Trump administration

Ahead of a court hearing, the top lawyer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says he ordered supervisory staff to get back to work. But examiners and supervisors are disputing that work is being done, noting that travel credit cards have been cut off.

As steep tariffs on Canadian goods took effect this week, banks on both sides of the border expressed concern about the economic fallout and the uncertainty their customers face.

Many layoffs so far have been in the Small Business/Self-Employed Division, but the Large Business & International Division has also been affected.

Senate GOP leaders also aim to make the TCJA tax cuts permanent, which would raise the costs of tax reform unless a new scoring method is adopted.

President Donald Trump said he inherited an "economic catastrophe" from his predecessor in a joint address to Congress, though markets fell Tuesday on fears of a budding trade war with Canada and Mexico.

At a court hearing on Monday, lawyers for the Trump administration said statutorily required work is being done by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, while the union claimed the government is trying to shut the agency down.

Unclear and inconsistent signals from Washington about tariffs, tax policy and the capacity of federal agencies are already spurring more conservative consumer-spending habits and could drag down economic growth, economists say.

Thirty members of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees signed a letter petitioning the administration to name a new vice chair for supervision — and quickly.

The union representing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees said in a court filing that the Trump administration's actions to reduce the agency's workforce and cut spending violate the law.

Under grilling from Senate Democrats, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director-designate Jonathan McKernan agreed to continue the statutory mandates of the bureau, but refused to comment on Elon Musk, stop-work orders, or litigation that has been dropped against financial firms.

"We have made certain adjustments to reflect developments in the law in the U.S.," Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said.

President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are on track to go into place on Tuesday and he plans to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese imports, moves that would deepen his fight with the nation's largest trading partners.

Banks' latest annual reports, filed in the early weeks of the second Trump administration, provide a window into how the industry is adjusting to a new political climate.

Federal agencies have a little more than two weeks to devise plans for achieving significant staff reductions and cost savings.

The Independent Community Bankers of America issued a statement supporting agency independence and called for "careful study" before the administration pursues merging bank regulatory agencies.

House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., asked trade groups representing large banks to detail how their members' compliance regimes have changed since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was effectively shuttered.

Rising populist sentiment in the Republican Party means that banks will have to work harder to get the same kinds of wins they did in 2017.

In a forum Tuesday, Senate Democrats railed against President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as anti-consumer and illegal.

The Justice Department said in a legal brief that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will continue to exist, but said instead that the agency will have fewer employees and a reduced budget under the Trump administration.

The third-largest Canadian bank by assets is preparing itself and clients for the Trump administration's proposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.