Mick Mulvaney has already perplexed people with the dual hats that he wears. Despite being Trump’s budget director, the president also appointed him to oversee the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a watchdog agency. Not only that, but Trump possibly did so in violation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation that Trump wants to roll back, yet Mulvaney has embraced the role, and he’s now raising eyebrows with his first budget request — $0 — to the Fed.
Politico reports that Mulvaney, in a letter to the Fed, reasoned that the CFPB has budgeted $145 million for the upcoming second quarter, and the agency already has $177 million on hand. In contrast to his predecessor, Richard Cordray, Mulvaney rejected the notion of keeping any sort of “reserve fund” because he believes the Fed will come through with funding in the event of an emergency. The Trump budget director also wrote that he’s trying to lighten the load on taxpayers:
“While this approximately $145 million may not make much of a dent in the deficit, the men and women at the Bureau are proud to do their part to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
Mulvaney has made no secret of taking a “less is more” approach (while planning a nebulous overhaul) to the CFPB, as with all Mulvaney-related endeavors. During his early days as the Trump budget director, he famously upset the masses by arguing that cutting Meals on Wheels funding is “fairly compassionate.” His reasoning, of course, was that people should have sympathy for taxpayers, and he believes that requesting $0 for the CFPB would serve the same cause. At least he’s being … consistent?
(Via Politico)