Congresswoman Waters Pens Letter to CFPB Employees

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, recently penned an open letter to the staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging them to publicly report any “waste, fraud, abuse or gross mismanagement” at the federal agency.

Waters assured any potential whistleblowers at the CFPB that the Whistleblower Protection Act provides protections to federal employees who disclose to Congress fraud, abuse of authority, and violations of laws, rules, or regulations.

In the letter, Waters appears to take several shots at Mick Mulvaney, the former acting director of the CFPB, and Kathy Kraninger, the current director of the CFPB. “I am writing to reassure you of the importance and value of your work, and to let you know, in no uncertain terms, that the anti-consumer actions mandated by Trump appointees will not be tolerated.”

Representative Waters specifically mentions Mulvaney, decrying his actions as “contrary to both the spirit and plain letter of the law,” and does not specifically name Kraninger in the letter.

The congresswoman’s concerns listed in the letter may resurface on March 7, when the House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled: “Putting Consumers First? A Semi-Annual Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

For the House Financial Services Committee’s list of March hearings, please click here.