CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 on Thursday [12-6-18] to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. consumer watchdog despite opposition from Democrats and consumer groups who say she is unqualified. Kathy Kraninger will serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), replacing acting chief Mick Mulvaney, after Trump signs a declaration approving her five-year term. The banking industry and consumer groups will be watching to see whether Kraninger, who is currently a senior official at the White House budget office, will take on Mulvaney’s mantle and continue to aggressively curtail the CFPB’s enforcement and rule-writing agenda. Kraninger faced criticism during her nomination hearing in July about the role she played in the Trump administration’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy that separated more than 2,000 children from their parents.”
–Reuters, “Senate Confirms Trump’s Consumer Watchdog Pick,” The New York Times online, December 6, 2018