Pelosi criticizes Trump pick to head consumer agency

WASHINGTON – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is questioning President Donald Trump’s pick to head the government’s consumer watchdog agency.

The California Democrat says she believes Kathy Kraninger, currently an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, lacks the required experience to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, especially given the Trump administration’s “hostility to consumer protection.”

The White House said Saturday that Trump would nominate Kraninger to replace Mick Mulvaney, who has been filling in as the bureau’s acting director along with running the OMB since late November.

Criticizing Mulvaney as having protected special interests, Pelosi said she lacked confidence that Kraninger would have the qualifications to ensure the bureau is “a champion for consumers and not the financial industry.”

The Senate must confirm Kraninger’s nomination.