The Significance of Consumer Protection Changes in the Second Trump Term

Photo via M. Scott Mahaskey, POLITICO

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The second term of United States President Donald Trump has seen a significant shift in how consumer protection agencies operate and how the government approaches corporate mergers. This began early in Trump’s return to the presidency, when he attempted to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (C.F.P.B.) The C.F.P.B. is a government agency tasked with protecting consumers from unfair or misleading practices by companies, preventing discriminatory practices by companies, and addressing customer complaints regarding issues they encounter with companies, among other responsibilities.

On February 10th, 2025, the decision to close the agency was made, and less than a week later, a federal judge mandated that decisions related to the staffing and funding of the agency be halted, temporarily preventing the full closure of the agency. Typically, the C.F.P.B. receives its funding from the Federal Reserve, and in November of last year, the Trump administration stated that this source of funding was illegal and that it was prevented from obtaining more funding from the Federal Reserve. Since then, multiple federal judges have ordered that the administration continue to fund the C.F.P.B., ruling the administration is unauthorized to determine C.F.P.B.’s funding level.

The administration complied with a previous ruling made last December, providing $145 million to the agency, which will allow the agency to function until the end of March. While the agency will likely require more funding in the near future, it has been able to temporarily continue limited operations.

These cuts to the C.F.P.B. workforce and budget have had tangible consequences for American consumers. A recent report made by U.S. Senators estimated that the administration’s actions have cost Americans $19 billion in funds lost in unfair and harmful practices by companies that could have been returned to consumers, or that the administration refused to distribute.

Congress and the Trump administration have also removed several other significant proposals and policies made under former U.S. President Joseph Biden, intended to protect consumers from unethical practices. These include a proposed requirement that airlines compensate passengers for delays caused by airlines, a policy capping the maximum overdraft fee banks can charge at $5 in many instances, and a policy increasing regulation of digital payment platforms. Throughout the Biden administration, banks were required to repay consumers around $491 million for unethical practices concerning overdraft fees, due to the enforcement of the C.F.P.B.

The second Trump administration has also departed from the policies of its predecessor in how they approach proposed company mergers. Under Biden, former Federal Trade Commission (F.T.C.) chair Lina Khan prevented companies from merging, noting the damage that can occur to prices, consumer choice, and labor unions when single companies control a significant portion of the market. The agency also pushed back against companies that engaged in anti-consumer practices, such as in their lawsuit against Amazon, which settled for $2.5 billion last year before the jury trial was completed.

While the Trump administration initially stated it would maintain the Biden-era policy regarding how the F.T.C. would review potential corporate mergers, there have been many mergers approved in the past year, with multiple instances of approved mergers with significant potential consequences for competition and fairness in the economy.

One of the most notable examples was the approved merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., leading CNN and CBS News, two of the largest news organizations in the country, to be controlled by the same company. In the past year, CBS News has faced criticism for a perceived lack of journalistic independence, and the combination of CNN and CBS News leaves a larger portion of the news industry in the U.S. more susceptible to government influence and control by influential individuals.

Another instance of consolidation in broadcast media is the recent merger of Nexstar and Tegna, companies that own hundreds of television stations, most of which are local stations, across dozens of U.S. states. In response, eight states have filed a lawsuit that attempts to prevent the merger, arguing this move violates antitrust laws and will raise prices for consumers. Similar to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, this development has the potential to continue to limit the range of viewpoints that are able to be expressed in media and make media more susceptible to interference and coercion.

Together, these developments during the second Trump administration reflect a departure from a government that is more willing to intervene in the economy on behalf of the rights of consumers and citizens, as seen during the Biden administration. These actions have the potential to leave Americans with fewer ways to redress illegal or unethical practices of companies, provide companies with less competition, allowing them to act with increasing unaccountability, and weaken Americans’ faith that societal institutions are acting independently of undue influence by the government or other actors. 

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This article was edited by Cameron Ma and Ella Cohen.