Despite Trump’s assertion that he is changing the rules in Washington, he had little success in the courts last week. His ban on visitors from seven Muslim countries was overturned by the 9th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Because of the massive disruption to travel, this case attracted considerable attention. Little noticed was another defeat in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. An Obama-era Department of Labor rule requiring investment advisors to consider the best interests of their customers in making decisions in retirement accounts was upheld.
The financial services industry has opposed the rule, which is to become effective on Apr. 10, because they assert it will trigger lawsuits by customers. However, now that Trump controls the Labor Department which oversees the rule, it is likely that his new secretary will side with the investment industry rather than with consumers.
When will citizens discover that, as Sen. Bernie Sanders says, “Trump is a fraud.”
