The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was blindsided by the Trump Education Department’s decision to cut off its access to student loan data, a spokesman for the agency said Tuesday.
Education officials notified the bureau on Friday that they were canceling an Obama-era deal to share data on federal student loans, accusing it of being “overreaching and unaccountable.”
A representative for the bureau, which is still led by the Obama-appointed director Richard Cordray, said that the bureau was “surprised and disappointed” to find out about the decision.
Spokesman David Mayorga said that the agency would be reaching out to the Education Department to address its concerns. The bureau, he said, has a responsibility to protect student borrowers.
The bureau hadn’t received any complaints from Trump administration officials before the notice Friday that the program would be canceled, Mayorga said: “We have not previously heard any concerns as we have worked together to make sure that all student loan borrowers are treated fairly, with respect and dignity.”
Previously, the bureau has produced research finding “widespread failures” in servicing student loans and weighed new federal-level rules on the treatment of borrowers in the $1.3 trillion market. Also, the agency has taken legal action against private-sector servicers it has accused of abusing customers.
Friday’s letter was the latest in a series of recent GOP attempts to needle Cordray, whom the party views as an overly-aggressive regulator and a potential Democratic candidate for governor in Ohio.
