Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, ENFORCEMENT—Public Citizen says companies have avoided $3.1B in misconduct penalties under Trump, (Jan 20, 2026)

By Nora Macaluso

The administration has canceled enforcement actions at the Justice Department, CFPB, and other agencies, the consumer group said.

The Trump administration in its first year canceled or halted a total of 159 enforcement actions against 166 corporations, with “at least” 18 companies accused of violating the law avoiding some $3.1 billion in penalties for misconduct, Public Citizen said. Twelve of the 18 benefited from canceled enforcement actions, and six actions were settled with “significantly reduced” penalties than those sought by the Biden administration, the report said.

Companies with ties to the administration have benefited from the canceled investigations, Public Citizen said in a report. Pfizer, who worked with Attorney General Pam Bondi, has been the top beneficiary, with three Justice Department enforcement actions canceled, the group said.

Bank of America, Binance, Capital One, GE Healthcare, Polymarket, and Toyota are among corporations that saw three canceled enforcement actions, according to the report.

Other companies that benefited from dropped enforcement actions have donated to President Trump’s inauguration or planned White House ballroom, contributed to his presidential campaign, or had business relationships with his private companies, Public Citizen said.

“The Trump administration is canceling accountability for corporate predators that cheat consumers, exploit workers, and illegally abuse their power at home and abroad,” said Rick Claypool, Public Citizen research director and author of the report. “The ‘law enforcement’ claims the White House uses as pretext for authoritarian anti-immigrant crackdowns, city occupations, and imperial resource seizures abroad lose all credibility when cast against the lawlessness Trump allows for the pursuit of corporate profits.”

Fifty-three of the jettisoned enforcement actions—a third of the total—involved canceled investigations, lawsuits, and other measures at the Justice Department. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cases that were canceled or frozen account for 45, or another third, the report found. The Securities and Exchange Commission, with 30 canceled actions; the Federal Trade Commission, with 11, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, with 10, were also disproportionately affected, according to Public Citizen.

Some 40 percent of the canceled or frozen enforcement actions (64) involved alleged consumer protection violations. Another 22 involved cryptocurrency enforcement, 18 related to worker protection, 17 involved antitrust and competition-related enforcement, and 15 alleged foreign corruption and bribery, the report found.

The report is based on an analysis of data from Public Citizen’s Corporate Enforcement Tracker, which has monitored federal enforcement actions initiated in the Biden administration and passed on to the Trump administration. The group said the analysis “shows the dramatic extent of Trump’s retreat from enforcement against crime and lawbreaking after just one year in office.”

Companies: Bank of America; Binance; Capital One; GE Healthcare; Pfizer; Polymarket; Toyota

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