In the wake of Mick Mulvaney’s comments about the “pay-to-play” culture that he maintained in his congressional office, two Democratic leaders have called for an investigation into the Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Director of Management and Budget. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) previously called for Mulvaney’s resignation.
Call to resign. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn) called for Mulvaney to resign and for the Department of Justice to investigate whether he violated federal laws after he claimed in an address to the American Bankers Association, according to Ellison, to have received bribes as a member of Congress.
“This week, in front of a room full of banking lobbyists, Mick Mulvaney confirmed what many Americans already knew: government works great if you are a rich donor or a bank lobbyist, but not so great for everyone else,” Ellison said. “According to reports, Director Mulvaney said ‘If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.’”
According to Ellison, these comments should disqualify Mulvaney from holding any public office. “To the public, it looks like a bribe. Plain old graft. The DOJ should investigate.”
Ethics inquiry. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is seeking information from the CFPB Designated Agency Ethics Official about the safeguards that were put into place to ensure that Mulvaney was excluded from decisions that affected the financial institutions that had given him campaign contributions. For instance, he received more than $92,000 from the American Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, National Auto Dealers Associations, and National Association of Realtors, who according to Warren, have all directly benefited from recent CFPB actions.
“For American families to trust the CFPB, they have to know that lobbyists' payments to Mr. Mulvaney's campaign are not putting in play CFPB policies that favor those same lobbyists,” said Warren. In order to understand what, if any, precautions were taken, the senator is seeking answers to the following questions:
- What, if any, advice did you give Mulvaney about working on matters related to his political donors when he arrived at the CFPB?
- Is Mulvaney recused from working on matters related to any company or industry? If so, please list them.
- Given Mulvaney's admission that companies received access in exchange for political contributions during his time as a Congressman, do you intend to take any additional action to prevent him from engaging in matters involving his donors?
- Some of the political appointees Mulvaney has installed at the CFPB previously worked at entities affected by the Bureau's actions. Please provide the list of recusals for all political appointees currently working at CFPB, including those who are detailed to the agency.
