WASHINGTON — Virtually the entire Senate Democratic caucus called on President Trump to nominate a permanent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director quickly to replace interim Director Mick Mulvaney.
In a letter dated Monday, the 44 Democrats — led by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking member on the Banking Committee — took an obvious dig at Mulvaney, the White House budget director who was installed at CFPB despite having called the agency a “sick, sad” joke. His appointment is still being challenged by CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English, who is arguing in court that she is the legal acting director until Trump nominates a successor to Richard Cordray.
“Assigning leadership of the CFPB to someone who already has a full-time job reporting to the White House and who does not believe in the CFPB’s mission jeopardizes the agency’s independence and effectiveness,” the senators wrote.
“We urge you to nominate a CFPB Director who will bring to the job both bipartisan support and a track record of being tough on Wall Street. Following the Dodd-Frank succession provision and nominating a director who will fight for consumers allows the CFPB to continue its work without political interference.”
The senators said the CFPB has helped push back against special interests, which, they said, is an issue Trump ran on in the 2016 election.
“Polling shows that the vast majority of Americans agree that the CFPB has been doing great work holding special interests accountable,” they said, adding that 74% of “Americans — Republicans and Democrats — approve of the CFPB’s mission and 55% of Republicans who voted for you believe that the CFPB should be left alone to do its work or even be given expanded authority to do more.”
