Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's pessimistic Congress will make major changes to the Dodd-Frank Act because he doubts Republicans can secure enough Democratic votes to pass legislation.
"I'd love to do something about Dodd-Frank, particularly with regard to community banks but that would require Democratic involvement," Kentucky's McConnell told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday. "I'm not optimistic."
McConnell said the 2010 banking law, put in place after the financial crisis, has had unintended consequences that have hurt the nation's smallest banks, a common refrain of Republican lawmakers.
Any effort to revamp Dodd-Frank would probably have to go through the Senate Banking Committee, which is led by Mike Crapo. While McConnell said he has discussed the law with Crapo, the Idaho Republican has indicated that there isn't much Democratic interest in pursuing an overhaul.
"So far, my impression is the Democrats on the banking committee believe that Dodd-Frank is something akin to the Ten Commandments," McConnell said.
Helping Banks
Despite McConnell's remarks, helping community lenders hasn't been the main sticking point in negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, the banking panel's top Democrat, has said he supports relaxing rules for the smallest banks.