Barney Frank, gay rights icon and architect of bank rules, dies at 86

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), a driving force behind far-reaching Wall Street reforms following the 2008 financial crisis, died Tuesday night, according to Frank's former campaign manager. He was 86. The big picture: With a sharp wit and pugnacious outspokenness, Frank became a liberal icon in his three decades in the House. He was an architect of the landmark Dodd-Frank Act and a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community as an openly gay member of Congress. Driving the news: Jim Segel, Frank's former campaign manager and close friend, tells Axios Frank died Tuesday night. Segel on Wednesday talked to Frank's brother, who confirmed his passing. Context: The former lawmaker gave a number of final media interviews from hospice care, warning his party to focus more on "politically survivable" issues and not use the most progressive causes as "litmus tests." Flashback: The Dodd-Frank Act, named for Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), was a historic overhaul of banking regulations in response to the subprime mortgage crisis that helped trigger the 2008 Great Recession. It established new regulatory bodies — including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — and limited banks' ability to make high-risk investments. In 2018, President Trump signed a law that preserved the framework of Dodd-Frank but loosened restrictions on banks. A champion of progressive policies, Frank advocated for an end to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay and lesbian military members to serve openly. He was also a key sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has not passed but would protect LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination and harassment. Frank came out publicly in 1987 and became the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage in 2012. Frank is survived by his husband , Jim Ready. "There was just no -- there was no possibility of being openly gay and having any kind of an impact on the rest of the society," he...

Original source: Axios