Latest news with #DouglasGillison
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-SEC plan says existing staff cuts help meet DOGE targets
By Douglas Gillison and Chris Prentice (Reuters) -Wall Street's top regulator told the White House in March it had already made substantial progress toward meeting President Trump and Elon Musk's demands for leaner government via voluntary workforce reductions, according to a planning document obtained by Reuters. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also told the Office of Management and Budget that it is legally required to seek input from Congress before any "significant reorganization" and that changes beyond certain budget thresholds need lawmakers' approval, according to the March 13 document provided in response to a Reuters' public records request. The SEC submission for "reduction in force" and reorganizations, which Reuters is the first to report, responded to February's call from Trump and erstwhile ally Musk for federal agencies to develop plans for "large scale" cuts as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency initiative. Though much of the text, released under the Freedom of Information Act, is redacted, the visible portions suggest agency leadership at least in part believed voluntary reductions already in progress could weigh against the need for further cuts. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment beyond recently installed SEC Chair Paul Atkins's public statements and the agency's recent budget request. The Office of Management and Budget did not respond to a request for comment. Since he took office in January, Trump's government-slashing efforts have stirred unease and concern among some SEC staff uncertain about the future of the agency's workforce and its political independence. Critics have said the workforce reductions could hinder the SEC's performance in times of crisis but Atkins has brushed off such concerns. Officials affiliated with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency continue to work on restructuring and cost cutting at the SEC. The March plan was compiled by then-Acting Director Mark Uyeda, who while serving as interim agency chief also rewired top agency positions in Enforcement and Examinations to have them report to new deputy directors. Uyeda declined to comment on the document. The plan predates Atkins' arrival in office in April. In response to an OMB query about how the agency planned to achieve staffing cuts and costs savings in the next three fiscal years, the document highlighted workforce reductions already underway. The "SEC has already used a variety of tools to achieve efficiencies," the memo said, referring to early retirement and resignation programs. It also said that, in addition to voluntary departures, the SEC had "eliminated over 550 authorized positions," leaving agency headcount at that point at 4,300 and falling. "This is below the lowest headcount level during the president's first term in office," it added. Agency data previously released to Reuters shows that by April 600 people had taken the administration's various buyout offers. The SEC last month asked Congress to approve funding for the coming fiscal year that would roughly preserve staffing at around 4,100 full-time positions. In response to a query about working with Congress on agency restructuring, the Uyeda plan pointed out that legally any "significant" restructuring required consultation with the House and Senate appropriations committees and that major funding shifts required those committees' approval. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Appeals judges prod Trump admin, union over CFPB wind-down
By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) -Federal appeals court judges in Washington wrestled Friday with the extent to which they could instruct the Trump administration to operate the government's consumer finance watchdog agency, which the White House this year has sought to decimate if not shut down entirely. The three-judge panel is considering a government appeal to reverse a March lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked plans to fire virtually all workers at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Lawyers for a worker union originally in February sued to halt efforts to dismantle the agency, asking the courts to prevent the administration from ordering CFPB employees to not perform work required by law. Though it was unclear from their questions on Friday how the judges intended to rule, the outcome is likely to decide the future of the CFPB, a watchdog created after the global financial crisis to police consumer financial products and protect American consumers against predatory business practices. Republican President Donald Trump and business moguls like billionaire Elon Musk have accused the agency of politicized enforcement and said it should be eliminated. Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who championed the creation of the CFPB, criticized Republican attempts to weaken the agency. Earlier this year, Warren said no one other than Congress could dismantle the agency that has paid $21 billion in financial restitution to thousands of Americans. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric McArthur told the court that, while the administration intended to keep the CFPB operating in some form as required by law, it was within the government's power "to radically downsize this agency, to strip it down, as it were, to the statutory studs." "That is a lawful policy," he said, and "not for the courts to review." So far, the appeals court has differed to a degree with the Trump administration's actions at the CFPB. After initially finding that the lower court's injunction went too far, and allowing targeted staff reductions, the panel then reversed course after the CFPB again attempted mass dismissals last month. Jennifer Bennett, a lawyer arguing for a CFPB workers union and consumer advocacy organizations, rejected the government's argument that officials had made no final decision to close the agency and so the matter could not be reviewed under federal laws that control government actions. Bennett pointed to emails and testimony she said showed the administration had decided to shut down the CFPB -- in one case telling employees to return to work but separately issuing text messages with the opposite instruction -- and was only stopped in its tracks by the courts. "It cannot be that, if an agency is in the midst of executing a final agency action when the district court intervenes, that this is somehow no longer final," she said. U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, whom Trump appointed to the bench in 2017, said the case could put the courts in the difficult position of deciding what specific actions showed that an agency was meeting its legal requirements, such as maintaining a consumer complaint hotline. "The court has to ask itself such imponderables as how many employees can the agency [dismiss] and yet ensure that the hotline gets answered," he said. It was unclear when the appeals court would issue a decision.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Appeals judges prod Trump admin, union over CFPB wind-down
By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) -Federal appeals court judges in Washington wrestled Friday with the extent to which they could instruct the Trump administration to operate the government's consumer finance watchdog agency, which the White House this year has sought to decimate if not shut down entirely. The three-judge panel is considering a government appeal to reverse a March lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked plans to fire virtually all workers at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Lawyers for a worker union originally in February sued to halt efforts to dismantle the agency, asking the courts to prevent the administration from ordering CFPB employees to not perform work required by law. Though it was unclear from their questions on Friday how the judges intended to rule, the outcome is likely to decide the future of the CFPB, a watchdog created after the global financial crisis to police consumer financial products and protect American consumers against predatory business practices. Republican President Donald Trump and business moguls like billionaire Elon Musk have accused the agency of politicized enforcement and said it should be eliminated. Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who championed the creation of the CFPB, criticized Republican attempts to weaken the agency. Earlier this year, Warren said no one other than Congress could dismantle the agency that has paid $21 billion in financial restitution to thousands of Americans. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric McArthur told the court that, while the administration intended to keep the CFPB operating in some form as required by law, it was within the government's power "to radically downsize this agency, to strip it down, as it were, to the statutory studs." "That is a lawful policy," he said, and "not for the courts to review." So far, the appeals court has differed to a degree with the Trump administration's actions at the CFPB. After initially finding that the lower court's injunction went too far, and allowing targeted staff reductions, the panel then reversed course after the CFPB again attempted mass dismissals last month. Jennifer Bennett, a lawyer arguing for a CFPB workers union and consumer advocacy organizations, rejected the government's argument that officials had made no final decision to close the agency and so the matter could not be reviewed under federal laws that control government actions. Bennett pointed to emails and testimony she said showed the administration had decided to shut down the CFPB -- in one case telling employees to return to work but separately issuing text messages with the opposite instruction -- and was only stopped in its tracks by the courts. "It cannot be that, if an agency is in the midst of executing a final agency action when the district court intervenes, that this is somehow no longer final," she said. U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, whom Trump appointed to the bench in 2017, said the case could put the courts in the difficult position of deciding what specific actions showed that an agency was meeting its legal requirements, such as maintaining a consumer complaint hotline. "The court has to ask itself such imponderables as how many employees can the agency [dismiss] and yet ensure that the hotline gets answered," he said. It was unclear when the appeals court would issue a decision. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Elevated' risk of data leak from SEC surveillance tool, watchdog says
By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) - A recent audit showed an "elevated" risk of a data leakage from the comprehensive market data surveillance system used by Wall Street's top regulator, according to a watchdog report made public this week. While the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the agency had taken recent steps to address the problem, the findings may bolster criticism from Republicans and lobby groups, who say the so-called Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system threatens the security of private individuals' data. According to the audit report, during the review period the SEC did not take steps to detect and prevent data leakage or regularly ensure that users complied with data safeguards. Officials were unable to monitor and block emails containing CAT data, for example. Another of the audit's findings was redacted for security reasons. The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment but said in a written response published with the report that SEC data security was in transition during the audit period of January 2023 to August 2024. It said officials had since adopted enhanced security controls that exceed federal requirements. The SEC also accepted all of the report's recommended fixes. The Commission in February ended the requirement to supply users' names, addresses and years of birth into the CAT. The report's findings come as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which has drawn Democrats' ire over its access to sensitive government data, is in the early stages of accessing SEC systems. SEC officials say this will be subject to conditions. In 2012, the SEC mandated the creation of the CAT as a response to the so-called "flash crash" of two years earlier, when a sudden plunge on major Wall Street indices temporarily erased nearly $1 trillion in market value. The CAT, which is operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an industry-funded self-regulatory organization overseen by the SEC, began operating in phases starting in 2020. It contains transaction and customer data using anonymous identifiers and ID numbers. As of last year, more than 200 SEC staff members had access to it, according to the report. Officials have cited CAT data in the prosecution of an alleged $47 million front-running scheme, the exposure of alleged fraudulent trading and a review of the 2021 GameStop fiasco.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US consumer agency seeks to vacate discrimination case it had already won
By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) - The top U.S. consumer finance agency on Wednesday asked a court to undo an enforcement case which the watchdog had already won last year, accusing prior agency officials of abusing their power as they sought to enforce diversity, equity and inclusion in lending. Following a case initially brought in 2020 during President Donald Trump's previous administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in November won a settlement with the Chicago mortgage lender Townstone Financial, which the agency had accused of racial discrimination in the marketing of loans. "CFPB abused its power, used radical 'equity' arguments to tag Townstone as racist with zero evidence, and spent years persecuting and extorting them - all to further the goal of mandating DEI in lending via their regulation by enforcement tactics," CFPB Acting Director Russ Vought said in a statement. The CFPB said it is also seeking to return the $105,000 penalty to Townstone. CFPB workers and consumer advocates are currently suing to block the Trump administration's efforts to neutralize the agency. The settlement followed the CFPB's legal victory before an appeals court, which had upheld the agency's right to pursue claims of racial discrimination in how companies market their mortgages. It was the CFPB's first such case against a non-bank mortgage lender. "All we have to add is that we are glad that the current administration conducted an investigation and agreed to file a joint motion in this case," said a representative for the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented Townstone in the case. In a motion filed in federal court, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Townstone jointly said the agency's case had been based on a faulty investigation and never should have been brought. In a sworn declaration, Dan Bishop, an advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget currently detailed to the CFPB, also said agency lawyers had "misled their superiors in enforcement decisions" and were affected by "animus" toward Townstone. In 2020, the CFPB accused Townstone of "redlining," effectively discouraging mortgage applications from Black applicants and for homes in majority-Black neighborhoods by disparaging such neighborhoods in allegedly racial terms, allegations the company rejected. Kathy Kraninger, who was CFPB director at the time, and Thomas Ward, then the director of enforcement, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
