&w=1024&resize=1024,0&ssl=1 "Here's global news on how Trump could reform US financial regulators if he wins on November 5")
If former Republican President Donald Trump wins the U.S. election on Nov. 5, he is expected to quickly overhaul the country's financial regulators, who followed a series of tough new rules for banks, private equity funds and other lenders under the government. of Democratic President Joe Biden. Here's how Trump could take control of companies after taking office on January 20, 2025.
Trump said he will fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on day one.
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While most legal scholars agree that the president does not have the power to directly fire the SEC chairman, the president can replace the chairman with another commissioner who can serve in an interim capacity until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.
In Trump's case, it will likely be one of two Republican commissioners, Hester Pierce or Mark Ueda. Gensler could continue as commissioner until his term expires in 2026, although that would be highly unusual.
Likewise, according to the Government Accountability Office, the law does not clearly indicate whether the president has the power to remove the CFTC chairman. But Trump would have the power to replace CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam with another CFTC commissioner, likely Republican CFTC commissioners Summer Mersinger or Carolyn Pham.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
In 2020, the US Supreme Court gave the president more authority over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including the power to fire him or his director at will.
Trump is expected to remove director Rohit Chopra on day one, but the question of who can serve as acting director has historically been contentious. In 2017, the Trump administration asserted that it had the authority to install an acting director of the CFPB under the Federal Vacancies Act of 1998, while the agency's deputy director, Leandra English, argued that the appropriate acting director was under the Dodd-Frank Act. 2010 that created the agency.
The extraordinary dispute went to court and a federal judge in Washington sided with the Trump administration. The Court of Appeal did not rule on the case.
CFPB experts believe Trump can successfully cite both the district court ruling and the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision to assert his right to appoint an acting director.
Trump will immediately have the authority to replace Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hu, the controller of the National Bank, with another acting controller. That person could run the agency, potentially for years, until the Senate confirms a comptroller.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The FDIC's situation is more complicated. Following a sexual harassment scandal at the agency, Democratic FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said he would resign if Congress confirmed his replacement. But it's unclear when that will happen, with the Senate slow to confirm Biden's Democratic nominee, Christy Goldsmith, for Romero.
Whether the president can simply remove the FDIC chairman is an open question, according to legal experts, although some Republican lawmakers have argued that Biden could fire Gruenberg based on leadership failures identified by an independent investigation into the scandal. He said several FDIC employees reported that Gruenberg had a tendency to lose his temper and had an “aggressive” management style.
Gruenberg said he never recalled acting inappropriately and promised to implement the recommendations in that report to improve the FDIC's culture.
Regardless of who assumes the presidency in January, Trump could hand control of the agency to Republicans, replacing Chopra and Hook, two other Democrats, on the FDIC's five-member board. A Republican majority on the board can block regulations put forward by the president and force votes on other issues that the president opposes.
Democrats took a similar step in 2021, when they bypassed then-Trump presidential appointee Jelena McWilliams and voted for an overhaul of bank merger policy despite her protests.
US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Michael Barr for oversight
The president can only fire Fed governors for cause, meaning Barr can remain as central bank governor until the end of his term in July 2026.
But by replacing Hsu and packing the FDIC board, Trump could gain control of a large part of the bank's regulatory agenda and block any Fed projects that would require the central bank to work with two other agencies. This could include increasing the controversial Basel closing capital, plans for regional banks to issue more long-term loans and new requirements to ensure banks have sufficient liquidity in times of stress.
