Senate approves Trump’s pick for consumer protection agency

In a 50-49 party-line vote, the Senate approved President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday, ending a six-month battle.

Kathy Kraninger, a mid-level official in the White House’s budget office, has no experience in financial services and has never run a federal agency before, a criticism that made Democrats hostile to her nomination since day one.

The bureau, long a target of Republicans, has scaled back its enforcement efforts under acting director Mick Mulvaney.