Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pressing Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on whether he defied the Hatch Act by attending a “closed-door event in New York City” where Republican Party officials and donors gathered.
According to the New York Times, Mulvaney, who is also the director of the Office of Management and Budget, appeared at the event this month.
“Your appearance at this private event with Republican donors and campaign officials raises questions about your compliance with the Hatch Act and other federal laws, your judgment, and your management of the Office of Management and Budget and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Warren wrote in a letter to Mulvaney Wednesday. “The report of your meeting with top donors and campaign officials raise[s] new questions about your behavior, and require[s] an explanation,” she added.
The Hatch Act restricting federal employees from using their offices to campaign for or against political candidates.
As first reported by Politico, Warren also noted that it is standard procedure for executive branch officials, especially financial regulators, to “steer well clear of campaign or donor-related activity.”
Warren requested Mulvaney address whether the New York Times’ report was correct, explain the nature of the event, whether he attended as an OMB official or a CFPB official, who else attended the event, and what topics were discussed at the event.
She requested that Mulvaney provide a response no later than Sept. 29.
The CFPB was established in 2010 under the Obama administration in an attempt to address the global financial crisis. It was created and staffed largely by Warren prior to her election to the Senate in 2012.
Warren and Mulvaney have clashed before. For instance, Warren accused Mulvaney of “hurting real people to score cheap political points” during a hearing in April.
[Opinion: Elizabeth Warren v. Mick Mulvaney is a five-star, thumbs-up, must-watch political miniseries]
Mulvaney has also shared harsh words directed at Warren, saying in March that he was using the powers in his CFPB role that she herself outlined. “If you don’t like it, talk to the person who wrote the statute,” Mulvaney said. “Because all I’m doing is the role you laid out.”
