Republicans Looking At Ways To Get Cordray Ousted From CFPB

Richard Cordray, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head, is in the crosshairs of Republican critics who are reportedly looking into any past behavior that could get him ousted from the government agency.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Republicans want Cordray fired from the CFPB when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January but can’t do anything because the Dodd-Frank rule prohibits anyone but the president from getting rid of Cordray. And the only way the president can oust him is for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,” reported the WSJ. Critics are now looking at his run as the head of the CFPB to see if there is any cause for Trump to oust him.

“President Trump, it’s time to say, ‘You’re fired’ to Mr. Cordray,” wrote Thaya Brook Knight, associate director of financial regulation studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, according to the WSJ.

The report noted that an issue Cordray’s critics are looking at is a previous allegation that women and minority employees were paid differently at the CFPB. Another potential issue is what critics say is his inability to take the right action in the face of the complaints. Commenting on the report, Jen Howard, a CFPB spokeswoman, said in a statement to the WSJ that Cordray “was confirmed by a bipartisan group of 66 senators to serve a term until July 2018 and has no plans to step down.”

Cordray declined to comment to the paper. The report noted that while Republicans are now openly calling for the ouster of Cordray, the Trump team has said nothing about the future of the CFPB and Cordray. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), a critic of the CFPB, said Trump’s transition team would look at Cordray’s performance.

“It hasn’t been a real smooth ride over there,” said Neugebauer, citing the pay discrimination allegations and costs associated with renovating the CFPB’s headquarters.