Trump, who ran on cleaning up corporate abuses and draining the swamp, is now curbing corporate oversight at the behest of big business donors
The White House is taking action to rein in enforcement activity by government agencies, calling for more input by political appointees and advising against opening more than one probe into the same company.
When it comes to investigations and actions against companies for regulatory violations, any ambiguity in the law should be read “in favor of the targeted party,” according to a memo issued last week by Paul Ray, who heads the White House’s regulatory review office.
The move comes in response to concerns by companies that government investigators wield too much power, but it has sparked criticism from government watchdog groups that it will handicap the oversight of wrongdoing by corporate America. Enforcement has already been steeply declining under the Trump administration for years, they say.