Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement in reaction to news reports that the Consumer Bureau will drop its investigation of Equifax at the behest of the contested head of the Consumer Bureau, Trump appointed OMB agency director Mick Mulvaney.
“In Nevada, 1.3 million people – nearly half of the population – were impacted by Equifax’s data breach. The Consumer Bureau has a central role in the fight to ensure accountability from Equifax, protect consumers whose data has been stolen from fraud and demand transparency so this never happens again. But today, Mick Mulvaney turned his back on 145 million Americans who had their data stolen and are now fighting to monitor their credit reports for fraudulent activities and protect their financial future from damaging identity theft. The Trump Administration has chosen to protect Equifax, while denying Americans justice and accountability. It’s clear the Consumer Bureau needs a fulltime independent leader who will prioritize the interests of the American people; not negligent financial firms, Big Banks and Republican donors.”