AP — Washington, D.C.: President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will remove Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and will nominate as a replacement the respected businessman Henry F. Potter, of Bedford Falls, New York.
Though he was formerly in favour of abolishing the CFPB, a position still advanced by many Congressional Republicans, Trump announced that he was persuaded to keep the CFPB on learning that it was a vast and powerful government bureaucracy tasked with pursuing financial services industry fraud. “There is tremendous, tremendous fraud being committed amongst many American financial institutions,” Mr. Trump commented, “I myself know this, having been treated very, very poorly by banks who refuse to lend me money. My good friend Henry will get to the bottom of why they’re so stingy with me.”
Trump described Potter as a self-made businessman and beloved community figure, with a keen understanding of the needs of the common man. The two have known each other for many years, due to their shared involvement in the New York state real estate and rental markets, as well as the burgeoning casino and entertainment industries. Potter had earlier been floated as a possible candidate to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but that position ultimately went to Dr. Ben Carson.
Following Mr. Trump’s lead, Mr. Potter said he would not be releasing his tax information, though he assured reporters at the press conference that his business dealings did not involve any direct investment in Mr. Trump’s past business ventures, characterizing this as something only “suckers” did. “In addition to looking into loan unfairness toward the nation’s titans of industry, I’m quite keen to have the CFPB aggressively pursue widespread fraud in the nation’s community building and loan operations,” said Potter.