The first head of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says he’s concerned about the shift in direction for the agency.
The CFPB was created in 2011, after the recession, to give consumers more protections.
But former head Richard Cordray, who’s now running for Ohio governor, says the entire focus has changed under President Trump and Republican leadership.
“There has been a shift there to say, ‘We have to look out for financial firms, which includes scammers and fraudsters and abusive debt collectors and payday lenders and they have rights and interests, too.’ Well, they’ve always been able to assert their rights,” Cordray said.
President Trump replaced Cordray with his budget director Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman who once called for abolishment of the bureau.
Many Republicans have said they think it unfairly targets banks. And President Trump has proposed large cuts in the bureau’s funding.
Cordray’s decision to quit the bureau last November earned him criticism from some other Democrats. Those taking him to task included Connie Pillich, who said Cordray was abandoning an important role to enter an already-crowded race.
Pillich, a former state representative, has since left the race for governor and endorsed Cordray.
