Trump administration officials on financial policy, 2016-2017

President Donald Trump

On February 3, 2017, Trump signed an executive order soliciting recommendations from heads of regulatory agencies on parts of the Dodd-Frank Act to change.^[1]

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said that he had changed his position on the value of the Export-Import Bank, which he described in 2015 as “a lot of excess baggage."^[2] He said, “I will tell you what, I was very much opposed to Ex-Im Bank, because I said what do we need that for IBM and for General Electric and all these—it turns out that, first of all lots of small companies will really be helped, the vendor companies, but also maybe more importantly, other countries give it. And when other countries give it, we lose a tremendous amount of business. So instinctively you would say it’s a ridiculous thing but actually it’s a very good thing and it actually makes money. You know, it actually could make a lot of money.”^[3]

On November 10, 2016, a statement was released on the Trump administration's transition website noting that there would be an effort "to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act and replace it with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation." According to the statement, "Federal policy should focus on free enterprise, while protecting consumers by policing markets for force and fraud. Both Wall Street and Washington should be held accountable. ... The Dodd-Frank economy does not work for working people. Bureaucratic red tape and Washington mandates are not the answer."^[4]^[5]

During the 2016 presidential election, Trump said that he would take power away from the Federal Reserve and allow Congress to audit its decision making. He also said that he would repeal the Dodd-Frank Act. Click here to read more of Trump's public comments on financial policy before and during the 2016 presidential election.

Vice President Mike Pence

U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said on November 10, 2016, that Mike Pence was enthusiastic about repealing and replacing the Dodd-Frank Act.^[6]

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Pence opposed the bailout of Wall Street in 2008. He wrote in a letter to his colleagues, "The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy. Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it." Click here to read more of Pence's public comments on financial policy before and during the 2016 presidential election.

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin

During his confirmation hearing on January 19, 2017, Mnuchin discussed loan modifications and the Volcker Rule.^[7]^[8]

On loan modifications: "I think that Fannie and Freddie have been well run without creating risk to the government. What I've said and I believe is we need housing reform. So we shouldn't just leave Fannie and Freddie as is for the next four or eight years under government control without a fix." He added that a bipartisan fix was possible to avoid a large bailout or limitations on housing finance.

On the Volcker rule: "I do support the Volcker rule. The concept for proprietary trading doesn’t fit banks that are FDIC insured," he said, discussing the regulation which limits what investments a bank can make.

During an interview on November 30, 2016, Mnuchin said that his background as a banker would be an asset in reforming the Dodd-Frank Act. "The number one problem with Dodd-Frank is it’s way too complicated and it cuts back lending, so we want to strip back parts of Dodd-Frank that prevent banks from lending and that will be the number one priority on the regulatory side. The number one priority is going to be make sure that banks lend," he said. Mnuchin also said that he expected interest rates to remain low over the next two years and that he believed Janet Yellen had done a good job as the head of the Federal Reserve.^[9]^[10]

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross

In November 2016, Ross said in an interview that he expected the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. He said that it was wrong to have delayed such a hike. "If the only thing that keeps our economy together is one-quarter of 1 percent on interest rates, then we've got nothing going for us anyway. I think that's a joke and I think that they have created more problems by vacillating on interest rates by creating uncertainty in the markets than they would have created by raising the rates. So I believe that they will raise the rates the next time around and I believe they should,” he said.^[11]^[12]

External links

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Footnotes

[1] NBC, "Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations Watered Down as Trump Signs Executive Orders," February 3, 2017

[2] Bloomberg, "Donald Trump Likes Volcker—and His Rule," August 4, 2015

[3] The Wall Street Journal, "WSJ Trump Interview Excerpts: China, North Korea, Ex-Im Bank, Obamacare, Bannon, More," April 12, 2017

[4] NPR, "Trump Team Promises To 'Dismantle' Dodd-Frank Bank Regulations," November 10, 2016

[5] GreatAgain.gov, "Financial Services," accessed November 18, 2016

[6] Morning Consult, "Hensarling: Dodd-Frank Repeal Coming Under Trump," November 10, 2016

[7] Fortune, "5 Things You Need to Know About the Steven Mnuchin Confirmation Hearing," January 20, 2017

[8] Forbes, "Treasury Nominee Mnuchin Supports Strong Dollar, Calling China Manipulator, Raising Debt Ceiling," January 19, 2017

[9] Politico, "Dodd-Frank will be targeted, Mnuchin says," November 30, 2016

[10] CNN, "Steven Mnuchin, Trump Treasury pick, promises biggest tax overhaul since Reagan," November 30, 2016

[11] Politico, "Trump nominates Steve Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross for Cabinet positions," November 30, 2016

[12] Newsmax, "Wilbur Ross: Fed 'Wrong' to Delay Interest Rate Hike," November 16, 2016

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Trump administration officials on financial policy, 2016-2017

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