Ted Cruz Leads Republican Charge To Defund CFPB

Senate Republicans backed a Wednesday effort from Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Cruz has unsuccessfully tried to disassemble the agency in the past and is now working to reduce the amount of funding it receives from the Federal Reserve to zero.

“The CFPB is an unelected, unaccountable bureaucratic agency that has imposed burdensome and harmful regulations on American businesses, banks, and credit unions,” Cruz shared in a statement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The act creating the bureau was passed by Democrats who aimed to regulate predatory practices from banks during the Obama administration.

Cruz has opposed the measure for more than a decade and labeled it an “unchecked Obama-era executive arm” in condemning its support from the Fed.

Republican Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Steve Daines (Mont.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) and Mike Rounds (S.D.) back his claims and have co-sponsored the Defund CFPB Act, introduced Wednesday.

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) introduced a companion bill in the House.

Republicans may make an attempt to maneuver the change through the approaching budget reconciliation package, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress controls the agency’s funds despite the fact it falls outside of congressional appropriations. The Fed did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the act.