The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 looked like a goner when President Donald Trump was elected in November. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly blasted the law as a loan-killing, anti-job disaster. His party is filled with lawmakers who are even more opposed to it than he is. “On behalf of all hardworking, struggling Americans, I will not rest, and the House Financial Services Committee will not rest” until Dodd-Frank is repealed, committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas vowed last May.
Now, though, the drive to wipe out or scale back Dodd-Frank has lost momentum. Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 3 for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to review the law, but the president made no mention of it in his priority-setting speech to Congress on Feb. 28. As with the Republican vow to repeal Obamacare, the sticking point may be finding a replacement for the law on the books.
