President Trump has an opportunity to deliver a consumer-protection victory that begins with his supporters and reaches far beyond them.
The issue is Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, a once-obscure provision that has become a major front in the fight over who controls Americans’ financial data. In 2025, the Trump administration moved to reconsider and rewrite the Biden administration’s expansive Section 1033 rule, which critics warned would force broader sharing of consumers’ sensitive financial information with a little-known ecosystem of data middlemen.
Polling data shows strong support for the administration finishing the job.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a narrow window to prove that federal regulators can protect financial innovation without exposing consumers to unnecessary risk. President Trump’s supporters are clear about what they want instead: reform.
Among poll respondents who strongly approve of President Trump, 99.4 percent are concerned about the Biden-era rule allowing data middlemen to follow weaker privacy and security standards than banks. Those numbers are not subtle. Financial-data security is a priority for the president’s coalition—and they are also clear about what a replacement rule should include.
First, companies with access to financial data should meet bank-equivalent security standards. Among respondents who strongly approve of Trump, 100 percent say companies with access to financial data should meet the same high standard required of banks. Overall, 89.4 percent of respondents agree. Even among Trump opponents, support is broad: 75.1 percent of those who disapprove of him and 80.5 percent of those who strongly disapprove say yes.
Second, every company that accesses or uses financial data should help pay for keeping it secure. Some 97.9 percent of Trump strong approvers and 85.8 percent of Trump approvers say every company that accesses or uses financial data should take on its share of the cost of protecting it. Overall, 85.6 percent of respondents agree. Among Trump opponents, 67.6 percent of those who disapprove and 78.0 percent of those who strongly disapprove say yes.
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Third, consumers should have explicit and revocable consent rights. Among Trump strong approvers, 92.1 percent favor new rules to prevent companies from having unlimited access to financial information without explicit and revocable consent. Among Trump approvers, 86.8 percent favor the policy. Overall, 78.2 percent of respondents favor it. Among Trump opponents, 56.9 percent of those who disapprove and 68.7 percent of those who strongly disapprove also favor it.
Supporters of reform are watching closely to see whether the CFPB will craft a replacement rule that meets the moment. The polling suggests this is a chance for the president to deliver precisely the kind of reform his own supporters want while reassuring voters who may otherwise be skeptical of his administration.
The stakes are not abstract. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently appointed former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who led the bureau when the Biden-era rule was finalized, to serve as secretary of the state’s new Business and Consumer Services Agency. That appointment is a signal. The fight over financial-data regulation will not end with one rulemaking. If Democrats return to power, they are likely to revisit data-sharing mandates that benefit technology intermediaries while raising new questions about consumer privacy and security.
For the president, this is the rare issue where his supporters want reform and many of his opponents are open to it. The CFPB should not miss the opportunity.
The polling also reveals broad concern about the Biden-era approach. When respondents were told the rule allowed data middlemen to follow weaker privacy and security standards than banks, 62.9 percent said they were very concerned or concerned. Including those who were somewhat concerned brings the total to 73.9 percent.
Heading into the midterms, President Trump needs more tangible domestic wins that voters can understand. Financial-data privacy offers one. It allows him to show that his administration is protecting consumers, respecting markets, and correcting an overreach from the Biden CFPB. It also allows him to draw a clear contrast with Democrats who appear prepared to revive more aggressive data-sharing mandates if given the chance.
Democrats are already signaling where they want to go next. The CFPB now has an opportunity to show where Republicans should stand: with consumers, with accountability, and with clear limits on how sensitive financial data can be accessed and used.
For the Trump administration, the choice is clear. Deliver the financial-data reforms his supporters already want and finish the rewriting of Section 1033 to provide consumers more protection, or risk a return to the Biden-era policy.
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