With Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie, the U.S. Senate last night wrecked consumer protection for bank and credit card customers by repealing a rule against forced arbitration of disputes.

Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman of Arkansas voted against the consumer protection rule, which leaves consumers at the mercy of credit card companies particularly.

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Alexis Goldstein, a financial reform writer, happily caught Cotton on the floor in Gotrocks-style finery as the Senate voted to help Wells Fargo and other bad actors against the interest of little guys. Cotton huffed afterward in a statement that nothing much ever comes of class action lawsuits except big legal fees. He’s wrong, of course. The punishment of class actions CAN prompt bad actors to clean up.

As Goldstein notes in a Twitter thread on the vote, somebody screwed out of $15 by a bank doesn’t have much recourse, but thousands screwed out of $15 can fight in a class action. Not now. Donald Trump will sign the pro-bank legislation.

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The Arkansas Democratic Party later blasted the votes by Arkansas senators.

“The Republican-led Congress finally passed something, and it protects their big banker buddies while hurting hardworking Americans,” Party Chairman Michael John Gray said. “This is about individual freedom. Republicans like to get on their pedestal and talk about how much they love liberty and freedom, but they clearly prefer that freedom go to the big banks and corporations — not each and every American. What about my freedom? How am I free if a financial company can hurt me and I have no way to stand up for myself?”

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