Waters to Biden: Fire CFPB’s Kraninger & Jettison Her Rules
She also asks NCUA's Hood to stop issuing so-called “midnight rules” during the closing days of the Trump Administration.
House Financial Services Chairman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said she wants President-elect Joe Biden to reverse dozens of regulatory decisions made by President Trump — starting with the firing of CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger.
“We need new leadership at the CFPB who will reverse the harmful administrative changes made by President Trump’s appointees,” Waters wrote in a 45-page letter that included a long list of regulations she would like regulatory agencies to abandon.
In a separate letter, Waters asked current regulators, including NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood, to stop issuing so-called “midnight rules” during the closing days of the Trump Administration.
“Such rulemaking and actions undermine our country’s regulatory process, and indeed our democracy, by rushing through controversial policies that could have sweeping effects on families and our economy without transparency, rigor and legitimacy,” she wrote.
Kraninger and her predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, frequently clashed with Waters, who accused them of abandoning the strict regulatory regime created by former Director Richard Cordray. Credit union trade groups supported several of the decisions made by Kraninger and Mulvaney.
Biden has appointed a transition team to examine CFPB operations — filling it with people who support Cordray’s philosophy.
In the letter to Biden, Waters made several suggestions, including that the new administration:
- Rescind the Trump Administration’s Executive Order prohibiting the use of federal funds for certain types of diversity training. In September, Rosa Clemente, a Latinx activist charged that her speaking engagement at the NCUA was cancelled at the last minute, as the agency enforced a new Executive Order restricting types of diversity training sessions.
- Direct the CFPB to become aggressive in its consumer protection efforts, including the use of its powers to take action against financial firms for Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices.
- Issue strong guidance to financial institutions to ensure that they are doing all that they can to provide appropriate forbearance and loan modifications as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
- Immediately begin rescinding the loosened payday loan rules issued by the Trump Administration.
- Restore the role of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity at the CFPB.
- Rescind the CFPB’s recent third-party debt collection rules, which Waters said allows collectors to harass consumers.
- Issue an Executive Order directing federal agencies to suspend debts owed by consumers to the federal government until the pandemic ends.
- Dissolve or restructure the task force on Federal Consumer Financial Protection Law. Consumer advocates have charged that Kraninger loaded the group with people opposed to strict consumer protection regulation.