Houses passes bill easing rules regulating Wall Street

Washington — The House has passed a bill to soften the landmark law reining in banks and Wall Street, advancing a key Republican priority more than six years after the financial crisis struck and brought on the Great Recession.

The vote Wednesday was 271-154 on the legislation pushed by the newly bulked-up Republican majority in the House. Approval of the bill came swiftly in the second week of the new Congress, despite a veto threat from the Obama White House. The measure now goes to the Senate, where it will face strong opposition from liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The bill alters sections of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. That law tightened government oversight of banks and financial markets with an eye toward preventing another crisis and taxpayer bailout of banks.