Once again, Donald Trump and his corrupt cronies are putting big corporations’ bottom lines ahead of protecting the American people. Instead of lowering costs on Day 1 like he promised, Trump has rolled back corporate bribery enforcement, shuttered America’s watchdog agency, and let polluting companies send an email to get out of environmental regulations. As Trump gives handouts to his billionaire backers, millions of working Americans will pay the price.   

Here’s a look at how Trump is giving another round of handouts to predatory corporations: 

New York Times: “Under President Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dropped nearly a dozen enforcement cases brought during the Biden administration, ending lawsuits against banks and lenders for a variety of financial practices that the watchdog agency no longer considers illegal.

“But on Wednesday, the bureau went a step further: It is seeking to give back $105,000 that a mortgage lender paid to settle racial discrimination claims last fall.

“In an especially strange twist, the case — against Townstone Financial, a small Chicago-based lender — was brought during Mr. Trump’s first term by Kathleen Kraninger, the director he appointed to run the consumer bureau. …

“The case began in 2020 when the consumer bureau accused Townstone of redlining and breaking fair-lending laws by discouraging residents living in majority-Black neighborhoods from applying for its housing loans. It homed in on comments made during the company’s radio show and podcast, ‘The Townstone Financial Show,’ saying they were intended to rebuff Black borrowers or those seeking to buy homes in certain neighborhoods.”

CBS News: “Trump freezes U.S. law banning bribery of foreign officials”

“His order puts in place a 180-day ‘pause’ to all investigations under the FCPA while they are being reviewed. He also ordered no new ones be opened during that period. …

“The FCPA is a federal law that makes it illegal for U.S. companies and individuals to make payments to foreign government officials ‘to secure any improper advantage’ in order to win or retain business. It was enacted in the 1970s to address concerns of global corruption after investigators at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found hundreds of American companies making questionable or illegal payments to foreign officials to win business.”

Reuters: “The U.S. Justice Department is considering merging the lead agencies enforcing drug and gun laws in a major shakeup as it follows President Donald Trump’s instructions to sharply streamline the government, according to a memo first reported by Reuters. …

“[D]epartment leaders are considering eliminating field offices that handle antitrust, environmental and civil cases, according to the March 25 memo. …

“The department is considering cuts to staffing in various sections of the Criminal Division and National Security Division, including those that handle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases as well as counterintelligence and export control matters.”

New York Times: “Now, the Trump administration is offering companies an extraordinary out: Send an email, and they might be given permission by President Trump to bypass the new restrictions, as well as other major clean-air rules. …

“The latest policy allows for companies to apply for exemptions of up to two years, the maximum allowed under the Clean Air Act, from numerous new restrictions on emissions of toxic chemicals like mercury and arsenic. Another is ethylene oxide, a colorless gas that is widely used to sterilize medical devices and is also a carcinogen.”