President Trump Takes On Dodd-Frank

Banks never liked Dodd-Frank — the regulations that came after the crash of 2008. The president says he’s going to do a big number on it. Can he protect his voters and Wall Street? Main Street?

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump railed against a Wall Street he said was bleeding Americans dry. In the White House, President Trump is now pushing to loosen the reins on American banking. In an executive order signed Friday, he calls for taking apart the Dodd-Frank banking law passed after Wall Street threw the country into the 2008 financial crisis. He says it’s to free up the economy. Critics see a threat to the little guy. This hour in our On Point 100-Day Spotlight,  President Trump and Wall Street. — Tom Ashbrook

Steve Liesman, senior economics reporter for CNBC. (@steveliesman)

Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget. Former chief economist and economic adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden. (@econjared)

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where she directs the Economics21 program. Columnist for MarketWatch and Tax Notes. (@FurchtgottRoth)

Reuters: Trump to issue directives targeting Dodd-Frank, retirement advice rule — "Even though the directives to agencies to examine possible changes to the landmark law may not have teeth, Wall Street embraced the possibility of simpler bank regulations by pushing stocks up in morning trade."

NPR News: Trump Takes Aim At Dodd-Frank, Investor Protections Rule In Executive Action — "President Trump signed two directives on Friday, ordering a review of financial industry regulations known as Dodd-Frank and halting implementation of a rule that requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity."

The Wall Street Journal: Dodd-Frank Bank Regulations Smacked Like a Skillet to the Head — "We know when the Financial Crisis era started. And now we finally know when it ended. That would be 2017, the year that an improbable president—aided by an improbable menagerie of ex-Wall Streeters—stopped the growth of post crisis regulation like a skillet smacked to the head."