Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Oversight of Prudential Regulators.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

During the Thanksgiving break, a lot of us heard the same thing from our constituents: buying the groceries for Thanksgiving dinner was much, much more expensive this year. On top of that, Trump’s weakening economy is squeezing families so much that many are concerned that they will need to pull back on holiday spending. After all, didn’t Trump say that the children only need two dolls? And that the two dolls might cost more? With economic policies like these, Donald Trump is the Grinch who stole Christmas.

But Democrats aren’t the only ones raising alarms. Republican representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who until recently was a diehard Trump supporter, acknowledged that under the Trump Administration, the cost of living has become unbearably high, corporate interests are prioritized over the needs of the working-class, small businesses are hurting and the American Dream is slipping out of reach.

We were all promised lowered costs on day one of Trump’s term. Instead, his Administration is dismantling the very institutions that keep costs low and the economy stable, including by undermining the independence of the Federal Reserve and forcing independent agencies to serve his personal interests.

Americans were promised a reduction in credit card interest payments. Instead, Trump and the Republicans are unlawfully shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the only federal agency focused on making sure that big banks and other financial institutions treat Americans fairly. As if that weren’t enough, Russell Vought, who has told private audiences of his plan to illegally end the CFPB, announced last month that CFPB examiners will be forced to recite a so-called ‘humility pledge,’ essentially forcing them to bow down to big banks before daring to carry out their jobs to examine them.

While I’m happy that our Committee is following the law to finally have what should be a semiannual hearing with the Fed Vice Chair of Supervision, I remind Chairman Hill that it has been 18 months since the CFPB Director last testified before this Committee, a delay which is wholly unacceptable.

I am concerned that our banking regulators have been anything but independent, prioritizing Trump’s deregulatory policies that will leave our banking system vulnerable to another Silicon Valley Bank type failure if not worse.

But it’s not just handouts to megabanks. The Trump family has spent more time putting money into their own pockets than working for the American people. In fact, Trump and his family have received nearly $2 billion in cash, gifts, and crypto profits, while our regulators work on crypto rules that could legitimize this corruption.

We all know the adage that silence is complicity and I’m deeply disappointed by the ways in which my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have remained silent and enabled this President’s policies. I hope each of our banking regulators here today assert your independence and help us navigate out of this mess before it’s too late.

I yield back.”

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