Mick Mulvaney, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) acting director, just can’t stop winning. Not only is he reining in the CFPB’s regulatory excesses and saving taxpayer money, but the agency’s leftover Democrats are officially giving up their efforts to undermine his reforms.
In light of President Trump’s recent nomination of budget official Kathy Kraninger to replace Mulvaney, the CFPB’s longtime shadow director is leaving the agency for good. Leandra English, who was appointed acting head of the CFPB by former director Richard Cordray before his departure, stepped down from her position this week. Through her attorney, English also announced plans to drop her legal challenge against the agency. For months, she had been posturing to replace Mulvaney and keep the CFPB under the Democrats’ control.
Of course, English and other Democrats wouldn’t have been in such a precarious position if the CFPB wasn’t subject to the whims of White House leadership. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and other liberal Democrats intentionally designed the agency to operate outside of congressional oversight. While Congress is free to question CFPB officials and request information, the agency does not have to alter its practices based on congressional inquiries or prove its worth to Congress through the normal appropriations process. In fact, the CFPB is the largest federal agency that does not report to Congress.
This made sense to Warren when President Obama was in power, but it blew up in her face when President Trump was elected. It’s a lesson for Democrats: Ignore checks and balances at your own peril.