Kathy Kraninger the presidents nominee for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spoke with members of the Senate Banking Committee during a confirmation hearing Thursday Andrew Harrer Bloomberg Kathy Kraninger President Trumps nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau repeatedly dodged questions from Senate Democrats on Thursday about issues facing the watchdog agency and her involvement in the administrations zero-tolerance immigration policy Kraninger a White House budget official emerged largely unscathed from the more than two-hour hearing before the Senate Banking Committee during which she told lawmakers that the bureau would be fair and transparent under her leadership Republican senators who have long despised the CFPB praised Kraningers experience most recently in the White Houses budget office Many of us have experienced frustration with the bureau in previous years said Sen Mike Crapo R-Idaho chair of the committee It is my hope that if confirmed Ms Kraninger will be more accountable than the agencys previous director Richard Cordray But Kraningers evasiveness in key areas appeared to exasperate Democratic lawmakers I am trying to get an answer from you And I just cant And its maddening a visibly frustrated Sen Brian Schatz D-Hawaii said Sen Elizabeth Warren D-Mass repeatedly lashed out at Kraninger for giving lawyerly and limited answers Youre dodging Warren said The hearing marked Kraningers first public statements since being nominated by Trump last month to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a powerful banking regulator Her nomination took much of Washington by surprise Kraninger has decades of experience in homeland security including helping set up the Department of Homeland Security after Sept 11 2001 but she has no record as a financial regulator Her closest brush with the bureau appears to be her current role at the Office of Management and Budget in crafting Trumps 2019 budget plan which called for significantly cutting the consumer bureaus budget and restricting its enforcement powers In one exchange Warren who helped set up the bureau noted that the spending proposal called for cutting the bureaus 2019 budget by 23 percent or 147 million In order to achieve the 23 percent cut you have proposed would you fire civil servants Warren asked That is the presidents budget request and not mine Certainly I did support its development Kraninger responded before Warren cut her off and pressed the issue further Can you just give me a yes or no Will you fire civil servants Warren asked Kraninger replied that there are laws in place that protect civil servants Kraninger 43 is expected to have enough Republican support to get Senate approval which even some Democrats on the committee acknowledged ushering in a new era for the CFPB If confirmed she would replace the bureaus acting director Mick Mulvaney who is also the White House budget chief and Kraningers current boss She would be only the second permanent director in the history of the agency which was established in the wake of the global financial crisis During her testimony Kraninger indicated that she would continue the pro-business shift at the agency started by Mulvaney more than six months ago Among her priorities Kraninger said was the use of cost-benefit analysis to measure the price tag of regulations to industries The bureau would continue to go after bad industry behavior she said noting that the CFPB was still investigating the massive breach at Equifax that compromised the sensitive data of 148 million people The Equifax fallout is going to be with us for a long time Kraninger told lawmakers If confirmed by the Senate I will be grappling with the steps that need to be taken there During the hearing Kraninger offered lawmakers broad assurances that she would rely on agency experts when weighing important matters but she gave few specifics including on whether the CFPB should repeal its payday lending regulations While I will not prejudge and cannot predict every decision that will come before me as director if confirmed I can assure you that I will focus solely on serving the American people Kraninger said Democrats and consumer advocates have criticized Kraningers lack of experience in consumer finance and worry that she would continue Mulvaneys efforts to weaken the agency and roll back its powers If confirmed by the Senate Kraninger would hold significant sway over the way banks manage mortgages credit cards payday loans and other financial products they offer to customers Without a deep understanding of the history and complexity of the topic the critics say Kraninger could become a puppet for influential financial groups We want somebody in that job who not only has core competency but also some empathy said Sen Heidi Heitkamp D-ND Kraninger also faced several questions from Democratic senators about whether she had helped to craft the administrations zero-tolerance immigration policy that separated families of undocumented immigrants At the budget office Kraninger oversees budget requests from several government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security which enforced the policy Kraninger told the lawmakers she had played no role in setting the policy but repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether she had supported it or helped implement it I dont believe its appropriate or fair or right to articulate the advice that I gave she said Once again Kraninger found herself in a tussle with Warren who at one point asked whether Kraninger thought the immigration policy was immoral Its not appropriate to give my personal opinion Kraninger responded It is fundamentally immoral and you were a part of it It is a stain that will follow you for the rest of your life Warren shot back If you are given a big promotion it will be a stain on the Senators who do it