CNN panel spirals out of control over Trump team threat 'to crash the banking system'

A Washington Post columnist and economics commentator jabbed President-elect Donald Trump late Friday on CNN — and did so with a snarky apology.

Catherine Rampell — who just a day earlier found herself in a spat with Republican strategist Scott Jennings — joined CNN's "NewsNight" to kick off a discussion about reporting that Trump's allies are mulling plans to weaken — or outright abolish — bank regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The FDIC, considered one of the most critical banking regulators in the United States, runs deposit insurance, a program that compensates a bank's account holders up to $250,000 if the bank fails and is unable to dispense the money in their account. Created in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression, the program exists to prevent "bank runs," or cascading panics where bank's account holders withdraw their money en masse.

Rampell shredded the plan — but acknowledged that's one way he could fulfill a campaign promise.

"I'd like to start by apologizing to our viewers because last night I was on and I said Donald Trump had no plan for bringing down prices. But if in fact he wants to get rid of the FDIC and lay the groundwork for another Great Depression-style bank run, that would do it," she said. "That's how you get deflation, that's what happened during the Great Depression."

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Rampell called the notion "unfathomable."

"It's just laying the groundwork for all sorts of financial instability," she said, later exclaiming: "We just had a banking crisis last year!"

Rampell then pushed back against Pete Seat, a former White House spokesman for President George W. Bush, who tried to insist the Journal report never explicitly stated Trump's team is considering doing away with deposit insurance.

"Literally nowhere in this story," he begins to say, as Rampell interrupts: "In the Wall Street Journal it does."

"No it doesn't! It said it would be absorbed by the Department of Treasury," said Seat, pointing specifically to the Journal's report that said, "Also discussed plans to either combine or otherwise restructure the main federal bank regulators, the FDIC, OCC and Federal Reserve."

"They're asking questions," he insisted. "They're trying to figure out the art of the possible to deregulate the financial sector. Why is that a problem?"

Rampell acknowledged that while there is a patchwork of regulators, that's not what Trump allies are talking about.

"They're talking about rolling back regulations altogether. Potentially getting rid of deposit insurance. That's how I read that story," she rebutted, adding doing so would add significant risk to the financial system and taxpayers.

Rampell later clashed with Republican strategist Erine Perrine, who tried to assert no one on Trump's team is pursuing "complete bank deregulation."

"Nowhere is that case even fathomable or something they are looking at," she said.

Rampell interjected.

"Read Project 2025!" she shouted, as the panel devolved into talking over each other.

Perrine, fed-up, pointed out that Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from the right-wing transition plan, which became the subject of scorn during the campaign.

As host Abby Phillip desperately tried to regain control of the panel, Rampell shot back, "You're saying the Wall Street Journal just published clickbait?"

They clashed again shortly thereafter, when Rampell exclaimed, "I don't think Donald Trump has a mandate to crash the banking system," responding to a common Republican talking point that Trump won by such a large margin he is essentially obligated to install even the most fringe ideas in the MAGA agenda.

Perrine hit back again.

"Well good news: That isn't what he's trying to do. And the unbelievable level that I've heard at this table of just speculation and ridiculous fear-mongering about something that isn't being talked about, isn't a serious policy proposal, no one is talking about bank deregulation, be honest with the American people."

Watch the tense clip below or at this link.