A leader who hates his agency
There’s no better way to hobble a key federal agency than by putting someone in charge who wants to incinerate it. That’s the game plan for Mick Mulvaney, the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an entity he wants obliterated as an independent watchdog.
In his previous role as a Tea Party congressman, Mulvaney denounced the agency for its tough oversight of banking and consumer issues. Since President Trump put him in charge, he’s begun the demolition work by easing back on investigations. Now he’s signaling further steps that will gut the agency’s power in a more sweeping way.
In a message to Congress, he suggested nothing less than an overhaul of its finances and design. The consumer entity was created in 2010 in the wake of the financial meltdown that nearly wrecked the global economy. Its independent stance is protected with its budget coming from the Federal Reserve, eliminating congressional meddling. Its director can’t be fired except for serious causes, not politics or personality. The bureau’s investigative powers at the heart of its work are insulated from Capitol Hill interference.
Mulvaney wants to roll back these features, offering appealing thoughts about bureaucratic overreach and an uncontrollable, ruleshappy fiefdom that punishes the banking and business worlds. He’s expected to sound these chimes at a Washington hearing next week.
But his arguments may not get anywhere. The agency is popular with Democrats who should block his changes if they emerge from the GOP-dominated House and make it to the Senate where his blueprints have less chance of winning.
The consumer agency is built as a lock box for good reason. An independent director should work without fear of dismissal or backseat driving from a White Houseappointed commission. Its financial lifeline should be assured, not turned over to Washington’s budget makers who will be pressured by interest groups fearful of the watchdog agency.
The bureau has already proved its worth under Mulvaney’s predecessor who was committed to its goals. Under Richard Cordray, the prior director, the agency went after Wells Fargo for fraudulent banking practices, sought curbs on exorbitant payday loans, and curbed credit card abuses. Far from setting distant policy, the bureau targeted everyday issues that touch millions of Americans.
Mulvaney’s intentions fit with Trump’s hunger to rip up regulations. But the public shouldn’t be fooled. If the agency fades away, consumers will be left with fewer protections and little enforcement, a situation that produced financial misery a decade ago. That history shouldn’t be repeated.