In his memo, Mr. Lanning indicated that the bureau’s leadership, bolstered by a new layer of political appointees installed by Mr. Mulvaney, had manipulated the reconsideration process to steer it toward that goal. As early as May 2018, while Mr. Mulvaney publicly claimed to be keeping an open mind about the reconsideration, bureau economists were told that Mr. Mulvaney had decided to abolish core provisions of the payday rule. They were directed to research only his preferred changes, without analyzing whether alternative approaches would yield a better outcome for consumers or industry.

Source: New York Times April 29, 2020 18:37 UTC