Meuser Endorses Trump Executive Action to End Political Debanking, Urges Permanent Legislative Solution

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, issued the following statement strongly backing President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to stop the debanking of Americans and ensure financial institutions operate free from ideological bias. 

“President Trump is taking bold and necessary action to end the outrageous and unlawful practice of political debanking,” said Congressman Meuser. “No American should be denied access to financial services because of their political views, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities. It’s wrong, it’s unfair, and it has no place in a free society.” 

Meuser added: “We’ve seen this throughout Pennsylvania—including in my own district—where firearms retailers, energy producers, and digital asset innovators were suddenly dropped by their banks with no explanation. These were not business decisions based on risk—they were regulatory threats disguised as guidance. Banks were pressured, not persuaded. While the banks are not without fault, the regulators under Obama and Biden are the ones who are culpable for the debanking that occurred.” 

President Trump’s executive order instructs federal regulators to eliminate the use of subjective “reputational risk” standards that have been used to justify ideological discrimination. It requires agencies to identify and remediate politicized or unlawful debanking practices—and directs financial institutions to notify and, where appropriate, reinstate customers who were denied service for impermissible reasons.

“These debanked businesses faced frozen payrolls, mounting debt, and severe disruptions to their operations. Their livelihoods and reputations were harmed—not because of any wrongdoing, but because they were on the wrong side of political opinion in Washington,” Meuser said. “That is incompatible with the rule of law and the principles of equal treatment under it. Prejudice, when it exists in the financial system, needs to be prohibited outright.”

As Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Meuser has led the charge against “Operation Choke Point 2.0”—the Biden-era revival of regulatory coercion used to debank politically disfavored industries. His first hearing of the Congress focused on these abuses, where he laid out the case for permanent reform. As a result of Chairman Meuser’s public investigation, the Fed, OCC, and FDIC have eliminated reputational risk from their supervisory examination books. 

“Access to banking is foundational to the free market. Chairman French Hill and I, in coordination with the White House, are focused on codifying that principle in law—so no administration can weaponize financial regulation ever again.”

Meuser’s SAFE Guidance Act (H.R. 4460), which passed the House Financial Services Committee, would make clear that regulatory “guidance” cannot be used as a substitute for law. He is also a cosponsor of Rep. Andy Barr’s FIRM Act (H.R. 2702) to prohibit “reputational risk” from being used as a basis for debanking lawful businesses.

“It’s a shame that we need a law like this in America,” Meuser said. “But unfortunately, we do. The regulatory environment should encourage and promote access to banking services, not hinder it in an arbitrary and capricious manner. The law needs strength and clarity, and we’ll work to deliver both.”

Meuser also credited financial regulators including Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill, and Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould for already moving to remove reputational risk from their supervision frameworks.

“These reforms—alongside President Trump’s executive action—represent meaningful progress. Now Congress must finish the job to ensure this doesn’t happen again, which is why we need to codify these protections into law.”

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