Trump’s Nominee to Lead the CFPB Advances in the Senate

The Senate voted to advance Kathy Kraninger’s nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This procedural vote, which limits debate in the Senate, brings her one step closer to being the next director of the CFPB. If confirmed, Kraninger will serve a 5-year term.

The Senate will likely have a final confirmation vote on her nomination early next week, which is expected to fall along party lines. For the procedural vote, the Senate voted 50-49, with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) not voting.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee expressed his support for Kraninger. “Ms. Kraninger has had a distinguished career in public service with exposure to a diverse set of federal agencies,” said Senator Crapo. “Given her depth and diversity of public service experience, I have the utmost confidence that she is well-prepared to lead the Bureau in enforcing federal consumer financial laws and protecting consumers in the financial marketplace.”

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have criticized Kraninger’s lack of experience in consumer financial protection. “She has never — I repeat, never — worked on consumer protection issues, either in public service or in the private sector,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). “We have a lot of hard decisions to make in this body. But this one is a no-brainer. Hard-working American families deserve a fighter as the director of the CFPB.”

Kraninger is expected to earn enough votes next week to lead the agency but will likely face intense opposition from a Democratically-controlled House of Representatives for at least the next two years.