Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said Thursday she intends to hold former CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney accountable for actions that she said, “were incredibly harmful to consumers [and] that Congress has yet to scrutinize.”
In a blistering letter to Mulvaney, Waters, the likely chair of the House Financial Services Committee in the next Congress, said the committee will carefully scrutinize Mulvaney's time in office.
“I am writing to inform you that while your time running the Consumer Bureau may be over, the time for accountability for your actions is about to begin,” she said.
Mulvaney served as Acting CFPB Director following the resignation of former Director Richard Cordray. When new Director Kathy Kraninger was confirmed, Mulvaney stepped down from the CFPB position.
Waters noted that Mulvaney only testified once before the Financial Services Committee.
“The weak congressional oversight under the direction of the outgoing Republican Majority pales in comparison to their oversight of former Director Richard Cordray's tenure, when he and other senior officials testified before Congress more than 60 times,” she said.
Among other things, Waters accused Mulvaney of:
- Politicizing the CFPB by selecting political appointees to run the bureau.
- Undermining bureau offices by reorganizing the agency.
- Weakening fair lending enforcement by stripping the fair lending office of its supervisory and enforcement powers.
- Eliminating the coordination with other agencies, such as the Department of Education.
- Stopping enforcement and supervision for compliance with the Military Lending Act.
“Laws are meaningless when they are not enforced, and consumers are left to fend for themselves when their government will not protect them,” Waters wrote.
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