Trump administration

Observers said the Supreme Court likely will allow Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook to remain at her post while she challenges her purported removal by President Donald Trump. But her continued presence would slow, rather than stop, the president's quest for a voting majority on the central bank board.

The Supreme Court Wednesday appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's argument that removal of a Federal Reserve governor is unreviewable or that the president's preference for Fed governors outweighs the harm to the Fed from curbing the central bank's political independence.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman warned that labor market conditions could weaken further and said the central bank should avoid signaling a pause in monetary policy.

The Senate allowed the nomination of a permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to lapse, giving acting Director Russell Vought more time to lead the agency on a temporary basis.

When Congress returns from its recess in 2026, a number of financial legislative issues will be teed up, including crypto market structure, deposit insurance and supervisory disputes.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will face an existential crisis in 2026 between the Trump administration's efforts to shut down the agency and the employee union and consumer advocates who want to stop them.

Democratic senators are attributing a recent decline in lending activity to a Trump administration regulation that puts new restrictions on borrowers with foreign ownership.

A federal appeals court agreed to have the full bench rehear arguments by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's union about whether the Trump administration planned to gut the agency through mass firings.

The Department of Justice wants Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to state if the central bank is profitable again and can, therefore, fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A federal court cannot modify a preliminary injunction to compel the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to request funding for the agency, the Department of Justice said.

The Trump administration's decision not to seek funding for the CFPB and transferring remaining enforcement cases to the Department of Justice were cited as reasons for the resignation of Michael G. Salemi, who took over as CFPB enforcement chief earlier this year.

The Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte for allegations of misuse of power and violations of federal privacy laws

As federal watchdogs step back from regulating "Buy Now, Pay Later" loans, state authorities are stepping in. This week, the attorneys general from California and several other blue states joined the fight.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its union filed legal briefs Friday after a district court judge asked if a preliminary injunction aimed at preventing a mass layoff is still in effect.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to transfer its entire enforcement and legal divisions to the Department of Justice and is likely to staff in those units, according to sources briefed by agency leadership.

President Trump has nominated Stuart Levenbach, associate director of the Office of Management and Budget, to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His selection allows acting CFPB Director Russell Vought to remain in place for at least another 210 days.

The Department of Justice told a court that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cannot legally request funding from the Federal Reserve System, arguing that the Fed has not turned a profit since 2022 and thus cannot fund the CFPB.

The Department of Justice has filed a motion opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee union's appeal of an August D.C. Circuit ruling allowing the administration to fire up to 90% of the agency's workforce.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran said the economic standoff with China could increase market volatility, further necessitating the central bank to move its policy stance to neutral.

House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., asked bank regulators to give banks the supervisory clearance to extend lines of credit and modify loan terms for federal employees furloughed after the government shut down last week.