CBC Urges Trump to Keep Cordray

January 24, 2017

On Tuesday, January 24, 2017, following an op-ed in The Hill, 38 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) sent a letter to President Trump, urging him not remove CFPB Director Richard Cordray before his term expires in July of 2018. The CBC members heralded the achievements of the agency and Director Cordray in protecting consumers and “vindicating the rights of minority consumers.” 

CBC members also expressed concerns with recent reports the Trump Administration is building a case to remove the Director “for cause” for any “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”  The letter stated, “No President of the United States has ever removed the head of an independent agency for cause….We are especially troubled by suggestions that your administration is seeking to twist Director Cordray’s attempts to address discrimination allegations within the CFPB as cause for removal.” The letter continued, “While the Bureau, like many other federal agencies, has dealt with allegations of racial discrimination, we support Director Cordray’s efforts to root out any patterns of invidious discrimination, and to institute effective strategies to combat practices that may have disparate effects on employees of color. In doing so, Director Cordray has demonstrated his commitment to promote equal employment opportunities for all Bureau employees and to ensure that the Bureau enforces the same high standards of fairness on itself that it expects of its regulated entities.”