Kathy Kraninger is a step closer to becoming the nation’s top consumer financial watchdog. She was narrowly approved on August 23 by a Senate committee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the strenuous objections of Democrats that she’s not qualified for the job. Criticism included her lack of experience in consumer protection, financial regulation or banking and her involvement in overseeing the budgets of agencies that developed and implemented the child-separation policy at the border. She refused to detail her role in those policies during her confirmation hearing or in written questions.
She is also criticized for being a protege of Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget who the New York Times reported was planning to suspend the bureau’s routine examinations of lenders for violations of the Military Lending Act. That Act protects service members and their families from predatory lending and other financial fraud. Kraninger is expected to continue his approach if confirmed as director by the full Senate.
