Moderate Dem says she will oppose CFPB nominee in committee vote

WASHINGTON — One day before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on Kathy Kraninger's confirmation to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a moderate Democrat on the panel said she plans to oppose the nominee.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., has compromised with Republicans on key issues, in particular her support for the recent regulatory relief law, and has supported other regulatory appointments by the Trump administration. But she said Kraninger has not demonstrated enough of a background in consumer protection issues.

“I’m going to vote no,” Heitkamp said in an interview with American Banker. “I was prepared actually to vote yes, but … I’m concerned about [Kraninger's] depth of experience in consumer protection."

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Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, listens during a news conference after a weekly Democratic luncheon meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's delaying the Senate's August recess by two weeks after divided lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to revise health-care legislation he proposed to replace Obamacare. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Heitkamp, who faces a tough re-election battle in a state President Trump won in 2016, was a key vote in favor of the Senate's reg relief law. She and other moderates on the committee negotiated the final legislative package with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

But her comments on Kraninger suggest that the vote for the CFPB nominee will fall strictly along party lines.

Heitkamp said she was also "concerned" that Kraninger did not believe in the CFPB's "overall mission, which is really to protect consumers."

"I didn’t get a sense that there was a level of empathy for consumers,” she said.

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Financial regulations Kathy Kraninger Mike Crapo CFPB Senate Banking Committee
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