Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump's Budget Director Just Accidentally Told the Truth About Influence Peddling in Washington

Trump's Budget Director Just Accidentally Told the Truth About Influence Peddling in Washington

He's not even trying to hide it anymore.

Mick Mulvaney, Interim Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, admitted that he only spoke to lobbyists who gave money during his time in Congress.


Speaking at the American Bankers Association in Washington D.C., Mulvaney told attendees that money means access. The ABA strongly advocates for loosening regulations and weakening protections for consumers.

We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress. If you're a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn't talk to you. If you're a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.

Mulvaney added that his constituents always came first, however, even if they didn't write a check.

If you came from back home and sat in my lobby, I talked to you without exception, regardless of the financial contributions.

At the end of his speech, Mulvaney said that lobbying members of Congress with money is a "fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy. And you have to continue to do it.

A spokesman for Mulvaney said that the bureau chief's comments emphasized the importance of listening to constituents.

He was making the point that hearing from people back home is vital to our democratic process and the most important thing our representatives can do. It's more important than lobbyists and it's more important than money.

President Donald Trump appointed Mulvaney, a former three-term Republican Congressman from South Carolina, to head the CFPB last November. Mulvaney was and continues to be an outspoken critic of the agency, which was established in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank banking law to protect consumers from predatory practices by financial institutions.

Throughout his time at the bureau, Mulvaney has stalled investigations into financial abuse and restricted access to bank records and has refused to pursue complaints of abuse by payday lenders, auto lenders, and others. During his time in Congress, Mulvaney received $63,000 in contributions from payday lenders, who are well-known for usury (charging unreasonable interest rates) and preying on the poor and destitute.

Mulvaney's tenure at the CFPB has also included limiting public access to the bureau's records, which were put in place to inform consumers about the business practices of banks or other financial services to whom they may give their business. "I don't see anything in here that says I have to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government," Mulvaney said.

In his crusade to weaken the CFPB and undermine its public image, Mulvaney refers to the agency under its statutory name, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. "I'm trying to get in the habit of now saying the 'B.C.F.P.' It's really, really hard to do that when you've said the C.F.P.B. for so long," he added. Removing the word 'consumer' from the beginning is an attempt to weaken the bureau's image, officials have said.

The national debate over money in politics has raged since 2010 when the United States Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case that money counts as free speech.

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Lauren Boebert speaking to Alex Stein
Prime Time with Alex Stein/Blaze Media

Lauren Boebert Casts Doubt On Moon Landing During Wild Interview With Conspiracy Theorist

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was criticized after she seemingly agreed with the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked in a wide-ranging interview with conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Stein.

The segment began with the duo casting doubt on nuclear weapons—Boebert even joked about needing "tin foil"—and moved into weirder territory when Stein praised Boebert for "vibing" with him on the topic of the moon landing. Conspiracy theorists have long alleged the moon landing was fabricated by NASA in what they claim was an elaborate hoax.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rosie O'Donnell; Oprah Winfrey
Simon Ackerman/Getty Images; Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images

Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out Oprah For Attending Jeff Bezos' Wedding In Scathing Poem

Among the various celebrity hangers-on who attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Venice wedding, the one that seemed to generate the most controversy was Oprah Winfrey.

After all, a woman known for her progressive politics whose entire ethos is about teaching people how to be their best selves, attending the wedding of man who directly funded a fascist regime dismantling our country before our eyes doesn't exactly add up.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Murkowski
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski Slammed After Criticizing Massive Budget Bill She Just Voted For

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was slammed after she claimed that President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is "not there yet" despite casting the deciding vote to narrowly pass it before sending it back to the House.

In a marathon voting session, the Senate narrowly passed the legislation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman listening to her boyfriend play guitar
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Things People Initially Found Attractive About Their Partner That Now Annoy Them

Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it's not without its ups and downs.

In order for it to work, we have to allow it to grow and change over time rather than being locked forever into what it was when we first started dating our person.

Keep ReadingShow less