Overnight Regulation: Consumer chief resigning | DOJ issues warning on ‘sanctuary city’ policies | Panel votes to approve drilling in Arctic refuge
Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It’s Wednesday night in Washington, where the GOP has lost Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) vote on its tax reform bill, for now.
THE BIG STORY:
The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced his resignation Wednesday, giving President Trump the chance to reshape an agency that has long been the target of Republican ire.
Richard Cordray told CFPB staff in an email that he expects “to step down from his position here before the end of the month.”
{mosads}
“As I have said many times, but feel just as much today as I ever have, it has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the Consumer Bureau by working alongside all of you here,” he wrote.
The director of the CFPB is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The role comes with broad authority over the CFPB’s budget, actions and priorities.
The White House said Trump “will announce an acting director and the President’s choice to replace Mr. Cordray at the appropriate time.”
The Vacancies Act mandates that Senate-confirmed agency heads be replaced by another Senate-confirmed appointee. That potentially disqualifies CFPB acting Deputy Director David Silberman from replacing Cordray in an acting capacity.
Background: Republicans have long opposed Cordray’s actions at the CFPB, accusing him of abusing the agency’s power and pursuing flashy cases to boost his political profile.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), perhaps Cordray’s biggest critic, asked federal investigators to probe whether Cordray violated the Hatch Act. The Office of Special Counsel cleared Cordray of any wrongdoing in October.
Read the full story from Sylvan Lane.
ON TAP FOR THURSDAY:
The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet at 10 a.m. to examine two nominations.
The House will vote on its tax reform bill Thursday.
REGULATORY ROUNDUP:
Justice Department: The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a warning Wednesday to 29 local and state governments about their “sanctuary” policies on undocumented workers.
The department said interference with the federal government’s quest for information of people’s immigration status was against the law and could result in a cut in federal funding
“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
Guns: A bipartisan deal may be near. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Wednesday that senators are nearing a deal on gun legislation following a number of high-profile mass shootings.
Murphy’s office pointed The Hill to comments made last week by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who said that he would talk to Democrats about strengthening background checks – an initiative that gained some bipartisan momentum earlier this month after a gunman opened fire on a church in southern Texas, killing 26 people.
It was revealed shortly after the attack that the gunman, 26-year-old Devin Kelley, was able to slip through the system and purchase firearms, despite a known history of violence.
The Hill’s Max Greenwood has the story.
Energy: The Senate Energy panel approved legislation Wednesday allowing for oil and gas drilling in a section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska.
The legislation is highly controversial, with Democrats and environmentalists slamming Senate Republicans for mandating new revenue from Arctic drilling as part of their tax-reform push.
But GOP supporters of the legislation said Wednesday the drilling proposal is good for both Alaska, an energy-dependent state, and the federal government. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has long made ANWR drilling one of her top legislative priorities, said oil development won’t impact the refuge as much as opponents of the plan warn it will.
Also of note: Under a budget resolution adopted earlier this year, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee was instructed to find $1 billion in revenue to help pay for the tax-reform effort, meaning the fate of ANWR drilling and a tax overhaul are linked.
Energy and Environment: The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm David Zatezalo, a former coal mining executive who faced harsh criticism over his company’s safety record, to lead the federal government’s mine safety agency.
The vote was 52 to 46, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.
Once he’s sworn in to lead the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Zatezalo will be responsible for safety across all of the nation’s mines, including those for coal, metals and other substances.
Zatezalo, a West Virginia native, retired in 2014 as head of Rhino Resources, a coal mining company. Rhino had numerous run-ins with MSHA enforces under his leadership, including two “pattern of violations” letters, a rare warning from regulators.
Justice Department: The Justice Department has made overtures to state attorneys general to build support for blocking AT&T’s $85.4 billion deal to purchase Time Warner Inc., according to a Wednesday report.
A source “briefed on the matter” told Reuters that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had approached 18 states. It was not clear which states’ officials had been reached out to.
A report from financial news network CNBC said the DOJ had failed to convince any state attorneys general to sign on to a potential lawsuit to block the merger. An earlier CNBC report had claimed two states were on board with a lawsuit.
Defense/Health care: The House on Wednesday passed by voice vote a bill to speed up Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of medical devices and drugs to be used on the battlefield.
The bill is meant to address a controversial provision of the annual defense policy bill passed by the House on Tuesday that would allow the Pentagon to sign off on unapproved devices and drugs.
The Pentagon and its advocates in Congress have been frustrated by the FDA’s slow approval of certain treatments they say could save lives on the battlefield. In particular, there has been a decade-long impasse between the Pentagon and the FDA over freeze-dried plasma, which the military says will help it save troops from bleeding out since it does not need refrigeration.
Tech: A group of Senate Democrats is calling on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to recuse himself from matters related to the Sinclair Broadcast Group and its proposed takeover of Tribune Media.
Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell (Wash.) and Tom Udall (N.M.) led a group of senators in sending a letter to Pai on Wednesday saying “it is imperative you recuse yourself from certain matters in order to protect the public interest, integrity and independence of the agency’s decision-making process until after the FCC’s inspector general determines whether the facts warrant your permanent recusal.”
In a separate letter sent to the FCC inspector general, the Democratic senators called for an investigation into Pai’s impartiality.
Democrats want Pai to recuse himself from a pair of votes on media regulations at an FCC meeting on Thursday. They believe that the proposals up for vote are also intended to benefit Sinclair.
An FCC spokesperson called the bid absurd.
Harper Neidig has the story here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Koch Brothers key to funding assault on campaign finance regulation (The Center for Public Integrity)
Monsanto, US farm groups sue California over glyphosate warnings (Reuters)
Paris scoffs at Airbnb plan to curb illegal rentals (The Wall Street Journal)
White House weighs former Pimco CEO El-Erian for Fed vice chairman (The Wall Street Journal)
Canadian oil and gas company settles fraud charges with US regulator (Reuters)
Trump could suffer backlash on environmental rollback, Manchin warns (The Washington Examiner)
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Regular the hill posts
The Hill Podcasts
