WASHINGTON — Kathy Kraninger is a step closer to becoming the nation’s top consumer financial watchdog.
A Senate committee on Thursday narrowly approved the White House aide’s nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau despite strenuous objections from Democrats that she’s not qualified for the job.
Opponents of President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that she has no experience in consumer protection, financial regulation or the banking industry and questioned her involvement overseeing the budgets of agencies that developed and implemented the child-separation policy at the border and the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Kraninger holds a midlevel White House position as associate director for general government at the Office of Management and Budget and her background has been largely in Homeland Security.
At the OMB, Kraninger oversees spending at five agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.