New York Times reporter and podcaster Lulu Garcia-Navarro clashed with GOP strategist Lance Trover on CNN as he tried to defend President Donald Trump's move to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
By executive fiat, Trump terminated the primary agency responsible, since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, for protecting working people from fraud and misconduct by banks and other financial institutions.
"They don't have the authority," said Garcia-Navarro. "It is not under the presidential executive purview to be just shuttering agencies altogether. But that's why you're seeing this fight being set up. They want this to go to the Supreme Court. They want to expand what executive power can do. And so I think at this point what we're going to see is more legal fights, more blocking of some of these executive orders, and then more pushing to see how far Donald Trump can actually go."
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"You know, it's interesting, Lance, because this agency that we're talking about right now has over the years returned nearly $20 billion to American consumers," said anchor Wolf Blitzer. "So how is shuttering it good for Americans?"
"Well, where did that $20 billion come from?" said Trover. "Fining financial institutions, suing small businesses out there. That's their record of what they've done. I mean that's — some would argue that they've increased prices. That's what their whole purpose is, to fine financial institutions and all that good stuff."
"They act as guardrails for — to make sure that actually when they're trying to defraud the public," Garcia-Navarro reminded him. "This is literally what they were created to do."
"They were suing small businesses in Chicago ... over minor stuff," said Trover.
"Legal stuff or just minor stuff?" shot back Garcia-Navarro. "That's what you're saying, but they've also managed to protect—"
"But they also take money away from financial institutions... this was designed and created by Elizabeth Warren, one of the most far-left senators in the country," said Trover.
"So you're actually like just, yay banks, yay big business, let's — let's have no oversight whatsoever?" said Garcia-Navarro.
"No one's saying there's no oversight, but I'm saying ... where is the $20 billion coming from?" said Trover.
"Who's supposed to have the oversight, Lance?" said Garcia-Navarro. "Who's supposed to have the oversight? If you get rid of the institutions that do it then who's supposed to have the oversight, Lance?"
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