Biden Administration

After a pivotal Supreme Court ruling last year, the Trump administration’s handpicked leader of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was widely expected to leave voluntarily or be fired by the new president.

The nominees, strongly backed by progressive Democrats to lead two key Wall Street watchdogs, signal that the Biden administration is planning tough oversight after four years of light-touch policies under appointees of President Trump.

The agency that supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has pushed for revising an agreement with the Treasury Department allowing the mortgage giants to retain their profits. A deal could be out of reach once Joe Biden takes office.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for more disruption in the new year with a Democratic administration likely to reverse several GOP-backed policies. More aggressive relief for mortgage borrowers, a rollback of Trump-era rulemakings and yet another realignment of CFPB offices will all be on the table.

The Federal Reserve is credited with containing damage to the financial system from the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say the limits of the central bank’s power to prop up the economy will likely become more apparent in the new year.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees urged the Trump administration to pull the plug on any steps to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the pandemic still taking a toll on the economy.

The head of the House Financial Services Committee is already exerting influence by handing the president-elect a laundry list of Trump regulatory policies that she wants the incoming administration to reverse.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken a hands-off approach to servicers during the pandemic. But with forbearance plans set to expire and President-elect Biden likely to appoint new CFPB leadership, companies lacking aggressive plans to help borrowers could face tougher enforcement.

Fudge, who has served in the House since 2008, represents most of the majority-Black areas of Cleveland as well as part of Akron.

The incoming administration chose a battle-tested policymaker who can draw on her nearly two decades at the Fed to help rebuild an economy still struggling from the coronavirus pandemic.