Lawmakers Weigh in on Kraninger’s Confirmation

Kathleen Laura Kraninger will become the next Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) after a Senate vote confirmed her nomination. She will succeed Acting Director Mick Mulvaney at the Bureau.

Kraninger's nomination was passed by the Senate Banking Committee in August. During that hearing, Sen. Mike Crapo had said, “It is my hope that, if confirmed, Ms. Kraninger will be more accountable to senators on this Committee than Director Cordray was.”

Applauding her confirmation as the new director of the BCFP, Jeb Hensarling, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee said, "As Congress continues its efforts to reform the Bureau into a law enforcement agency that truly protects consumers and is accountable to the people, I am confident that with her experience and knowledge of budget management, Kathy will excel as Director of the Bureau. I look forward to working with her, the Trump Administration and House and Senate Democrats to put real reforms in place that protects consumers."

During last week's procedural vote, however, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) had opposed Kraninger's nomination. Brown, who is also a ranking member on the Senate's Banking Committee had said, "We asked Ms. Kraninger would she be on Wall Street’s and Mick Mulvaney’s side, or would she fight for workers, and servicemembers, and students and seniors? She said–I’m quoting her–“I cannot identify any actions that Acting Director Mulvaney has taken with which I disagree.” We know exactly whose side Ms. Kraninger is on. She’s with Mick Mulvaney, she’s with Wall Street, she’s with the payday lenders, she’s with the special interests."

Kraninger is likely to follow the path set by Acting Director Mulvaney during his time at the BCFP. Mulvaney's entry into the Bureau in November 2017 was a controversial one and has been in the news this year as much for the changes he's brought to the Bureau as the controversies around them.

From requesting $0 for the Bureau's budget in Q2, and recommending four key changes to make the BCFP "more transparent and accountable," to the more recent change of name from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Acting Director is expected to leave his mark before he hands over the reins to his successor.

During her testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Kraninger hinted at pursuing a similar path as the current Acting Director Mick Mulvaney. She said that she had four initial priorities for the Bureau if confirmed as Director The first priority she said would be to make the Bureau “fair and transparent.”

Secondly, Kraninger intends for BCFP to work closely with other financial regulators and the States on supervision and enforcement. Third, she said, “The Bureau must recognize its profound duty to the American people to protect sensitive information in its possession.”

And lastly, she said that she would look at making the Bureau “accountable to the American people for its actions, including its expenditure of resources.”