White House Announces Kathy Kraninger as Nominee to Head CFPB

On Saturday evening, President Trump announced the selection of Kathy Kraninger as his choice to permanently head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said on Saturday that Ms. Kraninger would “continue the reforms of the bureau initiated by acting director Mick Mulvaney, and ensure that consumers and markets are not harmed by fraudulent actors,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

As a temporary acting director, current CFPB head Mick Mulvaney would have to leave the post after June 22 had a replacement not been nominated. Now, he will be able to maintain his position atop the agency as Ms. Kraninger goes through the nomination process.

Kraninger currently serves at the Office of Management and Budget with Mr. Mulvaney, where she serves as an associate director under him, responsible for drafting the budgets of several cabinet departments and government agencies – including the CFPB.

As we have previously covered, some sources have reported that the White House would like to see acting director Mulvaney stay in the post until the end of the year or longer. If the confirmation process moves slowly and is drawn out, this could very well be the case.

Until the nomination of Kraninger, J. Mark McWatters, head of the National Credit Union Administration, was expected to be the White House’s choice to lead the agency.