The Wall Street Journal reports:
President Donald Trump believes the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau makes the agency “unaccountable” to the American people, according to a White House spokesperson, weighing in for the first time in the debate about the future of the watchdog agency created under the Obama administration.
The comment came a day after a significant court action Thursday in a case questioning the CFPB’s constitutionality. That order could slow the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul the agency long attacked by Republicans and the financial industry for what they brand regulatory overreach.
The full article is here. (Subscription required.)
Meanwhile, CNBC reports in a new bill that would allow the president to fire the CFPB director. According to the article, industry representatives say they want a different approach.
A draft bill from Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, would fundamentally alter the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by allowing the president to fire the agency's director, according to a document obtained by CNBC. Currently, the director is a political appointee but can only be removed in extreme circumstances.
Instead of a director who can be fired, industry groups have called for a bipartisan five-member commission to lead the CFPB. The structure mirrors that of other regulatory agencies — such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — and industry groups are now hoping that Hensarling will scale back his plans.
The full CNBC story is here.
