WASHINGTON—The nominee to head the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is likely to be in for a contentious fight for approval in the Senate, with some observers saying the nomination was only made so that current acting director Mick Mulvaney can remain in the post.
As CUToday.info reported here, the White House has nominated Kathy Kraninger to lead the agency. Kraninger is currently associate director at the Office of Management and Budget; Mulvaney is also director of OMB. J.W. Verret, a law professor at George Mason University who was chief economist for Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), described Kraninger to the Wall Street Journal as a “mid-level budget staffer lacking expertise, chosen to lead one of the most powerful agencies in the government.”
Liberal groups, meanwhile alleged the appointment is just a “placeholder” nomination to keep Mulvaney in place, the Journal added. By law, Mulvaney would have had to leave the BCFP post by June 22. But with a nomination made, Mulvaney may stay in place as long as the nomination is alive.
‘A Blank Slate’
“She’s a blank slate and Mick Mulvaney writes with a permanent marker,” the Wall Street Journal quoted Karl Frisch, the executive director of Allied Progress, a liberal consumer-advocacy group, as saying.
In a statement, the White House said it was seeking an “effective manager” to lead the “superb policy team” already in the place at the BCFP. “What Kathy brings to the Bureau is years of experience in government management,” the White House said.
As CUToday.info reported, the credit union trade groups have expressed optimism around the appointment and what they see as the promise of ongoing deregulation.
Kraninger is a graduate of Marquette University and the Georgetown University Law Center, and previously worked for the Transportation Department and helped set up the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to her bio. At OMB, she has helped draft the budgets of 37 cabinet departments and government agencies with combined budgets of about $250 billion—including the CFPB.