Warren Questions Mick Mulvaney About Influence of Campaign Contributions on CFPB Decisions
Warren Presses Agency Ethics Officials on Rules for Mulvaney Decisions Affecting Campaign Contributors; Letter Comes After Mulvaney Admits Refusal to Meet with Lobbyists Unless They Donated to his Congressional Campaigns
Text of Letter to Mr. Mulvaney (PDF) | Text of Letter to CFPB Ethics Official (PDF)
Washington, DC - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a
letter questioning Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney
about the influence of campaign contributions from the financial industry on
decisions he has made since he assumed control over the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB). The senator's letter follows a New
York Times report about Mr. Mulvaney's comments to the American Bankers
Association (ABA) that as a Member of Congress he refused to meet with
lobbyists unless they donated to his campaign.
In his speech to bankers and bank lobbyists, Mr. Mulvaney stated, "If
you're a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn't talk to you. If you're a
lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you." In a February 2018 response
to a
letter from Senator Warren and Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)
about Mr. Mulvaney's decision to delay and reconsider the CFPB's payday lending
rule, Mr. Mulvaney "rejected (the) insinuation" that his decision had
anything to do with the $63,000 in campaign contributions he had received from
payday lenders. In light of Mr. Mulvaney's admission that financial
contributions affected his decisions as a Member of Congress, Senator Warren
renewed her questions about Mr. Mulvaney's payday rule decision. She
added, "Your recent admission also raises questions about your
other official actions at the CFPB."
Warren cited Mr. Mulvaney's statement during his speech to the ABA that he
intends to undermine the CFPB consumer complaint hotline by hiding consumer
complaint information from the public. She noted that this move would
allow financial institutions to conceal scams from potential customers and
would weaken a tool often used by consumers to resolve complaints with
financial companies. Senator Warren pointed out that Mr. Mulvaney's
decision to hide this information enjoyed the strong support of the ABA and
Credit Union National Association-which collectively contributed more than
$60,000 to Mr. Mulvaney's congressional campaigns.
Senator Warren's letter outlined how other actions Mr. Mulvaney has taken at
the CFPB-revisiting a rule aimed at curbing discrimination in mortgage lending
and gutting the agency's Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity-have
directly benefitted his previous campaign contributors. "Almost
every one of your major decisions at the CFPB has fulfilled a request of a
lobbying organization that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to your
political campaigns," wrote Senator Warren. "The
public deserves to know whether this is a coincidence or is a reflection of the
same kind of ‘hierarchy' you created when you ran your congressional
office."
Senator Warren also sent a letter to CFPB's Designated Agency Ethics Official,
Deputy General Counsel Sonya White, asking what arrangements the CFPB has made
to ensure that Mr. Mulvaney is excluded from decisions that affect the
financial institutions that have given him campaign contributions.
The letter then requested information on whether Mr. Mulvaney has continued to
favor campaign contributors while leading the CFPB.
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