On January 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit challenging unsolicited text messages containing video files under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The plaintiff alleged that, during the final weeks of a presidential election campaign, he received an automated text message from a political committee that included a video with a prerecorded voice, which was automatically downloaded to his phone.
On January 12, the CFPB received a petition from a nonprofit law firm urging the Bureau to rescind Regulation C, 12 C.F.R. § 1003, and Appendix B to Part 1003. The petition argued that Regulation C, which requires mortgage lenders to collect and report data on applicants’ ethnicity, race, and sex, exposes applicants to potential discrimination by both government and private actors in purported violation of federal civil rights law and the Constitution. The petition stated that rescinding this rule is crucial to maintaining fair, merit-based lending.
On December 23, the Treasury issued an NPRM in the Federal Register titled “Debt Collection Authorities Under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996” proposing to revise regulations governing the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). TOP is a centralized system administered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that collects delinquent debts owed to the U.S., states, or tribal agencies under Section 455(f) of the Social Security Act by withholding eligible federal and state payments to satisfy those debts. The Treasury stated that the proposal aims to restore statutory flexibility, implement new authorities, eliminate repetitive language, and reorganize rules for clarity and comprehension.
In a Truth Social post, President Trump backed a bill called the Credit Card Competition Act (sometimes called the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandate), saying it will help put an end to what he calls “out-of-control swipe fee rip-offs.” Swipe fees — more formally known as interchange fees — are the charges merchants pay every time a customer pays with a credit card. Although these fees are not directly visible to consumers, merchants often argue that they are reflected in higher prices for goods and services.
As 2025 concluded, the "soft landing" narrative met a more complex reality: a divergence in consumer financial health that demands a recalibrated recovery infrastructure. While aggregate spending remains resilient, the composition of that spending is shifting toward a more cautious, "needs-based" posture.
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