Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday accused the Trump administration of “rigging the system to benefit the most egregious corporate actors,” citing reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dialed back its investigation into massive Equifax data breaches.
“First the Trump administration gave lavish tax breaks to corporate CEOs and wealthy investors, now the Trump administration’s hand-picked saboteur is essentially handing out get out of jail free cards to Equifax executives,” Schumer said in a statement, referring to CFPB leader Mick Mulvaney, who is also the Office of Management and Budget director.
Schumer’s comments follow a Reuters report Monday morning that Mulvaney has dialed back the CFPB’s investigation into the breaches at the credit monitoring company. Equifax’s data breach last year affected nearly 150 million Americans.
{mosads}The news service reported that Mulvaney has not sought subpoenas or sworn testimony, and has put on hold plans to test how Equifax collects data.
“This decision to undermine the mission of the CFPB, at the expense of the middle class, is appalling and the administration must reverse course immediately,” Schumer said.
Mulvaney’s installation as head of the CFPB was surrounded by controversy. Trump in November appointed him to serve as the bureau’s temporary director after Richard Cordray stepped down to run for governor in Ohio.
While serving as a Republican congressman from South Carolina, Mulvaney said the CFPB shouldn’t exist. When he took over as the new head of the agency, he instituted a 30-day regulatory and hiring freeze, but said he would keep its litigation commitments.