WASHINGTON—Sen. Elizabeth Warren and fellow Senate Banking Committee Democrats are pressing Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., to immediately schedule a long-delayed oversight hearing with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought before the end of the month.
In a new letter to Scott, Warren (D-MA), the committee’s ranking member, and all Democratic members of the panel said the Banking Committee is statutorily required to hold semiannual hearings with the CFPB director but has not done so for a full year.
“By statute, the CFPB Director must appear twice a year before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,” the Democrats wrote. “Later this week, however, it will have been a full year since the CFPB Director last appeared before our committee.”
‘Especially Troubling’
The lawmakers said the lapse is especially troubling given what they called Vought’s “egregious, unlawful efforts to shut down the CFPB—making it easier for big banks and giant corporations to cheat and scam American families across the country.”
The letter further cites recent moves by Vought, including plans to furlough nearly all CFPB staff by Dec. 31 and to draw down remaining funds at the agency in the coming weeks. It also points to reports that the Bureau is transferring all remaining active litigation to the Department of Justice.
Those steps follow earlier efforts to fire most CFPB employees and internal directives that effectively froze agency operations, including orders to halt supervision and examinations, pause investigations and enforcement actions, and stop most public communications, the senators wrote.
‘Constitutional Duty’
“In order to fulfill our constitutional duty to perform oversight of the Executive Branch, we request that you immediately schedule a hearing with Acting Director Vought, to be held before the end of the month,” the Democrats said.
Warren also sent a separate letter to Vought accusing him of failing to provide Congress with several legally required reports, including the CFPB’s major semiannual report that is intended to underpin the director’s twice-yearly testimony before lawmakers.
Signers of the letter to Scott include Democratic Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.
Scott has not publicly announced plans for a CFPB oversight hearing.
