Warren to put hold on Trump consumer bureau nominee

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday said she would block President Trump’s nominee to lead a consumer protection agency until the White House budget official explains her role in the administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

Warren said in a tweet she would put a hold up Kathy Kraninger’s nomination to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) until questions are answered about her involvement in policies that include separating migrant children from parents seeking asylum for their family in the United States.

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“Kathy Kraninger helps oversee the agencies that are ripping kids from their parents,” Warren said Tuesday on Twitter. “Now @realDonaldTrump wants her to run the @CFPB. I will put a hold on her nomination — & fight it at every step — until she turns over all documents about her role in this.”

Warren’s hold would slow down the confirmation process for Kraninger under Senate rules. Attempting to override Warren’s hold would force the Senate to spend significantly more time to confirm Kraninger through procedural votes.

Trump on Monday nominated Kraninger, an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, to serve as director of the CFPB, a polarizing financial sector watchdog agency.

Kraninger oversees budgeting and policy implementation at seven Cabinet departments, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers immigration law.

The Justice Department in April announced a zero tolerance policy on illegal border crossings, which requires families traveling together to be separated so adults can be detained and prosecuted.

Thousands of children have been separated from their families in the weeks since Attorney General Jeff Sessions unveiled the policy, sparking an uproar among activists, Democrats and many Republicans — including those close to Trump.

Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, asked Kraninger for a detailed written explanation of her involvement in crafting, implementing and discussing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“The American people deserve to know what role you have played in developing and implementing this appalling process,” Warren and Brown wrote in a letter made public Tuesday.

The senators asked Kraninger to provide copies of all emails, policy analyses and communications with White House, DHS and Justice Department staffers that cover her involvement in the policies.

Warren and Brown also asked Kraninger to list all meetings about the policies she participated in, including who else attended those meetings.

Kraninger, if confirmed, would wield enormous power to regulate and police financial markets as CFPB director. She would also be taking control of an agency that has been at the center of a deep political fight over its mission and powers.

The senators, both members of the Senate Banking Committee, will play a key role in vetting Kraninger’s nomination. The panel will grill Kraninger before voting on whether to recommend her confirmation, though she is likely to get little Democratic support.

Brown, an advocate for stricter financial sector regulation, announced his opposition to Kraninger’s nomination on Monday.

Warren, who created the blueprint for the CFPB as an adviser to former President Obama, said Kraninger “has no track record of helping consumers. That’s bad news for seniors, servicemembers, students — and anyone else who doesn’t want to get cheated.”