Donald Trump

The president's vow to come down hard on the San Francisco bank fans a debate about the independence of regulatory agencies such as the CFPB.

The president wrote Friday on Twitter that penalties against the San Francisco bank will be maintained, or possibly strengthened. The comments are likely to fuel a growing controversy about the independence of federal financial regulators.

Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on President Donald Trump's business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens.

In a letter to President Trump, 44 Democratic senators said the White House's appointment of Mick Mulvaney as interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "jeopardizes the agency’s independence and effectiveness."

Leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to be resolved quickly after a federal court Monday assigned a judge appointed by President Trump to resolve a lawsuit over who will become the agency's acting director.

The Trump administration insisted Saturday that OMB Director Mick Mulvaney was the rightful interim leader of the CFPB, but Democrats said that the appointment was illegal. It remains unclear who is legally in charge.

The outcome of a case testing the president's power to fire a CFPB director will come too late to impact Richard Cordray, but may affect President Trump's interim and final picks to lead the agency.

Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget director, is being considered for interim director of the consumer watchdog after Richard Cordray steps down and until a permanent pick is confirmed.

If CFPB Director Richard Cordray does not leave soon — as has been widely expected — it may be that he has used rumors of his possible political aspirations to successfully keep Trump from firing him.

Many industry observers believe Federal Reserve Board Janet Yellen will retire from the central bank once her term as chair expires in February. But there are reasons she might stay.