WASHINGTON—Two Republican senators are calling for President-elect Donald Trump to remove CFPB Director Richard Cordray “promptly” after he is inaugurated.
In a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Mike Lee (R-UT) urged the incoming administration to “fire” Cordray, citing harm the agency is doing to Americans, credit unions and community banks.
"It's time to fire King Richard,” the senators wrote. “Underneath the CFPB's Orwellian acronym is an attack on the American idea that the people who write our laws are accountable to the American people. President-elect Trump has the authority to remove Mr. Cordray and that's exactly what the American people deserve."
“The Constitution was written to protect the American people from unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats,” continued the congressmen. "Considering the damage CFPB has done to credit unions and community banks, President Trump should act quickly to remove the director."
Sasse and Lee asserted that Cordray has pursued costly regulatory policies . . . “Under Director Cordray’s disastrous tenure, the CFPB has repeatedly advanced unnecessary regulations that kill jobs; bloat government; have an enormous…impact on our economy, communities and individual Americans from coast to coast.”
The senators concluded that a new CFPB Director could substantially improve regulatory policy at the CFPB.
“But working toward a more accountable CFPB is about much more than that. It’s about American constitutionalism and the rule of law. Our founders believed that government power is limited and exists to protect the rights of the people. By contrast, the CFPB’s structure is based on the idea that government is unlimited and rights are dependent on the special dispensation of the experts who know better than the American people. President Trump has the power to protect the American idea from this destructive view by removing Director Cordray. Director Cordray’s removal will be the first marker in the long process of rolling-back an agency that combines the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches into the hands of a few unaccountable Washington elites.”
Among the concerns noted are the bureau’s proposals on payday lending and arbitration. The senators also say the bureau’s focus on enforcement over rulemaking to advance its agenda circumvents a process “designed to provide notice and ensure that divergent perspectives are heard on regulatory issues.”
Sasse, on the Senate Banking Committee, called the current structure for the bureau “an attack” on the idea that those who write the laws are accountable to the American people.
Added Lee, “Considering the damage CFPB has done to credit unions and community banks, President Trump should act quickly to remove the director.”
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, following the appeals court finding, urged that CFPB implement a moratorium on further rulemaking until the suit is resolved. NAFCU continues to advocate for a bipartisan, five-member commission to lead the agency.