If you thought president Barack Obama was a person the Republican party despised, you are correct. Or, in addition to him, you may have noticed that Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren have also gotten in the craw of the party? And, in Warren’s case, even Donald Trump takes great glee to call her out of her name. If this is so, you may have missed the lad by the name of Richard Cordray who was selected the first official director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, after Warren set up the frame-work and subsequently trekked back to Massachusetts to reclaim Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.
Cordray has caused much consternation for the Republicans. You would think the remnants of the 2008 financial meltdown was only felt by those who claimed not to be Republicans (i.e., Democrats, Independents, Green Party, etc.)? Cordray is the director of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB). Created out of the Dodd-Frank legislation designed to offer consumer protection from banks and those in the financial industry, their mandate was simple. Yet, many and particularly those who identify as Republican policy makers have gone to great measures to reduce the agency’s effectiveness and have been vocal that such protection is no longer needed. It’s the same example, anything the other team did, especially if named Obama must be dismantled or vilified as ineffective.
Fret no more! Today Richard Cordray announced he is stepping down from the CFPB and plans to leave by the end of this month. He has done a remarkable job to “steady the ship” in some very turbulent political waters. His eyes are laser-focused on moving back to Ohio and to throw his name in the hat for the run of the Governor’s race.
“The new director of the CFPB must be someone with a track record of protecting consumers and holding financial firms responsible when they cheat people. This is no place for another Trump-appointed industry hack.” Elizabeth Warren
Since the director of the CFPB is an appointed position, it will be interesting who the Trump administration appoints or even if they feel bold enough to try to eliminate the agency altogether? It’s one thing to be partisan, as if there is only one way to do things, it’s another to use government as a tool to protect the people and that is all of the people, especially those who are not in your party.
Thomas Reports 