PANews reported on December 13 that according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter revealed that Trump's advisers and officials from his newly formed Department of Government Efficiency asked whether the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation could be abolished. Some of them said that the advisers also asked nominees who are being considered for relevant positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) whether the deposit insurance business could be merged into the Treasury Department. Any proposal to abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other agency would require action by Congress.

While past presidents have reorganized and renamed departments, Washington has never closed a major cabinet-level agency, and it rarely closes important non-cabinet agencies like the FDIC. While banking executives are optimistic that Trump will relax a range of rules on capital buffers, consumer protection and industry consolidation reviews, the FDIC's deposit insurance business is seen as nearly sacrosanct. Any move that even threatens to undermine the perception of deposit insurance could quickly set off a chain reaction in the banking industry and, during a crisis, could exacerbate customer panic.