Business & Economy
|
Business & Economy
|
|
|
Trump's DOGE targets consumer bureau
|
The Trump administration is moving rapidly to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), halting the agency’s work, cutting off funding and shutting down its HQ.
|
“I think everyone assumes this is the USAID playbook, and I think everyone’s operating off of the assumption that we’re about to get annihilated, the way that they were annihilated,” a CFPB employee told The Hill, referring to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The moves at the CFPB have drawn parallels with USAID, where staff were also told to stay out of headquarters and cease work before the Trump administration attempted to place thousands of employees on administrative leave.
The Trump administration launched its blitz attack on the consumer watchdog over the weekend, not long after newly confirmed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought was appointed acting CFPB director on Friday.
“The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment,” Vought wrote in a post on the social platform X. “This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off.”
Vought, co-author behind the controversial conservative policy blueprint known as Project 2025, had already become a frequent target of Democratic attacks in recent weeks as senators considered his nomination to head up the OMB.
His position on the Impoundment Control Act, which sets limits on the president’s powers to restrict funding approved by Congress, has also drawn attention. While Vought has vowed the administration will uphold the law, he has reiterated his position in hearings that the measure is unconstitutional.
The Hill's Julia Shapero has more here.
|
Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, we’re Aris Folley and Taylor Giorno — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
|
|
|
Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:
|
|
|
Two top officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) left the agency Tuesday and its No. 2 was placed on leave after the financial watchdog’s acting director ordered staff to halt all work.
|
|
|
|
E-commerce platform Shopify on Tuesday shut down an online store belonging to Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after his website started exclusively selling T-shirts with swastikas.
|
|
|
|
A group of Democrats have called on President Trump to retract tariffs on Canada and Mexico before they are implemented.
|
|
|
|
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday that it will not defend a year-old rule requiring publicly held companies to disclose climate-related risks and in some cases the details of their emissions.
|
|
|
|
Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.
|
Republicans eye carried interest tax break
|
Republicans are looking at canceling a controversial tax break used by private equity firms and hedge funds as a way to help pay for the tax cuts they want to extend by the end of this year.
The so-called carried interest loophole allows investment companies to mark down the income they receive as profit shares in their assets as capital gains, rather than as wage or salary income.
In many cases, this allows them to pay an effective tax rate of 23.8 percent rather than 37 percent – a substantial reduction.
President Trump is concerned that the extension of his 2017 tax cuts will be perceived as overly favorable to the wealthiest Americans, a number of Republicans told The Hill. Nixing the carried interest tax break, which former President Biden proposed more than once, could be a way to soften those perceptions.
“If the president is interested, I’m sure it will be looked at. We’ll see where we go from there,” Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) told The Hill.
Asked whether he thought the Republican conference could get behind the move, Lucas said he thought that was “too complicated a question at this stage.”
— Tobias Burns
|
|
|
{{if !contains(profile.lists,"Evening Report")}
{/if}}{{if !contains(profile.lists,"Evening Report")}
{/if}}
Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:
|
-
The consumer price index (CPI) reading for January is slated to come out Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers his semiannual monetary policy report to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m.
|
|
|
Branch out with more stories from the day:
|
|
|
DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel imports this week could wreak havoc …
|
|
|
Business and economic news we've flagged from other outlets:
|
-
Trump Media grants large amounts of stock to directors (CNN)
-
Elon Musk’s Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up (The New York Times)
-
The Eagles Are Super Bowl Champions. Here's How Their Owner Made His $5.3 Billion Fortune. (Forbes)
|
|
|
Top stories on The Hill right now:
|
|
|
Elon Musk on Tuesday defended the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside President Trump, who invited Musk to speak and sat at the resolute desk as the tech mogul gave a lengthy address. Read more
|
|
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance is growing in viewership hours after the big game, gaining more 11 million views since it aired Sunday night. Read more
|
|
|
Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill:
|
|
|
|
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
|
Save story
-
Elon Musk and President Trump spoke from the Oval Office on Tuesday, marking Musk's first extensive comments since Mr. Trump tasked him with leading the White House's Department of Government ...
CBS News - 3h
-
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to give DOGE more power while tech billionaire Elon Musk spoke with reporters in the Oval Office. “We post our actions to the DOGE handle on X and ...
NBC News - 4h
-
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent rules on overdraft and credit card late fees are in jeopardy, while others face an uncertain future.
NBC News - 1d
-
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday slammed the Trump administration’s reported efforts to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as “another scam.” “If you have a bank ...
The Hill - 1d
-
A union representing employees across dozens of federal agencies filed two lawsuits on Sunday against the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
CBS News - 1d
-
The decision to shutter the office comes less than 24 hours after Trump’s acting CFPB chief suspended all activities.
Inc. - 2d
-
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is quickly seeking to crack down on the activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), preventing it from drawing down more ...
The Hill - 2d
-
Russell Vought is now at the helm of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Inc. - 2d
-
Democrats are calling on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cancel his stop work order for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after employees with Elon Musk’s Department of Government ...
The Hill - 3d
-
President Trump’s White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday, a day after the watchdog office issued a report that was critical of ...
The Hill - 47m
-
Influenza cases continue to mount with the virus reaching activity levels in the U.S. not seen for the last 15 years, according to the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention.
The Hill - 1h
-
A group of Democrats on Monday pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over plans for tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to “plug in.” In a letter, ...
The Hill - 1h
-
{beacon} Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} a> Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story No plans to draw down US forces in Europe, for now ...
The Hill - 2h
-
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug to treat a disorder causing the growth of noncancerous tumors on nerves throughout the body. The federal agency said on Tuesday it ...
The Hill - 2h
-
Marc Fogel, an American school teacher, held by Russia for 3 1/2 years, will be released and allowed to come home, the White House said on Tuesday.
NBC News - 11m
-
President Trump’s White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday, a day after the watchdog office issued a report that was critical of ...
The Hill - 47m
-
President Trump officially fired the inspector general at the U.S. Agency for International Development a day after his office released a report detailing the negative impact of the Trump ...
NBC News - 1h
-
Influenza cases continue to mount with the virus reaching activity levels in the U.S. not seen for the last 15 years, according to the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention.
The Hill - 1h
-
A group of Democrats on Monday pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over plans for tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to “plug in.” In a letter, ...
The Hill - 1h
| | |
