Trump raves that rolling back Dodd-Frank will allow 'friends of mine' to borrow money again


On Friday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to sign an executive order rolling back the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, with a nod to his friends' "nice businesses."
"We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank, because frankly I have so many people, friends of mine, that have nice businesses, they can't borrow money because the banks just won't let them borrow because of rules and regulations and Dodd-Frank," Trump said.
Dodd-Frank was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said the rollback would give Americans more choices "because we're not going to burden the banks with literally hundreds of billions of dollars of regulatory costs every year. ... The banks are going to be able to price products more efficiently and more effectively to consumers."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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