WASHINGTON–Among the recent staff additions announced by CFPB, one person’s departure was also quietly announced, that of Eric Blankestein, whose racially charged blog posts created something of an uproar when discovered in 2018.
Blankenstein, policy associate director for the Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending division of the Bureau, said he plans to leave the agency after 18 months in his position. He did not indicate if he has secured another job, according to Politico.
Blankenstein, who was appointed by former CFPB acting director Mick Mulvaney, who is now President Trump’s chief of staff, questioned the legitimacy of hate crimes and whether using the N-word is inherently racist, in old blog posts uncovered by the Washington Post in September 2018, Politico reported.
“The writings drew the condemnation of Democratic lawmakers, consumer advocates and agency employees, leading Mulvaney to refer the matter to the CFPB’s inspector general,” Politico noted. “After taking over the agency in December, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger declined to discuss Blankenstein’s future at the agency, referring to the ongoing review. The status of the inspector general’s review is not known. The inspector general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
‘Hateful, Reprehensible’
Following Blankenstein’s announcement, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who had pressed Kraninger to read portions of the blog posts during a hearing–Kraninger declined–said, “Eric Blankenstein should have been fired for his hateful, reprehensible and disgusting blog posts, and allowing him to resign is a serious moral and managerial failure that sends a signal to consumers that the CFPB will look the other way when it comes to discrimination. Director Kraninger should hire someone with a track record of standing up for civil rights, and restore all authorities of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity.”