Republicans mull changes to U.S. CFPB

WASHINGTON • Republicans are working on a new plan for weakening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by stripping the agency of its independence and severely limiting its ability to go after corporations.

House Republicans would de-fang the consumer protection agency and make it more susceptible to political shifts by granting more control and oversight to the White House and Congress. One key change would convert the CFPB into an executive agency with a director who can be removed by the president at will. Currently, the director of the independent agency can only be fired for cause.

The plan would also scale back the agency’s enforcement powers and prevent the agency from publishing its consumer complaint database, according to a memo from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, that was shared with lawmakers on Tuesday.

The revised strategy is more aggressive than Hensarling’s initial plan, which would have replaced the director with a bipartisan commission but allowed the CFPB to remain an independent agency. The new approach may not match the wishes of some members of the financial industry, who say that heading the agency with a bipartisan commission can lead to more stability in the long run.

“We are looking 10 and 20 years ahead and need a balanced long-term approach,” said Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, a trade group that represents the retail banking industry, in an email to The Washington Post. “A commission would help bring consistency and certainty to the industry.”