“I spent my childhood on Medicaid, and Trump’s plan to roll it back is disastrous”

That is the name of this essay by consumer columnist Michelle Singletary. Here is an excerpt: When my siblings and I went to live with my grandmother, we were a sickly bunch. There were five of us. … I was 4. .. We were all undernourished. My brother Mitchell had seizures almost every night. He would lose […]

Author of “The Imbecilic Executive” to Testify Before Congress on CFPB’s Constitutionality

by Jeff Sovern I originally had a different title for this post in mind, but I didn't have the discipline to resist the one above.  Not that anyone should have any doubts, but the CFPB director is not the executive the article refers to.  Anyway, the House Financial Services Committee is having a hearing titled […]

Why the DOJ Brief in PHH, Arguing that the CFPB is Unconstitutionally Structured, is Wrong

by Jeff Sovern The Department of Justice has now filed its brief in PHH, arguing that the CFPB as created by the Dodd-Frank Act was unconstitutional because the statute did not give the president the power to fire the Bureau's director without cause, and that the appropriate remedy is the one selected by the original […]

“Wells Fargo Leaders Reaped Lavish Pay Even as Account Scandal Unfolded”

The New York Times reports: Wells Fargo and its leaders have expressed much contrition about the bank’s misdeeds, which included setting up as many as 2 million bank accounts without customers’ consent. Top executives have surrendered more than $90 million in compensation, fired employees at all levels and vowed to clean house. But the top […]

Meanwhile … Congress works on legislation to inhibit federal safety standards

In an op-ed in The Hill, former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) explains: While President Trump has kept the public busy with his latest theories about President Obama’s wire-taps, the “deep state” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ratings, the Republican Congress has been quietly pushing forward a legislative agenda that will have an all too real impact on […]

ABA Journal: Trump budget eliminates Legal Services Corp. funding

Here. Excerpt:   The American Bar Association is “outraged” that the Trump administration is calling to eliminate funding for the LSC and is calling upon members of Congress to restore it, ABA President Linda Klein said in a statement Thursday. Klein noted that LSC offices are in every congressional district and help 1.9 million people […]

Center for American Progress: Senators Must Ask Gorsuch If He Will Force Americans into Arbitration

Here.  The essay reviews Judge Gorsuch's arbitration decisions. Here's an excerpt: Senators must press Judge Gorsuch on arbitration during his hearing next week. If he does believe that limits on the FAA’s “heavy hand” exist [as Judge Gorsuch indicated in an opinion], he should be willing to define and describe them. Otherwise, more and more […]

Bloomberg’s Chris Bruce: U.S. Set to Signal Stance in Landmark CFPB Powers Case

Here. Excerpt: A government brief in opposition to the CFPB [in the PHH case] likely would have significant weight at the D.C. Circuit, and would boost the odds that the Justice Department might block CFPB efforts to push the case to the U.S. Supreme Court later on. * * * “In the longer term, an […]