Trump administration

Financial markets took a tumble Monday morning after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced that he was the subject of a Justice Department inquiry concerning the central bank's headquarters renovation. Lawmakers and former Fed officials decried the move as political intimidation.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank has been served grand jury subpoenas and been threatened with criminal indictment, moves he called "pretexts" to influence interest rates through "political pressure or intimidation."

The Senate allowed the nomination of a permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to lapse, giving acting Director Russell Vought more time to lead the agency on a temporary basis.

US President Donald Trump said he was directing the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he cast as his latest effort to bring down housing costs ahead of the November midterm election. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will face an existential crisis in 2026 between the Trump administration's efforts to shut down the agency and the employee union and consumer advocates who want to stop them.

A group of 22 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought, the bureau and the Federal Reserve, arguing that the administration's position that the CFPB cannot be funded is wrong.

A federal appeals court agreed to have the full bench rehear arguments by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's union about whether the Trump administration planned to gut the agency through mass firings.

The Department of Justice wants Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to state if the central bank is profitable again and can, therefore, fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A federal court cannot modify a preliminary injunction to compel the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to request funding for the agency, the Department of Justice said.

Democratic senators are calling for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott to compel the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to testify.

In oral arguments held Monday morning, a majority of Supreme Court justices seemed poised to overrule a 90-year-old precedent validating multimember independent commissions, but it remains uncertain what limits — if any — the court may impose on the president's removal powers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting Director Russell Vought has an obligation to request funding for the agency, five former Federal Reserve officials said. Plus, three nonprofits sue Vought and the CFPB.

The Trump administration's decision not to seek funding for the CFPB and transferring remaining enforcement cases to the Department of Justice were cited as reasons for the resignation of Michael G. Salemi, who took over as CFPB enforcement chief earlier this year.

The Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte for allegations of misuse of power and violations of federal privacy laws

In a relatively mild oversight hearing in the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday morning, regulatory heads at the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. outlined plans for reduced capital requirements and debanking enforcement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its union filed legal briefs Friday after a district court judge asked if a preliminary injunction aimed at preventing a mass layoff is still in effect.

Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has refused to request funding from the Federal Reserve System, many experts see the case making its way to the Supreme Court.

The Natural Treasury Employees Union has asked a district court to clarify whether Russell Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has complied with a preliminary injunction.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the new oath was necessary because prior leadership engaged in what it describes as "thuggery" during exams. Former CFPB officials rejected the agency's characterization of past actions.

Travis Hill's nomination to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was recommended favorably by the Senate Banking Committee to the full Senate Wednesday morning in a 13-11 party-line vote.