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New op-ed from Citizens United: CFPB chief Cordray thinks he’s above the law

CFPB chief Cordray thinks he’s above the law – no surprise since his Pelosi-created agency is too

Everyone knows you can’t run for Governor of Ohio and head up an agency of the United States government at the same time.  Then why is Richard Cordray, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), doing just that? 

It was recently reported that a state judge in Ohio by the name of Bill O’Neill was asked by a friend of Cordray’s if he would stay out of the race for governor if Cordray became an official candidate.  This is a campaign maneuver that’s regularly employed in order to mitigate headaches in an upcoming race.  In this case, Cordray is trying to limit the number of primary challengers he would face in the upcoming Democrat primary election next spring.

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This is an outrage and another example of a liberal elitist who thinks the law doesn’t apply to him.  Engaging in this type of political activity is a clear violation of the Hatch Act and the allegations should be investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel without delay. 

According to the Special Counsel’s “Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees,” a covered employee:  “May not be a candidate for nomination or election to public office in a partisan election” and “may not use his or her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.” I’m glad to see that the Republican Governor’s Association has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for relevant documents.  RGA should be prepared to file a FOIA lawsuit if the CFPB doesn’t comply in a timely manner.  Hardworking American taxpayers – including the millions of Ohioans who fall into this category – should demand that Cordray come clean and resign or state publicly that he won’t be a candidate.  President Trump could also fire him if he believes that Cordray is playing politics on taxpayer time.

It’s not surprising that Cordray thinks he’s above the law since the agency he leads was set up in exactly that fashion.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not subject to traditional congressional oversight and is currently being threatened with contempt of Congress for not fully complying with committee subpoenas.  It was a Nancy Pelosi-led Congress that structured CFPB’s budget so it’s not subject to the congressional appropriations process. 

The CFPB was created because of the disastrous Dodd-Frank law and specializes in job-killing regulations.  Congress should place it on the ash heap of history or drastically reform it so that the agency can be forever defunded.  Regardless of his campaign timetable, Cordray’s five-year term ends in July 2018 and he ought to be remembered as the first and last director of this agency that exists to stifle American economic growth.  At the end of the day, Dodd-Frank and the CFPB were Obama-era mistakes and along with ObamaCare, big reasons why Republicans won control of Congress after the 2010 midterm elections.

Cordray is likely delaying his resignation so that he can continue to draw his nice taxpayer-funded salary as long as possible, since he would become an unemployed full-time candidate once he comes out of the shadows and starts running officially.  The Democrat candidates already running for the Ohio governor’s mansion should turn up the heat on Cordray and tell him that he can’t have it both ways. 

When Richard Cordray does finally return to Ohio, he might be surprised by what he finds.  President Donald Trump carried the Buckeye State by a whopping eight points running against the anemic Obama economy that Cordray himself helped create.  Make no mistake about it – the Ohio voters who helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency fully understand this fact.

David N. Bossie is President of Citizens United, a Fox News Contributor and the former Deputy Campaign Manager for Donald Trump for President.

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