1) This is a thread to explain why you’ll be seeing hit pieces like this on Mick Mulvaney who is in the process of exposing the disastrous CFPB and Elizabeth Warren. Thanks to folks like @TheLastRefuge2 @ThomasWictor @drawandstrike for inspiring me to get off my ass and work.
2) First, a reminder that CFPB was set up as an “independent” agency not constrained by congressional (or any for that matter) oversight by the Dodd-Frank bill of 2010 ostensibly to protect consumers from the type of malfeasance shown by the financial crisis in the late aughts.
3) It was the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren and officially set up through her then-role as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Treasury (Crowdstrike alum Tim Geithner). Look, Obama gives her all the “credit”: nytimes.com/2011/07/18/bus…
4) CFPB immediately wielded powers more than that of established independent entities like SEC and FDIC given its lack of congressional oversight/accountability. Read this from National Review: nationalreview.com/2017/11/richar…
5) From 2012-2016, it was the salad days for CFPB. Hundreds of millions coming in from tax payers and banks in the front door and millions going out the back door as directed by wherever the Obama-appointed Director @RichCordray chooses.
6) Fast forward to November 2016. Yikes. Trump wins. The jig is up. In November 2017, Director Cordray steps down and TRIES to name one of his underlings as his successor. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
7) Nope. Not happening. President Trump exercises his executive right and names OMB Director (and vocal CFPB critic) @MickMulvaneyOMB to commandeer the bureau. The game is afoot.
8) Now that he has the keys, Mulvaney has been exposing the fundamental problems at CFPB FROM THE INSIDE. For example, check out what he did to expose the inanity of how the budget/funding process works.
9) Since the Bureau isn’t tied to Congressional oversight/appropriations, all Director Cordray had to do to get $ is send a quick letter to the Federal Reserve and VOILA… taxpayer money gets transferred to CFPB without question.
10) Here’s former Director Cordray’s quarterly withdrawal of $217M (!) from October 2017: s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumer…
11) The CFPB and its Director could basically use the Federal Reserve as its ATM to the tune of up to $800 Million per year (!) and no one could say a thing.
12) Now, here’s Director Mulvaney’s first quarterly request when he got there: s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumer…
13) That’s $0M. Zero dollars. Obviously Mulvaney making a statement. On April 11, 2018, Mulvaney testifies in front of the House Financial Services Committee. It’s an amazing 4 hour spectacle of partisanship and absurdity:
14) Now it gets fun. The CFPB has had an ongoing renovation project going on at a RENTED office space that is now on pace to cost taxpayers $242.8 MILLION! CFPB doesn’t even own the building. $242.8 Million of our money. For that $, they should be able to have a space station.
15)For years, House Republicans (including Mulvaney) had inquired about who authorized such an endeavor. For example, here’s the great @RepLeeZeldin questioning @RichCordray about the renovation in April 2017: c-span.org/video/?c472714…
16) Cordray refused to give an answer. Fast forward to now Director Mulvaney getting same question from @RepAnnWagner. Amazing stuff here: c-span.org/video/?c472714…
17) So now we have Mulvaney exposing Warren (and Cordray). Now we can see why Mulvaney is being targeted by Warren and her ill-k.
18) For example, here’s an op-ed by Warren from March about Mulvaney and his role at CFPB wsj.com/articles/repub…
19) Here’s Mulvaney's Response to Warren: wsj.com/articles/mick-…
20) Mulvaney is obviously over the target so we should expect a barrage of these type of attacks on him. Another example of the malfeasance at CFPB being stopped by Mulvaney involves a boatload of the CFPB $ being directed to the left-lunging PR agency GMMB.
21) CFPB had funneled over $40M to GMMB during the Obama/Cordray/Warren years. Here’s a good article about from the Daily Caller in September 2017: dailycaller.com/2017/09/13/exc…
22) One of GMMB’s leaders is Jim Margolis: “In the 2016 presidential election, Jim served as senior advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, leading her paid advertising effort and producing the 2016 Democratic convention in Philadelphia.” gmmb.com/team#!bio=jim-…
23) Now watch up-and-coming Rep @WarrenDavidson from Ohio ask Mulvaney about GMMB. (Spoiler: Mulvaney is shutting down GMMB’s contract): c-span.org/video/?c472716…
24) One other absurd moment. Noted Antifa-enthusiast and Nation of Islam alum @KeithEllison had this ridiculous exchange about the frosted windows on Mulvaney’s office: c-span.org/video/?c472715…
25) @KeithEllison doesn’t seem to care about the $240 Million spent on renovating a rented office space but is very concerned about the ~$3,000 spent on a dozen frosted windows….that were ordered by Cordray. You can’t make it up./END
