RSSData recently culled from political campaign contributions reveals that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the most partisan federal agency currently in the United States government. According to a recently published article, employees at the bureau made more than 300 donations totaling nearly $50,000 to Democratic candidates. Not a single donation was given in support of a Republican or conservative candidate.
Although theoretically non-partisan, the CFPB has had the strong support of Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration. Republicans have tried to reduce the scope of the bureau’s broad regulatory power since Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.), one of the most liberal lawmakers in the country, oversaw its creation.
Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., a frequent critic of the agency, was quoted as saying that it is no surprise that the agency would contribute to the Democratic campaign. “No one is shocked that Washington bureaucrats would donate to the candidate who promised to maintain and expand onerous Dodd-Frank regulations that crush our community banks and local credit unions,” he said.
Although none of the donations appears to violate the Hatch Act, a law that bans partisan activity while government workers are on the clock, Duffy maintains that those at the CFPB were more than anxious to contribute to the Democratic former first lady’s presidential campaign. He said that a Clinton administration would allow it to continue its “big-government dealings” that “work against the average American worker.”
The CFPB is not alone when it comes to government agencies that are dedicated to giving all of their donations to Democratic candidates, campaigns or causes. The National Transportation Safety Board also gave 100 percent of its $3,000 in donations to liberal causes. Employees of the Peace Corps contributed nearly $25,000 to Hillary Clinton and her supporters. The only contributions that did not go to Clinton went in support of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT.), who caucuses with the Democratic Party in Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act and, as Democrats fear, the CFPB with it: “Dodd-Frank has made it impossible for bankers to function,” Trump said. “It makes it very hard for bankers to loan money for people to create jobs, for people with businesses to create jobs. And that has to stop.”
