Is the federal agency tasked with protecting consumers about to be disbanded?

What the CFPB is meant to do

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau was created through the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul. It’s the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who at the time she proposed the agency was a Harvard Law School professor.

The CFPB’s priorities are mortgages, credit cards, and student loans, and according to its website, its mission “is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans…”

Opposition to the CFPB

During his campaign, President Donald Trump spoke out against the Frank-Dodd regulations. Many Republicans believe the CFPB places too many regulations on business. There is pressure on President Trump to fire CFPB Director, Richard Cordray, and to stop defending the bureau in court.

Currently, Cordray serves at the President’s whim, but there is a case pending before an appeals court as to the future of the agency. According to the L.A. Times, Cordray’s contract runs through 2018, and he has no intention of stepping down.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Cordray: the CFPB should not get “mired in partisan politics,” and he won’t change his approach.” quote=”Cordray says that the agency should not get “mired in partisan politics,” and he will not change his approach in holding financial companies accountable to consumers.”]

President Trump has said that rather than having a single director of the CFPB, he would prefer to have the law overhauled and replace the director with five commissioners.

Support for the agency

The American Genius has vocally supported some of the CFPB policies, especially as it pertains to real estate. Years ago, one of our editorialists even proposed that the CFPB doesn’t go far enough to protect citizens.

Attorneys general from 16 blue states have now joined together to support the CFPB in the appeals court battle. The Constitutional Accountability Center also joined the AGs, asking the court to intervene and to respect the structure of the CFPB leadership approved by Congress.

Cordray was nominated and confirmed by the Senate to serve his term. If the President decides to fire Cordray, a court battle may be in order to determine whether the President has that authority. The director’s term is designed to overlap administrations to preserve the independence of the agency.

It seems likely that there is a mounting fight to maintain the integrity (and/or existence) of the CFPB.

#CFPB