Facing years of falling prices and shrinking foreign markets, farmers have struggled over the Trump administration. Trump officials tried to fix the finances of food producers by distributing billions in assistance to keep the industry afloat.
The movement: Trump’s USDA directed billions in subsidies to farmers who suffered from tariffs imposed by foreign countries as a result 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 farmers, many of whom were part of Trump’s political base. Government payments are expected to reach their highest level ever and represent almost 40% of net agricultural revenue this year.
The result: Biden faces a difficult choice when deciding whether to continue payments: the effects of Trump’s trade war will last until 2021, and producers have come to rely on assistance to stay in the market. – Liz Crampton
Bank officer
Trump reversed bank rules designed to avert another financial crisis
Trump fulfilled a high priority for the Republican Party in 2018 by signing the first deregulation project for a large bank since the historic Dodd-Frank Act was enacted in 2010. It was a victory for the country’s creditors, who have spent years struggling to reverse rules enacted after the collapse of Wall Street in 2008. Moderate Republicans and Democrats had been working on some of the proposals well before the 2016 elections, but the Trump administration played a key role in making them possible.
The movement: Smaller banks have managed to loosen mortgage regulations and simplify capital requirements, while escaping restrictions designed to discourage risky bets on bank transactions. Several large creditors have escaped Federal Reserve rules aimed at the largest “systemically important” banks. One of the most controversial provisions in the legislation protects small creditors from mortgage disclosure requirements designed to help combat discrimination. Opponents of the project warned that it would harm consumers and was not necessary at a time when the industry was racking up record profits.
The impact: Since the legislation was passed, large banks lobbying for more flexible restrictions have started to merge. SunTrust and BB&T combined in 2019 to form Truist, the eighth largest bank in the United States, with more than $ 504.3 billion in assets. The PNC, the country’s tenth largest creditor, agreed to buy American operations from BBVA to form another megabank.
The result: Even with Democrats in control of Congress, they are unlikely to try to break the law, which the party’s centrist helped to pass. Biden’s nominees to regulatory agencies may reconsider some of the rules designed to enforce the legislation, but it is unlikely to be a priority. – Zachary Warmbrodt
Social media
Trump galvanized an anti-Silicon Valley movement at the GOP
Lawmakers furious with Silicon Valley for years have been looking to 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 issue until Trump escalated the attacks on claims that social media companies are biased against conservatives.
The movement: Trump signed an executive order in May asking federal agencies to tighten Section 230 liability protections, which Republicans say allow censorship of conservatives in Silicon Valley. Trump also took an exceptionally active role in lobbying his allies at federal agencies and Congress to weaken the legal shield.
The impact: The pressure from Trump led the Federal Communications Commission to launch a controversial regulatory process to “clarify” the scope of Section 230. The Department of Justice has unveiled its own proposal to reduce it. And Republican congressmen, once wary of changing the law, gathered around Trump’s efforts to come up with bills to do just that.
The result: While there is bipartisan support for reforming the law, efforts led by the Republican Party focused on allegations of bias will likely be blocked by Democrats in Congress. – Cristiano Lima
Environmental impacts
Trump reduced environmental approvals for infrastructure projects