Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is not stingy with the money when it comes to paying the people he hires.
Even though he has criticized the spending at the agency and grandiosely submitted a budget request for $0 from the Federal Reserve, which controls the CFPB’s pursestrings, Mulvaney had no problem shelling out for a number of appointments he has made during his four-month tenure.
Kristen Sutton, who joined the CFPB earlier this year from the House Financial Services Committee, is making $259,500, the maximum amount allowed under the CFPB’s payscale, according to a published report. The salary is more than 50% higher than what she was earning when she worked as staff director for the House Financial Services Committee. Sutton is also making 22% more than her predecessor, Leandra English, who has sued the CFPB claiming she should be the rightful acting director.
Brian Johnson, another new hire at the CFPB, was offered $220,000 a year when he was offered a job at the agency, up from $170,000 that he made as policy director for the House Financial Services Committee. But before he received his first paycheck, Johnson’s salary was raised to just under $240,000.
More than 200 of the 1,600 employees working at the CFPB earn more than $200,000 a year, according to the report. It should be noted that Mulvaney is being paid nothing as acting director, since he is considered to be on loan from his other, permanent position as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The CFPB and other financial regulators have a higher payscale than most federal agencies because the individuals sought for those jobs are usually considered for high-paying jobs on Wall Street.
From the report:
“Non-career staff are being paid on par with the career staff who directly report to them,” Jen Howard, a spokeswoman for the consumer bureau, said in a written response to questions. Her statement blamed Richard Cordray, the agency’s previous director, for setting the precedent of paying large salaries to senior leaders.
