White House Chiefs of Staff

If you want to lend money to people and take a lower-than-market rate of interest, that is your business.

But my point is an appropriations process helps shed light on things, and y'all are voluntarily choosing not to do that, and I do hope you would remedy that situation.

There is simply a lack of transparency into the Bureau that would be brought to the fore by going through the appropriations process.

That we act a lot more accountably to you folks.

I think the Bureau screams out to be reformed.

Why y'all don't want to put me on appropriations, I just don't get it.

I think you should be allowed to know what the law is before you are accused of breaking it.

I just happen to think that that is wrong. That is that enforcement by--or regulation by enforcement that I talk about.

We are still going after bad actors.

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth, Congresswoman.

Our job is to enforce Federal consumer laws.

I hope so. That is what we are shooting for is a balance.

I think since I have gotten there, things have changed.

I think it is fair to say that, as of this point in time, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is probably perceived as being closely aligned with Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does not exist.

And that is what is so frustrating is it is so oftentimes what we do is I do not think we give enough consideration to what the intended or unintended consequences are, which is that people are not going to have access to the credit and…

It wouldn't be appropriate for me to say we are or are not going to do that, because we are going to go through the proper procedures.

We have given notice of our intent to look at some changes--again, going through the proper administrative procedures.

Regulation by enforcement is done. We are not doing it any more.

When it comes to enforcement, we will focus on quantifiable and unavoidable harm to the consumer.

Taking a meat cleaver to it. Yes, sir.

It is extraordinarily difficult to reduce the size of a Federal bureaucracy.

I absolutely think that discrimination is abhorrent, and we should fight against it.

Actually, with respect, Congresswoman, I would suggest that I am the one responsible for implementing Dodd-Frank, not you.