Brendan Pedersen
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Brendan Pedersen
@brendanpedersen.bsky.social
1.2K followers 680 following 56 posts
yelling about banks. I write a financial politics / policy newsletter focused on Congress called THE VAULT for Punchbowl News. American Banker alum.
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Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
THE VAULT: The penny was declared dead this week at the age of 232-years-old, courtesy of the Trump administration. Now it’s Capitol Hill’s turn to pick up the tab. Because the penny hasn’t gone quietly.

More from @brendanpedersen.bsky.social —
punchbowl.news/article/vaul...
Painful penny politics
The penny was declared dead this week at the age of 232-years-old, courtesy of the Trump administration.
punchbowl.news
November 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
News in THE VAULT: It’s fintech, crypto and retailers vs. the banks.

Today’s the deadline for comments on the Biden-era open banking rules and a sweeping industry coalition is urging the CFPB not to narrow or water them down.

More from @brendanpedersen.bsky.social —
punchbowl.news/article/vaul...
It’s everybody versus the banks on financial data rights
The FTA has assembled a sweeping coalition of fintech, crypto and merchant groups to try to preserve the legal framework that undergirds “open banking.”
punchbowl.news
October 21, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
THE VAULT: Banks want Congress to reopen the GENIUS Act to clamp down on stablecoin “rewards.”

But key senators say they’re not relitigating yields. For now, Washington’s siding with crypto.

📝: @brendanpedersen.bsky.social —
punchbowl.news/article/vaul...
Key senators leery of stablecoin yield redux
The banking industry wants the Senate to re-open the GENIUS Act, imposing further limits on the yields paid out to consumers on their stablecoins.
punchbowl.news
September 30, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
It looks like President Donald Trump is going to get his way on crypto. House leaders are planning a hybrid approach to advancing crypto legislation after a week of hand-wringing and positioning.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
The House slouches toward crypto floor votes
The House will host a single procedural vote to advance the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act to the floor as soon as the week of July 7
punchbowl.news
June 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
There’s a bipartisan hunger in Congress for lower interest rates. As Republicans step up their attacks on Fed Chair Jay Powell, Democrats are pushing for rate cuts themselves.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
Democrats want Powell to cut rates, too
There’s a bipartisan hunger in Congress for lower interest rates. As Republicans step up their attacks on Fed Chair Jay Powell, Democrats sound sympathetic.
punchbowl.news
June 29, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
Competing visions of American digital asset policy will go head-to-head this week. One is headed by the president, the other led by a former banker from Arkansas.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
punchbowl.news
June 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
The Senate’s first-ever move to incorporate digital assets into the regulated financial system disintegrated on Thursday. The political landscape has changed with this failed vote — and not in crypto’s favor.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
Three things we learned from crypto’s Senate flop
The Senate’s first-ever move to incorporate digital assets into the regulated financial system disintegrated on Thursday.
punchbowl.news
May 11, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
From THE VAULT: The GOP’s tax bill hits prime time, Rep. Neal details House Dems’ strategy for the tax markup, the three things we learned from crypto’s Senate flop and more.

Laura and @brendanpedersen.bsky.social in the Lookahead:
punchbowl.news/archive/5112...
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punchbowl.news
May 11, 2025 at 8:34 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
More news via Punchbowl News' Texts: Democrats are planning to walk out of a joint hearing scheduled for tomorrow. House Ag and finserv plan to discuss changes to the market structure of crypto regulation.

Democrats say House rules allow them to halt proceedings by denying UC
May 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Scoop: Thune told offices the Senate is moving full steam ahead on a floor vote of the GENIUS Act this week, despite opposition from a key bloc of Democrats. First in PBN texts.

Republican leadership wants to call Democrats' bluff on stablecoins... if it is a bluff. May not be
May 5, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
From THE VAULT: The House GOP struggles to cut deals as the reconciliation clock races, crypto has a Senate Democrat problem and the latest Canvass poll on crypto reforms is in.

Laura and @brendanpedersen.bsky.social in the Lookahead:
punchbowl.news/archive/5425...
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punchbowl.news
May 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Some news in our AM edition: Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee conferenced last night to discuss their approach to reconciliation. On the chopping block: The CFPB, PCAOB and up to $5 billion in cuts, depending on CBO scoring
April 24, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
From THE VAULT: It’s tax writing time, the medical debt CRA deadline is looming, it’s one helluva time for a monetary policy task force, we share the latest on K Street and more.

Laura and @brendanpedersen.bsky.social in the Lookahead:
punchbowl.news/archive/4132...
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punchbowl.news
April 13, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
The Biden-era director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was fired in February. Two months later, Rohit Chopra may be on the verge of scoring a surprising political triumph in the Trump era.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
Medical debt CRA deadline looms with problems ahead
One of Chopra’s last acts at the CFPB was finalizing a rule that eliminated medical debt from consumer credit reports.
punchbowl.news
April 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
From THE VAULT: Inside Republicans’ next moves to write the tax bill, the credit union lobby’s $12M Capitol Hill townhouse overhaul, this week’s hot tax topics on K Street and more.

Laura and @brendanpedersen.bsky.social in this week's Lookahead:
punchbowl.news/archive/3925...
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punchbowl.news
March 9, 2025 at 8:38 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
News: House Republicans have developed a new strategy for cutting the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The approach is distinct from prior attempts, designed to work w/ reconciliation and could gut the CFPB budget while dodging the Senate filibuster. Read >>>
January 27, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
Less than a week into the second Trump administration, the fight over the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already here.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social with more:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
Knives are out for CFPB. This time will be different.
Less than a week into a second Trump administration, the fight over the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already here.
punchbowl.news
January 26, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill have a lot of preferences in common, but their styles as lawmakers are very different.

@brendanpedersen.bsky.social details their approaches to down-dais leadership:
punchbowl.news/article/fina...
One emerging style gap between Scott and Hill
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and HFSC Chair French Hill have a lot of preferences in common, but their styles as lawmakers are very different.
punchbowl.news
January 20, 2025 at 2:31 AM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Interesting group for folks tracking crypto influence in this Congress:

- Bynum beat a Fairshake-backed GOP candidate in November, a rare defeat for crypto in '24
- Fields appears to have made no public statements re crypto
- Liccardo is a crypto ally.
brendanpedersen.bsky.social Brendan Pedersen @brendanpedersen.bsky.social · Jan 7
House Democrats are adding three members to their roster on the Financial Services Committee, according to two people familiar with the decision. Those members are Reps. Janelle Bynum (Ore.) Cleo Fields (La.) and Sam Liccardo (Calif.). Welcome, newbies!
January 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
House Democrats are adding three members to their roster on the Financial Services Committee, according to two people familiar with the decision. Those members are Reps. Janelle Bynum (Ore.) Cleo Fields (La.) and Sam Liccardo (Calif.). Welcome, newbies!
January 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Good morning from the nation's capital
January 6, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Brendan Pedersen
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
Forget about crypto for a second. The next chair of the House Financial Services Committee has been pushing for innovation in the banking sector for nearly half a century.

More from @brendanpedersen.bsky.social in The Readback:
punchbowl.news/archive/1221...
December 22, 2024 at 8:38 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Full list of Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee for the 119th Congress:

Scott, SC
Crapo, Idaho
Rounds, SD
Tillis, NC
Kennedy, La.
Hagerty, Tenn.
Lummis, Wyo.
Britt, Ala.
Ricketts, Neb.
Banks, Ind.
Cramer, ND
Moreno, Ohio
McCormick, Penn.
December 21, 2024 at 3:48 AM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
Restrictions on U.S. outbound investment in China have also been knocked out of the package, folks tell @jakesherman.bsky.social and me
December 19, 2024 at 9:04 PM
brendanpedersen.bsky.social
The FDIC's inspector general released its inquiry into the agency's harassment problems today.

According to a survey done by the OIG, one third of FDIC employees have "either experienced or personally witnessed harassment" at the agency. www.fdicoig.gov/sites/defaul...
December 19, 2024 at 5:48 PM