Five Frightening Things We Learned When Kraninger Actually Answered a Few Written Questions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — We already know that Trump Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) nominee Kathy Kraninger refused to answer more than 1/3 of the written questions about her record from Senate Democrats as part of the standard vetting process for presidential nominees, but when she did answer a few, what we learned was frightening:

  1. Kraninger implied she would cut the CFPB’s budget. Kathy Kraninger claimed that she did not request a 23% budget cut for the CFPB that was contained in the Trump Administration budget proposal for FY 2019. Kraninger noted the request “‘had no actual effect on [the CFPB].'” Kraninger did imply she may cut the CFPB budget, saying that she saw “‘opportunities for efficiency.'” [“Questions for Ms. Kathleen Laura Kraninger, Director-Designate, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, on behalf of Ranking Member Brown, and Senator Elizabeth Warren:,” US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 07/19/18]
  1. Kraninger agrees with all of Mick Mulvaney’s actions as CFPB “Acting Director.” In responses to questions for the record, Kathy Kraninger could not identify any actions taken by Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney that she disagrees with. [“Questions for Ms. Kathleen Laura Kraninger, Director-Designate, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, on behalf of Ranking Member Brown, and Senator Elizabeth Warren:,” US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 07/19/18]
  1. Kraninger participated in meetings about the Trump administration’s policies on immigration and border security, yet somehow claims she had no involvement in the zero tolerance immigration policy. Kathy Kraninger claimed to have had no role in setting the Trump Administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy. She claimed that OMB questions and supports agencies in evaluating resource needs, but did not elaborate as to what questions OMB ask or support OMB gave in implementing the zero tolerance policy. She did, however, claim that she had participated in meetings related to immigration and border security. [“Questions for Ms. Kathleen Laura Kraninger, Director-Designate, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, on behalf of Ranking Member Brown, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Senator Robert Menendez, and Senator Elizabeth Warren,:” US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 07/19/18]
  1. Kraninger was involved in allocating government funds to respond to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Kathy Kraninger claimed that she was involved in the development of supplemental appropriations requests to deal with disasters. Specifically, she was involved in creating the supplemental requests to respond to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. [“Questions for Ms. Kathleen Laura Kraninger, Director-Designate, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, on behalf of Ranking Member Brown, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Senator Robert Menendez, and Senator Elizabeth Warren,:” US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 07/19/18]
  1. Kraninger refused to directly state whether she believed the CFPB’s structure or funding is Constitutional. In responses to questions for the record, Kraninger refused to provide a direct response to questions over whether she believed the CFPB’s structure or funding streams are Constitutional. [“Questions for Ms. Kathleen Laura Kraninger, Director-Designate, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, on behalf of Ranking Member Brown, Senator Jack Reed, Senator Robert Menendez, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Brian Schatz, Senator Chris Van Hollen” US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 07/19/18]

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