Citizens United President David Bossie has an op-ed at FoxNews.com slamming CFPB head Richard Cordray for preparing a bid for Governor of Ohio while still drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck from the federal government. The whole thing is worth reading, but here's a snippet.
This is an outrage and another example of a liberal elitist who thinks the law doesn’t apply to him. Engaging in this type of political activity is a clear violation of the Hatch Act and the allegations should be investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel without delay.
According to the Special Counsel’s “Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees,” a covered employee: “May not be a candidate for nomination or election to public office in a partisan election” and “may not use his or her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.” I’m glad to see that the Republican Governor’s Association has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for relevant documents. RGA should be prepared to file a FOIA lawsuit if the CFPB doesn’t comply in a timely manner. Hardworking American taxpayers - including the millions of Ohioans who fall into this category - should demand that Cordray come clean and resign or state publicly that he won’t be a candidate. President Trump could also fire him if he believes that Cordray is playing politics on taxpayer time.
It’s not surprising that Cordray thinks he’s above the law since the agency he leads was set up in exactly that fashion. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not subject to traditional congressional oversight and is currently being threatened with contempt of Congress for not fully complying with committee subpoenas. It was a Nancy Pelosi-led Congress that structured CFPB’s budget so it’s not subject to the congressional appropriations process.
Previously: