Five Big Arguments Against a Trump Attempt to Fire Cordray

By Jim Lardner, Americans for Financial Reform

They’re spinning hard.

​Lobbyists for big Wall Street banks and predatory lenders are pushing the Trump Administration to fire CFPB Director Richard Cordray, and they’re telling reporters it’s a done deal. They’re hoping their spin will make it so.

They don’t want the Trump team to think before they act. And that’s understandable, because firing Cordray would be a terrible idea, as well as an unlawful one. Here are five reasons why:

#1 The CFPB has done a world of good for consumers. Since it got up and running less than six years ago, this agency has been bringing basic rules of fair play to the financial marketplace. Through its enforcement actions and complaint system, the Consumer Bureau has delivered some $12 billion in financial relief to more than 29 million Americans cheated by financial companies large and small.

#2 Students, servicemembers, veterans, and seniors would raise hell. The CFPB has been steadfastly in the corner of our nation’s service members and veterans, working with the Defense Department to close loopholes and make sure that the 36 percent APR limit on consumer loans to servicemembers and their dependents actually works,  while taking enforcement actions against a succession of financial fraudsters who specialize in exploiting military families. The Bureau has also stood up for student loan borrowers with actions such as its recent lawsuit against Navient, charging the nation’s largest servicer of student loans with an array of deceptive practices. And it has been aggressive in combating the growing problem of financial exploitation of the elderly.

#3 The CFPB is hugely popular. By refusing to be cowed by the payday lenders, the big banks, and their Congressional buddies, Cordray and his agency have made quite a few powerful enemies. But they have also a vast number of devoted friends. Across party lines, voters have an overwhelmingly favorable view of the CFPB and its work. Trump voters are no different: by a margin of 55 to 28 percent, they oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate this agency.

# 4 The White House would have a vexingly hard time explaining a move to fire the CFPB’s Director. Many people voted for Donald Trump in part because of his countless promises to stand up to the power of Wall Street. Attempting to remove Director Cordray would be an obvious cave-in to the financial industry. It would not go unnoticed.

# 5 He would almost certainly not get away with it. The CFPB is by law an independent agency, and not part of the Administration. Director Cordray’s term runs through July 2018, and the law says he can be removed only “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Despite their feverish efforts, hostile lawmakers have been unable to come up with any charge that would pass the laugh test, and  no president has ever yet succeeded in removing an appointee for cause.

Originally posted here.