Senate Banking Committee Dems Defend Cordray

As speculation persists that President-elect Donald Trump will fire Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray once Trump takes office, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pleading their respective cases as to why Cordray should either stay or go.

On January 10, a group of 21 House Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) and Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) wrote a letter to Trump asking him not to remove Cordray before the Director’s five-year term ends in July 2018. That same day, two Senators, Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), pled their case via a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence as to why Cordray should be relieved of his Director duties.

Now, 10 members of the Senate Banking Committee have come to Cordray’s defense as inauguration day approaches and speculation continues as to the fate of the CFPB under the Trump Administration. The Senators have penned a letter to Cordray outlining his achievements as Director of the CFPB since the Bureau launched in July 2011.

“Under your leadership, the CFPB has worked to protect servicemembers, seniors, students, and working families of all backgrounds from predatory financial schemes and illegal discrimination,” the Senators wrote. “We hope you continue to lead the charge against companies that take advantage of hardworking Americans.”

The letter’s signees were as follows: Senate Banking Committee Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada).

The Senators pointed to the $12 billion that has been returned to 29 million consumers that the Bureau has deemed to be harmed by predatory financial practices. The lawmakers also noted that 71 percent of Americans, including those from both parties, approve of the CFPB’s mission and that 66 percent of Republicans who voted for Trump believe that the Bureau should be left intact.

Earlier this month, the Huffington Post reported that Trump spokesperson Sean Spicer had confirmed that Trump has met with recently retired U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) regarding the CFPB Director position. Neugebauer was one of the Bureau’s most prominent critics during his tenure in Congress, claiming that the CFPB is overreaching and unaccountable.