Senate votes to advance consumer watchdog
nominee
Send a link to a friend
[November 30, 2018]
By Katanga Johnson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators voted
50 to 49 on Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald
Trump's pick to lead the U.S. consumer financial watchdog, despite
opposition from Democrats and consumers who say she is not qualified for
the role.
Kathy Kraninger is now poised to be approved as director of the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after a procedural vote limiting
debate on her nomination. She is expected to be formally confirmed for
the job next week.
Kraninger, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), faced criticism during her nomination hearing in July about the
role she played in the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance"
immigration policy that separated more than 2,000 children from their
parents.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Nov/30/images/ads/current/pestcontrol_bch_termites.png)
Kraninger has denied having a role in setting or developing the
immigration policy but said that she attended meetings relating to its
implementation.
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have written
numerous letters demanding more information on Kraninger's position on a
range of consumer finance issues. They, along with other critics, have
argued she lacks the necessary experience for the role, having served
across several government agencies but never specializing in consumer
finance issues.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/113018pics/news_x33.jpg)
Kathleen Laura Kraninger testifies before a Senate Banking Committee
hearing on her nomination to be director of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 19,
2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
The CFPB was formed in 2011 under former Democratic President Barack
Obama in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis to look out
for the interests of ordinary borrowers.
Democrats have insisted the agency is a critical safeguard for
consumers in the financial marketplace, but Republicans have
consistently criticized it as heavy-handed and overreaching.
Mick Mulvaney, Trump's chief budget officer, has led the CFPB in an
acting role for one year, and has moved to aggressively curtail its
activities in writing rules and policing lenders. Once confirmed,
Kraninger can serve in the role for a five-year term.
(Reporting by Katanga Johnson and Pete Schroeder; editing by
Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |