Seth Frotman

Don’t Mourn Regulatory Independence

June 9, 2025

Donald Trump has seized control over previously “independent” federal regulators. That’s problematic—but Democrats should resist the urge to revert to the way things were.

Amid the recent flurry of radical executive orders, one in particular has flown under the radar: President Trump has seized control over regulators like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, ending a century-old tradition that kept these financial watchdogs “independent” from White House control.

As former financial regulators, we are deeply concerned...

https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/dont-mourn-regulatory-independence/

NY Must Step Up to Protect Consumers as Feds Step Back (Guest Opinion by Samuel Levine & Seth Frotman)

May 29, 2025

Sam Levine is former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Seth Frotman is former general counsel and senior adviser to the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They are based in Washington, D.C.

It will come as no surprise to Syracuse that the global financial crisis did not begin with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, or with the meltdown in the stock market. It began house by house, mortgage by subprime mortgage, pushed by lenders who knew these loans would fail. And it began with the federal government turning a blind eye to...

https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2025/05/ny-must-step-up-to-protect-consumers-as…

What Does the CFPB’s Mass Guidance Withdrawal Mean? Not Much

May 17, 2025

As more and more Americans struggle to pay their bills every month, the Trump Administration is spending its time on pointless gestures to impress big banks and corporate interests. This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) withdrew 67 guidance documents—...

https://www.theregreview.org/2025/05/17/frotman-lipton-what-does-the-cfpbs-mass-…

Seth Frotman