Once Mulvaney's chief of staff, payday lobbyist enjoys frequent access to his old boss
Over the past 2½ years, Mick Mulvaney’s former chief of staff has been a key lobbyist for one of the country’s largest payday lenders, giving the industry access to the White House at a time it is fighting to roll back industry regulations.
During that time, Al Simpson has met repeatedly with Mulvaney, whom he worked for on Capitol Hill until 2017. They have had dinner several times, and Simpson has been a frequent visitor to the Office of Management and Budget, according to public records.
The visits to the OMB overlap with the period Mulvaney was acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has oversight of the payday lending industry. While Mulvaney has served as Office of Management and Budget director, the White House has proposed cutting the bureau’s budget and curbing its enforcement powers.
Meanwhile, Simpson has been lobbying Congress and the Office of Administration on behalf of Tennessee-based Advance Financial, which was founded by Mike Hodges, a major fundraiser and contributor to President Trump’s campaign. Hodges recently told industry colleagues in a webinar first obtained by The Washington Post of the importance of having close ties to the Trump administration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/20/once-mulvaneys-chief-staff-payday-lobbyist-enjoys-frequent-access-his-old-boss/