AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

“President Trump, by attempting to install someone to lead the agency who has called the CFPB a ‘sick, sad’ joke, is sending a strong statement to Wall Street banks, student loan corporations, and predatory payday loan and credit card companies that it is once again ok to scam consumers. It’s the latest example of Trump abandoning his populist promises from the campaign to serve the demands of big corporations and Wall Street.

“The CFPB is an incredibly successful consumer watchdog that has already returned nearly $12 billion to consumers and helped 29 million people get relief—student loan borrowers, seniors, families and other consumers who were preyed upon or defrauded by powerful financial interests that refused to play by the rules. The American people need a CFPB director who will serve the people and not the powerful. Mick Mulvaney is not that person. The Dodd-Frank law makes clear that Leandra English is the rightful acting director of the CFPB until the Senate confirms someone else. President Trump should nominate a new director committed to fulfilling the CFPB’s mission as a consumer watchdog.”