WASHINGTON — Two federal bank regulators condemned the riot at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday that was incited by President Trump.
In messages to the staffs of their respective agencies, acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger each denounced the violence perpetrated by the president’s supporters, who had overwhelmed local law enforcement and breached the Capitol building as lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 election.
“Yesterday, we witnessed one of the ugliest moments in recent history,” Brooks said in a memo to staff of the OCC sent Thursday morning. “Violence and wanton lawlessness cannot be condoned.”
“This is clearly an act of domestic terrorism and violence that is reprehensible,” Kraninger wrote in her own memo to CFPB staff Wednesday evening. “I imagine I speak for all of us in saying I never could have imagined seeing the events earlier today at the U.S. Capitol.”
Brooks and Kraninger each stressed that the week’s events would not interfere with their agencies’ work.
The CFPB's staff was already under a “mandatory telework posture” on Wednesday, Kraninger wrote in the memo, which was obtained by American Banker. That order was extended through Thursday, she wrote.
“My thoughts and prayers are with law enforcement and others in public service who continue to perform their duties and keep all of us safe,” Kraninger said.
Brooks added, “In the midst of the current unrest, OCC leadership and staff remain on the job.”
“We do so not because we condone the events of the past 24 hours but because our agency’s mission is an apolitical one on which millions of Americans depend,” Brooks wrote. “We continue to focus on ensuring the federal banking system operates in a safe, sound, and fair manner, uninterrupted by election results, natural disasters, or global conflict.”
