In the era of Donald Trump, Wall Street big whigs seem to be hiding in the shadows so far this election cycle. Don’t confuse silence with compliance when it comes to the Republican presidential candidates. Jeb Bush and John Kasich might have the most obvious ties to big banks, but the rest of the field is also calling for an end to Dodd-Frank, falling right in line with their policies. Wall Street only seems quiet because it’s already got tonight’s main-stage debaters wrapped in its purse strings.
Take a look at the candidates’ ties to Wall Street:
Donald Trump
Donald Trump Said Dodd Frank Is “Terrible” And That He Would “Absolutely” Repeal It. According to The Hill, “[Trump] also slammed the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law as a ‘disaster’ that has stifled economic growth. ‘It’s terrible,’ he said in an interview with The Hill, saying that he would ‘absolutely’ repeal it. ‘Under Dodd-Frank, the regulators are running the banks,’ Trump said. ‘The bankers are petrified of the regulators. And the problem is that the banks aren’t loaning money to people who will create jobs.’’ [The Hill, 10/14/15]
Ben Carson
Ben Carson Attacked Dodd Frank And The CFPB As “Massive Expansion” Of Government Power; Called CFPB “The Ultimate Example Of Regulatory Overreach.
In a The Washington Times op-ed Ben Carson wrote, “I have often said it is the natural tendency of those who achieve power in government to never give it up, and to keep expanding it absent a conscientious effort to say enough is enough. Today we have a gigantic, bloated government that is far larger than our Founding Fathers would ever have permitted. And it keeps growing, in both spending and bureaucracy. It is one of the primary reasons why we find ourselves with a national debt surpassing $18 trillion. One of the latest massive expansions came early in the Obama years when a Democratic Congress passed the Dodd-Frank banking law and gave birth to an entire new agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB is the ultimate example of regulatory overreach, a nanny state mechanism asserting its control over everyday Americans that they did not want, did not ask for and do not need.” [Washington Times, 7/28/15]
Marco Rubio
Voted At Least Four Times Against Dodd-Frank
2014: Rubio Voted Against Loosening Dodd-Frank Act’s Restrictions On Federally Insured Financial Companies Participating Directly In Swap Trading, As Part Of Legislation Providing FY 2015 Funding For The Federal Government. In December 2014, Rubio voted against House-passed legislation that, according to Congressional Quarterly, “provide[d] $1.013 trillion in discretionary appropriations in fiscal 2015 for federal departments and agencies covered by the 12 unfinished fiscal 2015 spending bills.” The legislation included provisions that “amend[] the Dodd-Frank Act (PL 111-203) to modify the so-called ‘Swap Pushout Rule’ by expanding the permissible types of swap activities that can be conducted directly by insured financial institutions without losing their access to federal assistance, and it allow[ed] uninsured U.S. branches of foreign banks also to engage in those swap activities as long as they are covered by a ‘prudential’ regulator in their home nation. Permissible swaps activities […] include[d] equity swaps, commodity and agriculture swaps, and energy swaps. Those swap activities that must be pushed to affiliates [will] mostly be swaps based on asset-backed securities that are unregulated or not of a credit quality established by regulation.” The vote was on a motion to agree to a House substitute amendment to unrelated legislation, which the Senate agreed to by a vote of 56 to 40. Afterwards, the amended legislation was sent to the president, who signed it into law. [Senate Vote 354, 12/13/14; Congressional Quarterly, 12/10/14; Congressional Actions, H.R. 83]
2013: Rubio Voted For Repealing Portions Of The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act As Part Of The FY 2014 Ryan Budget. In March 2013, Rubio voted for repealing the Dodd-Frank regulations for financial institutions, as part of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposed budget resolution covering fiscal years 2014 to 2023. According to the House Budget Committee, “This budget would end the bailout regime enshrined into law by the Dodd-Frank Act. The federal government must ensure financial markets are fair and transparent. And it must hold accountable those who violate the rules. But federal bureaucrats should not micromanage the system or protect Wall Street bankers from the risks they are taking.” The vote was on the House Republicans’ fiscal year 2014 budget resolution, which Senate Budget Committee chairwoman Patty Murray offered as a substitute amendment to the Senate’s fiscal year 2014 budget resolution. The Senate rejected the amendment by a vote of 40 to 59. [Senate Vote 46, 3/21/13; House Budget Committee, 3/12/13]
2012: Rubio Effectively Voted To Repeal Portions Of The Dodd Frank Financial Reform Act As Part Of The FY 2013 Ryan Budget. In May 2012, Rubio effectively voted to repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s regulations for financial institutions, as part of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposed budget resolution covering fiscal years 2013 to 2022. According to the House Budget Committee, “This budget would end the bailout regime enshrined into law by the Dodd-Frank Act. The federal government has a critical role in helping to ensure financial markets are fair and transparent, and in holding accountable those who violate the rules. But even though that role is critical, it is a limited one: Federal bureaucrats should not be empowered to micromanage the financial system, and this budget will review financial regulations to ensure that the costs to the private sector and to the taxpayer do not outweigh their benefits, and that regulations are both essential and not unduly burdensome.” The vote was on a motion to proceed to consider the House-passed budget resolution, which the Senate rejected by a vote of 41 to 58. [Senate Vote 98, 5/16/12; House Budget Committee, 5/20/12; Congressional Actions, H.Con.Res. 112]
2011: Rubio Voted For A Republican Jobs Proposal Known As The “Jobs Through Growth Act” That Included A Provision To Repeal The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Law. In November 2011, Rubio voted for an amendment that would have put in place a number of Republican policy priorities. According to The Hill, “‘The ‘Jobs Through Growth Act,’ penned by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) […] included a Sense of the Congress that a balanced budget to the Constitution is needed, a provision to make it easier for the government to rescind unspent funds and a reduction in taxes for individuals and companies. It also would have repealed last year’s healthcare law and the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.” The amendment was a second-degree amendment to a bill to end the withholding requirement for payments to government contractors. The Senate rejected the amendment by a vote of 40 to 56. [Senate Vote 202, 11/10/11; The Hill, 11/10/11]
Rubio Took Hundreds Of Thousands From Wall Street
2009 – 2016: Rubio’s Top Contributors Came From The Securities And Investment Industry. According to OpenSecrets.Org, between 2009 and 2016, Rubio’s top contributors came from the Securities and Investment industry. Contributions detailed in the chart below:
| Industry | Total | Individuals | PACs |
| Securities And Investment | $1,158,443 | $1,104,543 | $53,900 |
[OpenSecrets.Org, Accessed 5/30/15]
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush Said Dodd-Frank Did Not Stop Banks From Becoming “Too Big To Fail” And Increased “The Systematic Risk” Of The U.S. Financial System. According to Reuters, “Likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Tuesday criticized the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street oversight law, saying it did not stop banks from becoming ‘too big to fail’ and may have contributed to new risks in the U.S. financial system. Bush, the former governor of Florida, is expected to formally launch his bid for the White House on June 15, after he completes a five-day European trip. Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, Bush said reforms enacted in response to the 2007-2009 economic meltdown led to bigger banks and may have heightened risk in the U.S. financial system. ‘We have more banks with more concentrated assets in the United States, and the systematic risk is perhaps greater now than it was when the law was signed,’ Bush said. ‘And so I would beware of regulations in general. I think they need to be thoughtful,’ he said.” [Reuters, 6/9/15]
- Jeb Bush Said Regulation Was Needed “Around Bad Banks.” According to Reuters, “Jeb Bush, who had long been expected to seek the presidency in the November 2016 U.S. election, said regulation was needed ‘around bad banks’ to prevent another crisis that would hurt the middle class, but he said Dodd-Frank did not have the effect Congress desired.” [Reuters, 6/9/15]
Jeb Bush: “[I’d] Repeal Dodd-Frank If I Could….It’s Not The Intention Of Regulation That Matters, It’s Actually The Results. And These Results Have Created Greater Systemic Risk And Are Hurting The Heartland.”According to TheSkimm, “WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE FOLLOWING… THE ECONOMY. The mission is high-sustained economic growth where people have a chance to earn success. [I’ve] unveiled a pretty provocative tax reform policy, simplifying the code, lowering rates. Regulatory reform is part of that. The stories of investments not made, of jobs not created, of income not earned, is pretty phenomenal in a world where Washington is just on steroids as it relates to the rules they create. [I’d] repeal Dodd-Frank* if I could….It’s not the intention of regulation that matters, it’s actually the results. And these results have created greater systemic risk and are hurting the heartland.” [TheSkimm, 10/7/15]
Ted Cruz
Cruz Called For The Repeal Of Dodd-Frank, Claiming It Did Nothing To Prevent Bailouts And Created Costly Regulations. According to an Opinion by Sen Ted Cruz in National Journal, “Repeal Dodd-Frank. A law of massive complexity, Dodd-Frank does nothing to prevent future financial bailouts, but instead subjects the financial sector to costly new regulatory burdens — the cost of which invariably will be passed on to consumers. And its impact hits small community banks hardest. Reasonable government regulations are needed to protect the soundness and integrity of the marketplace, but they should not empower bureaucrats to micro-manage private sector institutions to the detriment of consumers.” [National Journal, 9/7/11]
John Kasich
Kasich Said Businesses Would “Sit On The Sidelines” Because Of Dodd-Frank. According to Fox News, “KASICH: Look, Sean, there’s too much regulation. Just take Dodd- Frank, this bill on bank regulation, 5,000 new regulations coming out, talking about raising taxes, busting the budget. What businesses do, remember I was in business for 10 years. What businesses do, they say we don’t understand the regulations that are coming. We don’t understand where the taxes are going to be. We are going to sit on the sidelines. I have a program that might help to bring the dollars from U.S. companies these giant profits some say as much as a trillion dollars. Let them come back to America. Instead of investing in Europe, let’s bring those dollars back. Now I think if they bring them back, Sean, companies ought to put them into workforce training or they ought to put in to research and development. The Republicans could go there. I think this is one thing on a bipartisan basis that could help us. Because you know why, kids are in poverty. Families are unemployed, Sean. We have to start getting things together. We have to reach a little common ground out there.” [Fox News, 9/13/11]
Kasich: “You Have Dodd-Frank. No One Knows What Those Rules Are.…Companies See That And They Say We’re Out Of Here.” According to NBC News, “GOV. KASICH: Well, here’s the problem. Look, here’s the problem. When you have uncertainty that people face today, when you’re talking about higher taxes, when you have this enormous debt, when you overregulate, people are uncertain. If you’re a small businessperson, you can’t deal with uncertainty, so you sit on the sidelines. If you’re a big company, you don’t know what you’re going to do, you sit on the sidelines. So to talk about higher capital gains, higher income taxes, this enormous debt, highest debt we’ve ever seen in our history, which leads us to conclude, or businesspeople to conclude that means higher taxes. You’ve got an EPA that is, you know, overly zealous. You have all–you have Obamacare. No one knows even what the rules are. You have Dodd-Frank. No one knows what those rules are. I mean, the rules are so thick you can write many encyclopedias with them. Companies see that and they say we’re out of here.” [NBC News, 6/3/12]
Rand Paul
Paul Introduced Legislation That Would Repeal Dodd-Frank. According to the office of Senator Rand Paul, his FY 2014 budget “Repeals Obamacare and Dodd-Frank.” [Office of Senator Rand Paul, 5/22/13]
Carly Fiorina
Fiorina: ‘We Should Get Rid Of Dodd-Frank And Start Again,’ According to The Hill, “Likely GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina wants to abolish the sweeping Wall Street reform law. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO told The Hill that if she were elected president, she’d nix the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation entirely and begin anew. ‘We should get rid of Dodd-Frank and start again,’ Fiorina told The Hill. Fiorina argues the law will do little to prevent another financial crisis and has instead introduced regulations that are holding back the economy.” [The Hill, 4/9/15]
Chris Christie
Christie Attacked Dodd-Frank As “Increasing The Too Big To Fail Problem” And “Hurt[ing] Main Street.” While appearing at an event in New Hampshire, Chris Christie said, “It is not just access to equity for small and medium-sized businesses that is a problem. Dodd-Frank has hurt Main Street; credit is not flowing to middle America. The percentage of banks’ balance sheets devoted to making loans and leases is at its lowest level since 1978 — again, back to the Jimmy Carter era. And the number of banks in the United States has actually shrunk to its lowest level in over a century. So even while Dodd-Frank had the effect of increasing the too big to fail problem by concentrating the power of the big banks, it has actually curtailed lending to small business by the smaller banks who are economically vital.” [NJ.com, 5/12/15]
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee Called Dodd-Frank A “Terrible Idea” And Said He Would “Get Rid Of” It. According to CNBC, when asked about Dodd-Frank, Huckabee said, “Terrible idea. Do something that affected the people who messed up. Dodd-Frank didn’t really affect the big banks. They’re bigger now than they’ve ever been. We reformed nothing. They’re still playing games with derivatives, still playing the games, turning Wall Street into a casino. What I would do is get rid of Dodd-Frank, which (would put) the power back in community banks. Dodd-Frank has punished the banks that never created the problem.” [CNBC, 10/16/15]
Published: Oct 28, 2015