In October of 2017, after more than five years of research and public input, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Director Richard Cordray finalized a rule to rein in payday and car-title loan debt traps.

Only a few days after Mick Mulvaney was unlawfully appointed to head the CFPB, he announced support for Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to both rescind the payday rule and prevent any agency from issuing a similar rule in the future.

In January, Mulvaney announced that the CFPB would delay implementation for, reopen, and reconsider the payday rule. Given his support for completely eliminating the rule, this is the first formal step toward administratively killing the rule.

Additional Background

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday finalized wide-ranging rules targeting the billions of dollars in fees collected by payday lenders offering high-cost, short-term loans.” [Renae Merle, “How regulators plan to curb 400 percent interest loans,” The Washington Post, 10/05/17.]

“Mulvaney, a longtime critic of the bureau, told reporters Monday that he supports congressional efforts to overturn a landmark rule reining in payday lenders, which was one of the consumer bureau’s last significant regulations finalized under Cordray.” [Victoria Guida, “Mulvaney: No plans to fire CFPB rival Leandra English,” Politico, 12/04/17.]

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Tuesday that it will reconsider a wide-ranging rule targeting the billions of dollars in fees collected by payday lenders offering high-cost, short-term loans.” [Renae Merle, “Consumer protection bureau changes direction, will reconsider rule that sets stricter limits on payday lending,” The Washington Post, 01/16/18.]