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Faced with years of falling prices and contracting foreign markets, farmers struggled throughout the Trump administration. Trump officials have tried to fix the finances of food producers by handing out billions in aid to keep the industry afloat.
Moving: Trump’s USDA channeled billions in subsidies to farmers suffering from tariffs imposed by foreign countries in the wake of the president’s trade wars, an amount that far exceeded the massive auto bailout in 2008.
The impact: The vast majority of aid went to traditional row crop farmers, many of whom were part of Trump’s political base. Government payments are expected to be at their highest level ever and represent nearly 40 percent of net farm income this year.
The result: Biden faces a difficult choice in deciding whether to continue with the payments: The effects of Trump’s trade war will linger until 2021, and producers have come to rely on help to stay in business. – Liz Crampton
Banking
Trump rolled back bank rules designed to avert another financial crisis
Trump fulfilled a major GOP priority in 2018 by signing the first big bank deregulation bill since the landmark Dodd-Frank Act was enacted in 2010. It was a victory for the country’s lenders, who passed. years of struggling to roll back the rules passed in the wake of the 2008 Wall Street collapse. Republicans and moderate Democrats had worked on some of the proposals long before the 2016 election, but the Trump administration played a role key role in making this possible.
Moving: Smaller banks have secured relaxed mortgage regulations and simplified capital requirements while escaping restrictions designed to discourage risky bets in banking transactions. A number of major lenders have escaped Federal Reserve rules on larger “systemically important” banks. One of the most controversial provisions of the legislation protects small lenders from mortgage disclosure obligations designed to combat discrimination. Opponents of the bill warned it would hurt consumers and was unnecessary at a time when the industry was racking up record profits.
The impact: Since the law was passed, the big banks that lobbied for the restrictions to be looser began to merge. SunTrust and BB&T teamed up in 2019 to form Truist, the eighth-largest U.S. bank with more than $ 504.3 billion in assets. PNC, the country’s 10th lender, has agreed to buy BBVA’s US operations to form another mega-bank.
The result: Even with Democrats controlling Congress, it’s unlikely they’ll try to overturn the law, which the party’s centrists helped pass. Biden’s candidates for regulatory agencies may reconsider some of the rules drafted to enforce the legislation, but that is unlikely to be a top priority. – Zachary Warmbrodt
Social media
Trump galvanized anti-Silicon Valley movement in GOP
Furious Silicon Valley lawmakers have for years attacked Section 230, a crucial 1996 legal provision that protects online platforms from lawsuits over user content they host or decide to restrict. But it was a niche problem until Trump stepped up attacks over allegations that social media companies are biased against conservatives.
Moving: Trump signed an executive order in May asking federal agencies to curtail liability protections in Section 230, which Republicans say allows conservative censorship in Silicon Valley. Trump has also played an unusually active role in pushing his allies in federal agencies and in Congress to weaken the legal shield.
The impact: Pressure from Trump prompted the Federal Communications Commission to launch a controversial regulatory process to “clarify” the scope of Section 230. The Justice Department unveiled its own proposal to narrow it. And Congressional Republicans who were once reluctant to change the law have rallied behind Trump’s efforts by introducing bills to that effect.
The result: While there is bipartisan support for the overhaul of the law, these GOP-led efforts focused on accusations of bias are likely to be blocked by Democrats in Congress. – Cristiano Five
Environmental impacts
Trump cut environmental approvals for infrastructure projects
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