Tag Archives: Federal Trade Commission

Raw Story: ‘Lightning fast’: House lawmakers get a stern directive from Trump

Posted on by
Reply

President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday to demand that the House immediately act on a new package of cryptocurrency laws passed by the Senate.

“The Senate just passed an incredible Bill that is going to make America the UNDISPUTED Leader in Digital Assets — Nobody will do it better, it is pure GENIUS!” wrote Trump. “Digital Assets are the future, and our Nation is going to own it. We are talking about MASSIVE Investment, and Big Innovation. The House will hopefully move LIGHTNING FAST, and pass a ‘clean’ GENIUS Act.”

“Get it to my desk, ASAP — NO DELAYS, NO ADD ONS,” Trump added. “This is American Brilliance at its best, and we are going to show the World how to WIN with Digital Assets like never before!”

The GENIUS Act is the first legislation aimed at regulating so-called stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency intended to remain stable in price as opposed to typical coins that can fluctuate wildly in value.

However, its passage in the Senate was fraught, as Democrats initially blocked the bill over a variety of concerns, including a lack of consumer protections, the potential domination of the space by tech companies, and the fact that the bill had a loophole that could be exploited by the Trump family to continue profiting off crypto ventures personally, a massive potential conflict of interest.

“A loophole that could be exploited by the Trump family”? A loophole for our Grifter-in-Chief? I’m shocked! Not!

Critics of the bill still fear it would be a giveaway to Trump ….

The king wants his due!

‘Lightning fast’: House lawmakers get a stern directive from Trump

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-genius-act

The Nation: The Supreme Court Gifts Trump Even More Power

Posted on by
Reply

The court seems ready to give the president extraordinary power over what had been independent worker- and consumer-protection agencies.

The court seems ready to give the president extraordinary power over what had been independent worker- and consumer-protection agencies.

Here’s a troubling news alert for everyone who cares about workers and consumers being protected from illegal, exploitative, and dangerous business practices: The Supreme Court appears ready to give President Donald Trump extraordinary power over what for nearly a century have been independent expert federal worker and consumer protection agencies insulated from White House interference.

The court showed its hand in Wilcox v. Trump—the case involving Trump’s unprecedented effort to fire Gwynne Wilcox—a Senate-confirmed member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the first Black woman to ever serve as a member of the NLRB.

Members of independent agencies like the NLRB, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), are nominated by the president and confirmed by the US Senate for defined terms. They are protected by law against being removed from office except where there has been wrongdoing and only after notice and a hearing. The Supreme Court has recognized and respected these “for cause” removal protections for 90 years.

That is, until now. Upon taking office for his second term, Trump decided that he has the power to unilaterally remove members of independent boards and commissions whenever and for whatever reason he wants. The list of casualties is long—in addition to Wilcox, he has fired members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the FTC, the CPSC, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and more. And by firing these officials, Trump has left these consumer- and worker-protection agencies without a quorum to act and hold corporations accountable.

…

The court’s order is going to embolden a president who has already shown himself willing to push or violate the boundaries of his power. Now that the Supreme Court has nodded at his power to fire members of independent boards and commissions, he will undoubtably continue to do so, even before the Supreme Court definitively rules on the merits of the question in its next term.

The Supreme Court Gifts Trump Even More Power
The court seems ready to give the president extraordinary power over what had been independent worker- and consumer-protection agencies.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/wilcox-trump-federal-agencies

MSNBC: Trump admin regulators launch investigation into Media Matters, adding to pattern

Posted on by
Reply

If it seems as if there have been a lot of new federal investigations into Democrats and their allies lately, it’s not your imagination.

But it’s important to remember that many of the White House’s political antagonists are, in fact, facing the kind of investigations that Trump has in mind. The New York Times reported:

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday opened an investigation into Media Matters, a liberal advocacy organization that has published research on hateful and antisemitic content on X, according to two people familiar with the inquiry. The regulator said in a letter sent to the organization that it was investigating the group, which is aligned with Democrats, over whether it illegally colluded with advertisers, according to the people.

…

The public has learned in recent weeks that the administration — led by a president whose second-term “revenge tour” has been unsubtle — is also investigating and/or prosecuting a variety of Democratic officials and candidates, including Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

This dovetails with the president directing the Justice Department to go after Christopher Krebs, who led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; which came on the heels of Trump pressing the Department of Homeland Security to investigate Miles Taylor, a former high-ranking DHS official. The president did this not because there’s evidence of Krebs or Taylor having done anything wrong, but because they defied him several years ago. They went on his enemies list, and now he’s exacting revenge.

Around the same time, Trump also directed the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s most important fundraising platform.

And did I mention the investigation into former FBI director James Comey? Because that’s underway, too.

Trump and his team are also going after law firms, universities and news organizations they consider political foes of the White House.

What’s more, given Ed Martin’s new responsibilities at the Justice Department, this overtly and abusive partisan pattern is likely to intensify.

So Trump hates everybody?

Axios recently noted, “In the final days of the 2024 campaign, Axios identified a list of perceived adversaries who fit what Trump ominously described as ‘the enemies from within.’ As president, he has taken steps to retaliate against virtually all of them.” That was two months ago. The problem is vastly worse now, and there’s no reason to believe conditions will improve anytime soon.

Trump admin regulators launch investigation into Media Matters, adding to pattern
If it seems as if there have been a lot of new federal investigations into Democrats and their allies lately, it’s not your imagination.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-admin-regulators-launch-investigation-media-matters-adding-patte-rcna208780

The Hill: Trump administration removes Democratic members of credit union watchdog

Posted on by
Reply

The Trump administration has fired two Democratic board members from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the officials said Wednesday.

Todd Harper, one Democrat on the board, shared the news of his removal in a post on LinkedIn and said the firing was “just plain wrong.”

“The decision of the White House to fire me before the completion of my term is wrong. It violates the bipartisan statutory framework adopted by Congress to protect credit union members and their deposits,” Harper said in his statement.

Harper argued the firings were an attack on the NCUA and undermines the organization’s independence and work. The NCUA regulates credit unions and protects credit members.

“If a President can fire an NCUA Board member at any time, how will we maintain public trust in our nation’s financial services regulatory system?” he questioned.

The other Democrat removed was Tanya Otsuka. Their departures leave just one member of the board left, Republican Chair Kyle Hauptman, Reuters reported.

In a separate statement, reported by Reuters, Otsuka said she was informed about her immediate termination in an email Tuesday evening and said it was “yet another attempt to undermine the rule of law and blatantly ignore Congress and our democratic values.”

Trump administration removes Democratic members of credit union watchdog
The Trump administration has fired two Democratic board members from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the officials said Wednesday. Todd Harper, one Democrat on the board, shared the news of his removal in a post on LinkedIn and said the firing was “just plain wrong.” “The decision of the White House to fire me…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-removes-democratic-members-of-credit-union-watchdog/ar-AA1D3C9v