Topic: Cfpb

Rachel Maddow and Senator Elizabeth Warren discuss whether the Trump administration will treat court rulings as optional. They focus on the potential for a constitutional crisis if federal employees are forced to choose between following presidential directives or judicial orders regarding agencies like the CFPB and USAID.

Wells Fargo has been ordered to pay $3.7 billion to settle charges of widespread mismanagement, including illegal fees and interest on auto loans and mortgages. This is the latest in a series of massive fines for the bank, which has previously been penalized for opening millions of unauthorized accounts.

President Obama's push for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate payday loans is analyzed. The hosts compare the high fees of payday lenders to the even higher effective APRs of credit card late fees and utility penalties. They argue that while payday loans can be predatory, the broader financial system—including student loans—operates on similar principles of debt entrapment.

President Obama nominated Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, bypassing Elizabeth Warren who had been setting up the agency. The hosts highlight Cordray's background as a five-time Jeopardy! champion and former Attorney General of Ohio. They mock the "whole bunch of things" Obama claimed the agency is already doing for consumers.