Leandra English Steps Down From CFPB

Leandra English, who had been engaged in a legal battle to challenge acting director Mick Mulvaney for control of the agency, announced on Friday that she is resigning from the agency and ending her legal fight.

“I will be stepping down from my position at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau early next week, having made this decision in light of the recent nomination of a new director,” English said in a statement through her attorney. “It has been an honor to work alongside you.”

After former director Richard Cordray stepped down, English, who had served as Cordray’s deputy director, challenged Mulvaney’s appointment as acting director, claiming that a provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law stipulated that the deputy director should become acting director if a vacancy at the top occurred. A federal judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to remove Mulvaney, and English’s appeal is still pending with a three-judge federal appeals panel.

With her resignation, English’s attorney also said she would be dropping the appeal.

“Now that President Trump has decided to seek Senate confirmation of a new Director for the independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Ms. English is stepping down and we intend to file court papers on Monday to bring the litigation to a close,” Deepak Gupta, who is representing English in the matter, said in a statement.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a source at the CFPB reports that English hasn’t shown up at the agency’s headquarters in months.

Last month, President Trump nominated Kathy Kraninger to be the next director. Her nomination is still pending before the Senate.