing field, building a healthy economy and offering every American greater opportunities to achieve financial independence,” Hensarling said.
“Republicans on the Financial Services Committee are eager to work with the president and his administration to unclog the arteries of our financial system so the lifeblood of capital can flow more freely and create jobs,” Hensarling continued.
“The Financial CHOICE Act, our bold and forward-looking plan, replaces Dodd-Frank with new policies to protect consumers by holding Wall Street and Washington accountable, end bailouts and unleash America’s economic potential,” he concluded. “Replacing the Dodd-Frank mistake is necessary if we ever hope to enjoy a healthy economy and make America great again.”
