By KEN SWEET, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, using a legal maneuver to keep his budget director Russell Vought as acting director of the bureau while the Trump administration continues on its plan to shut down the consumer financial protection agency. Levenbach is currently an associate director inside the Office of Management and Budget, handling issues related to natural resources, energy, science and water issues. Levenbach’s resume shows significant experience dealing with science and natural resources issues, acting as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during Trump’s first term. Levenbach’s nomination is not meant to go through to confirmation, an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Under the Vacancies Act, Vought can only act as acting director for 210 days, but now that Trump has nominated someone to the position, that clock has been suspended until the Senate approves or denies Levenbach’s confirmation as director. Vought is Levenbach’s boss. The CFPB has been nonfunctional much of the year. Many of its employees have been ordered not to work, and the only major work the bureau is doing is unwinding the regulations and rules it put into place during Trump’s first term and during the Biden administration. While in the acting director role, Vought has signaled that he wishes to dismantle, or vastly diminish, the bureau. The latest blow to the bureau came earlier this month, when the White House said it does not plan to withdraw any funds from the Federal Reserve, which is where the bureau gets its funding, to fund the bureau past Dec. 31. The White House and the Justice Department used a legal interpretation of the law that created the bureau, the Dodd-Frank Act, that the Fed must be profitable in order to fund the CFPB’s operations. Several judges have rejected this argument when it was brought up by companies, but it’s never been the position of the government until this year that the CFPB requires the Fed to be profitable to have operating funds. “Donald Trump’s sending the Senate a new nominee to lead the CFPB looks like nothing more than a front for Russ Vought to stay on as Acting Director indefinitely as he tries to illegally close down the agency,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, in a statement. The bureau was created after the 2008 financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, a law passed to overhaul the financial system and require banks to hold more capital to avoid another financial crisis. The CFPB was created to be a independent advocate for consumers to help them avoid bad actors in the financial system.
https://www.dailybreeze.com/2025/11/19/trump-cfpb-nomination/
Tag: interpretation
Ethereum Sheds 5% Amid Market Pullback, Raising Risks of Deeper Correction
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In a world where uncertainty reigns supreme, Aayush Jindal stands as a guiding light, illuminating the path to financial success with his unparalleled expertise, unwavering integrity, and boundless enthusiasm for the markets.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/ethereum/ethereum-sheds-5-amid-market-pullback-raising-risks-of-deeper-correction/
“Damn! Just thinking it? For one second?!”: Perez Hilton reacts after Justin Bieber explains what counts as cheating on Hailey Bieber
Perez Hilton weighed in on Justin Bieber’s recent comments about what counted as cheating on Hailey Bieber during a new Twitch stream. In an October 28 article on his website, Hilton wrote that the 31-year-old singer’s “views on infidelity” were “a lot stricter” than what most people would consider cheating.
For context, during the Twitch stream referenced by Hilton, Justin Bieber told fans that even entertaining a lustful thought about another person could be equated with adultery. “If you even think of a woman with lust, it’s the same thing as actually doing it. Committing adultery, or whatever. It’s like the same thing if it even crosses your mind for one second,” the “Sorry” singer said.
Hilton reacted with surprise at the statement, noting that Bieber’s interpretation of infidelity toward Hailey Bieber was unusually rigid. “Justin Bieber has some strong views on cheating! Damn! Just thinking it? For one second?! With his marriage to Hailey Bieber going seven years strong, it must work pretty well for him, we guess,” Hilton remarked.
In his article, Perez Hilton also elaborated that while “everyone agrees cheating is bad,” there existed “a pretty big spectrum of what people consider to be cheating.” He pointed out that for some men, the boundary could be as strict as refusing to have dinner alone with another woman, while for others, “holding hands” was where the line got drawn. Hilton added that some people allowed “a bit more wiggle room short of going full force.”
### Perez Hilton Comments on Justin Bieber’s Explanation of Cheating
In the same article, Hilton noted that Justin Bieber’s perspective on faithfulness to Hailey Bieber “definitely” aligned with his Christian faith. “It’s a pretty common thing to hear among the most zealous in the flock and with the 31-year-old’s strong spirituality, it’s not surprising to hear he thinks this way,” the podcaster added.
Hilton also pointed out another striking comment Bieber made during the stream: “If you treat a man with anger or something, it’s the same as killing a man,” Hilton quoted. He responded to this statement with disbelief, writing that equating anger to murder was “a really messed up way to think.”
While acknowledging it was good to take responsibility for one’s negative thoughts, Hilton criticized Bieber’s outlook for “pretending” there was “no virtue in refusing to act on primal impulses.” He argued that blurring the line between thought and action was “problematic in two ways.”
First, it turned mere “intrusive thoughts into a mortal sin,” and second, if “thinking and doing” were the “same sin,” it could, in his view, “take some of the stigma off of going through with it.”
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### Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber’s Alleged Divorce Rumors
Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber have been at the center of ongoing rumors about marriage troubles for nearly a year. Despite the constant speculation, the couple occasionally addressed these rumors and shut them down. Hailey Bieber has repeatedly and subtly dismissed the breakup chatter.
In a July 21, 2025, interview with *Vogue Italia*, the Rhode founder opened up about her postpartum journey and the divorce rumors surrounding her marriage. She spoke about the pressure of living in the public eye after welcoming her first child, Jack Blues Bieber, in August 2024. She described the months following his birth as “the most delicate period” of her life. She also admitted that “learning to live with a new version” of herself had been challenging.
Hailey then addressed the alleged divorce speculations, explaining that navigating a major life transition while facing false stories about her marriage made the experience even more difficult. “And having to do all this while constantly reading falsehoods on the internet like ‘They’re getting divorced’ or ‘They’re no longer happy together’ is something that really drives you crazy. I’m not even sure I can explain it. It’s a crazy life,” she told *Vogue Italia*.
Her comments came shortly after Justin released his new album *Swag* in July, which featured several emotional tracks fans interpreted as reflections on his marriage and mental health. In the song “Walking Away,” Justin openly referenced moments of tension and self-reflection, singing about testing each other’s patience and needing space.
Yet, the track also reaffirmed the couple’s deep bond and commitment with lines like:
> “Baby, I ain’t walking away
> You were my diamond
> Gave you a ring
> I made you a promise
> I told you, ‘I’d change’
> It’s just human nature
> These growing pains
> And baby, I ain’t walking away.”
According to a *Us Weekly* report dated July 21, 2025, sources close to the couple said much of the speculation about their alleged divorce earlier in the year stemmed from the pressure Justin felt while working on the album. One insider explained that when the singer was in creative mode, he became “completely consumed and shuts everything else out,” which temporarily created emotional distance in the marriage.
However, with the album now out and well-received, both Justin and Hailey Bieber were reportedly at ease.
“There’s a sense of relief on both sides. Justin’s behavior has been more relaxed. He felt a lot of pressure hanging over him and has been in a better mental headspace these last few weeks. He is very happy there have been positive reviews of the album and that fans like it,” the insider said.
Despite the constant public scrutiny, the couple has always remained unfazed by such chatter. A source told *People* in November 2024 that the Biebers don’t take the rumors about their alleged divorce seriously. According to the source, both Justin and Hailey usually “laugh at the constant divorce rumors.” For them, it’s “annoying, but just noise.”
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### What’s Next for Justin and Hailey Bieber?
Justin Bieber is set to headline Coachella 2026, performing on the Saturdays of both weekends, April 11 and April 18, 2026.
Hailey Bieber, meanwhile, remains focused on expanding her global beauty empire with her billion-dollar brand, Rhode.
—
*Stay tuned for more updates on Justin and Hailey Bieber’s marriage and careers.*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/podcasts/news-damn-just-thinking-it-for-one-second-perez-hilton-reacts-justin-bieber-explains-counts-cheating-hailey-bieber
Jack Smith’s former right-hand man joins Comey’s defense team
Comey became the first former FBI director in history to face arraignment earlier this month after being indicted in September. He has suggested that he faces a politically motivated case driven by antagonists within President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Comey is pleading not guilty to two felony counts related to his 2020 Senate testimony. These charges include allegedly lying to Congress about authorizing a subordinate to speak with reporters and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
David Dreeben, who previously led Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team in delivering arguments before the Supreme Court regarding former President Trump’s legal immunity, has been assigned to Comey’s case. Dreeben and Smith had argued that Trump does not have absolute immunity for official acts. This debate around absolute immunity arose when Smith led the Biden Justice Department’s prosecution against Trump for election interference.
Trump argued that the case was weaponized against him for political purposes. He maintained his innocence against DOJ charges alleging that he sought to overturn the 2020 election through his actions on January 6, 2021. Trump’s defense rested on his interpretation of the Constitution, claiming absolute immunity for acts committed as president. However, the Supreme Court issued a ruling last year largely in Trump’s favor, delivering a setback to Dreeben and Smith’s election-interference case.
Similarly, Comey contends that his indictment is politically motivated retribution for the investigations he led as FBI director. Under Comey’s direction, the FBI launched a 2016 investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to influence the election. Trump has long dismissed this investigation as a “hoax” after it ultimately fizzled out following years of scrutiny.
Comey received a slight boost in his legal battle earlier this week when a judge rejected federal prosecutors’ attempt to impose broad restrictions on the evidence that Comey can access ahead of his trial.
Dreeben’s involvement in Comey’s case comes after his work on former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team. Mueller’s team probed Trump over suspicions of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election. After nearly two years of scrutiny, Mueller closed the investigation in 2019, concluding that there was no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government.
Trump has consistently framed the investigation as a “witch hunt,” portraying it as an effort by the so-called deep state to end his career.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/3855792/jack-smith-former-right-hand-man-comey-defense-team/