Hensarling: CFPB is Cordray’s partisan ‘war machine’

The CFPB director’s decision to attend House Democrats’ weekly caucus meeting has brought down the ire of the prominent Republican

Hensarling: CFPB is Cordray’s partisan ‘war machine’
The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau attended the House Democrats’ weekly caucus meeting this week – a decision that lent fuel to the rumors that he will run for governor in Ohio and brought down the ire of a prominent Republican.

For months, rumors have circulated that Cordray would run for governor of Ohio. Since that state’s law would prohibit him from running while currently engaged in politics, many expect he will announce that he’s leaving the CFPB to run.

Cordray’s decision to attend the Democrats’ weekly caucus – ostensibly to talk about reforming the financial sector – could be interpreted as a further sign that he’s considering a run. But it also drew sharp criticism from a top Republican.

Congressional Republicans have had their knives out for Cordray for years, saying that too much power is concentrated in his hands, and that he isn’t accountable enough to the president or Congress. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Cordray’s decision to attend a Democratic meeting showed that the CFPB was a partisan agency.

“Everyone knows Mr. Cordray will likely leave the CFPB soon and pursue political office in Ohio again, but his attendance at what amounts to nothing more than a Democrat pep rally shows just how partisan and politicized he and his supposed ‘independent’ agency truly are,” Hensarling said. “Liberal elites in Washington want to keep the Bureau unaccountable to hardworking taxpayers so they can continue to use it as a political war machine.”

Hensarling then touted his own alternative to the controversial Dodd-Frank Act, an alternative which would restructure the CFPB and increase its accountability.

“The Financial CHOICE Act holds financial regulators and the CFPB accountable so it can be the consumer protection ‘cop on the beat’ that Americans need,” he said.


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