Obama Fights for Consumer Protection

In the wake of the Massachusetts defeat, President Obama is expected to take a more populist turn. To that end, the president reiterated his support on Tuesday for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would be set up to guard consumers from lending abuses. Though Republicans and the financial lobby are fighting to kill the measure, Obama personally endorsed an independent agency and not simply giving those powers to existing regulators. In another populist move, Obama will order federal agencies on Wednesday to prevent companies that are delinquent in paying taxes from obtaining government contracts. The order includes instructions for the IRS to review companies’ claims to make sure they’re not lying. Many expect Obama to try to address voter dissatisfaction with a series of small-ball populist-minded measures like this one.