In the Star Wars series, the Death Star was the Empire’s ultimate weapon. In Trump’s business-first, consumer-be-damned America, acting CFPB director Mick Mulvaney plays that part. The open detractor of the consumer financial world, and friend to the industries such as payday lenders, has just fired the bureau’s 25-member advisory board, announcing that he would establish a smaller board with all new members in the fall.
Board members were informed that they would be replaced and could not apply for positions on the new board this Wednesday, two days after 11 board members held a news conference complaining that Mulvaney had cancelled meetings that were legally required.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of the architects of the agency, said, “Mick Mulvaney has no intention of putting consumers above financial firms that cheat them. This is what happens when you put someone in charge of an agency they think shouldn’t exist.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said: “Mulvaney has proven once again he would rather cozy up with payday lenders and industry insiders than listen to consumer advocates who want to make sure hardworking Americans are not cheated by financial scams.”
All this follows a week where Mulvaney sided with payday lenders in a case brought against his own agency in an effort to block regulations designed to protect consumers from predatory lending practices.
Read more about it here.
