{"id":493308,"date":"2021-05-10T17:20:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T21:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=493308"},"modified":"2021-05-10T17:20:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T21:20:45","slug":"federal-student-loan-chief-allegedly-facilitated-racist-sexist-work-environment-at-cfpb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-student-loan-chief-allegedly-facilitated-racist-sexist-work-environment-at-cfpb\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Student Loan Chief Allegedly Facilitated Racist, Sexist Work Environment at CFPB"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederal-student-loan-chief-allegedly-facilitated-racist-sexist-work-environment-at-cfpb%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=493308&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div readability=\"28.339483394834\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/\">Biden Administration<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Former CFPB employee accused Richard Cordray of trying to stifle her discrimination complaint<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"485\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-956266626-1.jpg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-956266626.jpg 485w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/GettyImages-956266626-300x210.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"auto\"  style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tRichard Cordray \/ Getty Images\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/alex-nester\/\" title=\"Posts by Alex Nester\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Alex Nester<\/a> \u2022 May 10, 2021 5:05 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"125.91042277103\">\n<p>The incoming head of the federal student loan office is a former top dog at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau whose tenure there was marked by allegations of racism and sexism.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration tapped Richard Cordray last week to serve as chief operating officer of the Education Department\u2019s Office of Federal Student Aid, where he will <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/data-center\/student\/portfolio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">oversee<\/a> the country\u2019s ballooning $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio. According to a former CFPB employee and outside investigator, Cordray and other bureau leaders perpetuated a culture of discrimination and intimidation at the CFPB.<\/p>\n<p>Cordray&#8217;s past leadership could pose a problem for the Biden administration as it attempts to recast student loans as a racial justice issue. Black Americans have on average $25,000 more in student <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/black-white-disparity-in-student-loan-debt-more-than-triples-after-graduation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">loans<\/a> than their white peers four years after graduation, studies have shown. Minority borrowers are also more likely to fall behind on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/02\/22\/student-debt-forgiveness-debate-highlights-racial-gap-in-what-borrowers-owe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">repaying<\/a> their loans. The administration has discussed eliminating $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower in an attempt to achieve racial equity.<\/p>\n<p>Former CFPB general counsel Angela Martin accused Cordray at a House subcommittee hearing of encouraging a discriminatory work environment, <em>Politico<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2014\/04\/cfpb-workplace-discrimination-105310\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>. The hearing followed a damning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanbanker.com\/news\/cfpb-staff-evaluations-show-sharp-racial-disparities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from the <em>American Banker<\/em> that found that bureau management had a &#8220;pattern&#8221; of giving white employees higher marks than their black peers on performance evaluations.<\/p>\n<p>Martin testified at the hearing that the CFPB\u2019s consumer response division, which at the time was staffed mostly by African Americans, was often internally referred to as &#8220;the plantation&#8221; or &#8220;cesspool.&#8221; Black employees working there told Martin it was &#8220;extremely hard&#8221; to leave the division.<\/p>\n<p>One employee who had immigrated to the United States told Martin that managers called him an &#8220;effing foreigner&#8221; in a meeting. A disabled man was punished with low evaluation marks after the bureau refused to accommodate for his disability, violating the Rehabilitation Act. The agency was forced to admit it discriminated against the employee after he spoke out.<\/p>\n<p>Cordray allegedly asked Martin to have her lawyers back off after she filed a discrimination complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity office, as he claimed he was trying to get her a job in the CFPB\u2019s enforcement division. Martin said she settled the complaint but did not receive the job.<\/p>\n<p>Following the <em>American Banker<\/em> report, a Government Accountability Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/johnberlau\/2017\/02\/28\/cordray-tower-and-other-reasons-for-trump-to-fire-cfpb-director-cordray\/?sh=626995f45c28\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> in 2016 found that roughly a quarter of the CFPB\u2019s female and minority employees said they faced discrimination in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>Cordray, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/01\/05\/us\/politics\/richard-cordray-named-consumer-chief-in-recess-appointment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">took the helm<\/a> of the CFPB in 2012 as a recess appointment, also faced scrutiny for his financial decisions. Cordray won the &#8220;Porker of the Month&#8221; award from Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, after he commissioned a $216 million, taxpayer-funded facelift for the CFPB&#8217;s office. The CFPB leased additional temporary offices for $22.3 million from Neil Bluhm, a longtime friend and campaign fundraiser for President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/news\/press-releases\/us-department-education-announces-richard-cordray-chief-operating-officer-federal-student-aid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> announcing Cordray\u2019s selection, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Cordray has &#8220;a strong track record&#8221; in public service.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is critical that students and student loan borrowers can depend on the Department of Education for help paying for college, support in repaying loans, and strong oversight of postsecondary institutions,&#8221; Cardona said. &#8220;Cordray has a strong track record as a dedicated public servant who can tackle big challenges and get results.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Education Department did not respond to the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>\u2019s request for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n<p>The CFPB under Cordray allegedly <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/issues\/whistleblower-says-cfpb-falsified-documents-fine-payday-lender\/\">falsified<\/a> documents in order to fine a Texas-based payday lending company that the bureau accused of pushing borrowers &#8220;into a cycle of debt.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Former CFPB employee Cassandra Jackson said she was ousted after refusing to alter the documents. Jackson sent a letter to former attorney general Jeff Sessions asking for the Justice Department to investigate the matter, in which she accused higher-ups of &#8220;widespread racism and gender discrimination.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After the case agains the Texas company was settled, Cordray sent a bureau-wide email giving &#8220;kudos&#8221; to the CFPB employees who handled the case.<\/p>\n<p>Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, stepped down from his role at CFPB in 2017 to launch an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Cordray is not the first Education Department pick to face allegations of intimidation. Four women claimed in a <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-education-nominee-ignored-sexual-assault-allegations-lawsuit-charges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> that Cindy Marten, Biden\u2019s pick for deputy secretary of education, bullied them and ignored their complaints of sexual harassment against a teacher while she was the superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden Administration Former CFPB employee accused Richard Cordray of trying to stifle her discrimination complaint  Richard Cordray \/ Getty Images  Alex Nester \u2022 May &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2277720,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-956266626-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Federal Student Loan Chief Allegedly Facilitated Racist, Sexist Work Environment at CFPB","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-956266626-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Federal Student Loan Chief Allegedly Facilitated Racist, Sexist Work Environment at CFPB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2277720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}