Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray Resigns

Blog posted On November 21, 2017

Last Wednesday, Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since 2011, announced his resignation.  His term was set to expire next summer, but now he will serve until the end of the month and did not disclose his reason for choosing to leave.  Washington insiders are suggesting that he may be pursuing the gubernatorial race in Ohio. 

The CFPB was established by the Obama administration after the Financial Crisis as a way to enforce regulation and protect consumers.  The agency is largely independent and gets its funding from the Federal Reserve rather than Congress.  Some critics argue the agency has too much power and have even suggested replacing a single director with a board of directors.

President Trump now has the responsibility to replace Cordray and possibly restructure the agency.  He is reportedly considering appointing director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney to run the CFPB in the interim.  White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement, “The administration will announce an acting director and the president’s choice to replace Mr. Cordray at the appropriate time.”

From Cordray’s statement, “It has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the Consumer Bureau by working alongside all of you here.  I trust that new leadership will see that value also and work to preserve it – perhaps in different ways than before, but desiring, as I have done, to serve in ways that benefit and strengthen our economy and our country.”

Sources: Washington Post, Washington Post