Judge Sides with Trump, Mulvaney as Acting CFPB Director

A federal judge ruled late Tuesday afternoon against a request by Leandra English, former Chief of Staff and recently-promoted Deputy Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), for an injunction that would stop Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney from assuming the role of acting director at the CFPB. English’s lawsuit came to fruition shortly after she purportedly ascended to the position of acting director at the Bureau following former director Richard Cordray’s resignation late last week.

Almost simultaneous to her promotion, President Trump used his authority under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to install Mulvaney as the temporary head of the consumer agency. English brought her lawsuit shortly after Trump’s appointment of Mulvaney. Both the U.S. Department of Justice and the CFPB’s own Office of Legal Counsel would issue memoranda supporting the President’s authority to appoint an interim director.

The dueling directors led to an awkward start to the work week for many CFPB employees returning from the long holiday weekend. On two separate occasions, Mulvaney was forced to email CFPB staff to disregard instructions from English.

English’s attorney vowed to continue to fight the district judge’s ruling, so the acting director controversy is far from over. The legal wrangling is likely to halt activity at the consumer bureau, since any agency action will surely be challenged in court by the other side.