On Wednesday, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney will make his first appearance before Congress as the head of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), testifying before his former colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee. Last week, Mulvaney asked Congress to weaken and reign in the independence of the CFPB, and Democrats will likely ask him why the bureau has dropped cases against payday lenders and not issued any enforcement actions since President Trump appointed him in November. Under the previous CFPB head, Richard Cordray, the bureau announced moves to stop banks from certain practices or return money to consumers — between its founding in 2011 and Mulvaney's interim appointment, the CFPB returned $12 billion to consumers from financial institutions.
Supporters of the consumer protection bureau might also ask why Mulvaney has started to refer to the agency as the more bureaucratic-sounding Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. "The right will treat Mr. Mulvaney as a noble hero doing yeoman's work and the left will treat him as a villain methodically unwinding the consumer protection regulatory regime," said Isaac Boltansky at Compass Point Research & Trading, previewing this week's testimony. Mulvaney faces the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, where he is expected to butt heads with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who helped set up the bureau.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The best new music of 2024 by genreThe Week Recommends Outstanding albums, from pop to electro and classical
-
Nine best TV shows of 2024 to binge this ChristmasThe Week Recommends From Baby Reindeer and Slow Horses to Rivals and Shogun, here are the critics' favourites
-
Crossword: December 28, 2024The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
