2 acting chiefs vie for leash of watchdog
Trump’s pick issues 30-day freeze on consumer agency
WASHINGTON — Despite a lawsuit challenging his legitimacy as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney moved swiftly Monday to order a 30-day halt of new regulations issued by the federal watchdog agency.
President Donald Trump appointed Mulvaney just hours after CFPB Director Richard Cordray stepped down and told staffers that Deputy Director Leandra English would automatically become the acting chief, as specified by the act creating the agency.
In a news conference held shortly before a court hearing that could decide whether he has the position, Mulvaney said “elections have consequences at every agency, and that includes the CFPB.”
“Anything in the pipeline stops for at least 30 days,” said Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Despite previous comments calling the agency a “joke” and an example of bureaucracy run amok, he said the bureau would remain functioning.
“This agency will stay open. Rumors that I'm going to set the place on fire, or blow it up or lock the doors are completely false,” he said. “I am a member of the executive branch of government. We intend to execute the laws” of the U.S.
The news conference came after a morning of high drama when Mulvaney arrived at the agency carrying a large bag from Dunkin’ Donuts in hopes of smoothing over potential hard feelings given his stated opposition to the bureau’s aggressive regulatory approach. But he first had to walk past consumer advocates stationed outside the bureau’s headquarters to protest his appointment.
English greeted her colleagues with an email saying she hoped everyone had a great Thanksgiving break and expressed gratitude for their service.
“It is an honor to work with all of you,” English wrote, signing the email as “acting director.”
In promoting English, his chief of staff and a longtime ally, Cordray told the bureau that she would serve as acting director until Trump nominated a permanent replacement and the Senate confirmed that choice.
Mulvaney reportedly also sent an email to the bureau’s staff, telling them to “please disregard any instructions you receive from Ms. English in her presumed capacity as acting director” and encouraging them to stop by the director’s office “to say hello and grab a donut.”
Mulvaney said the day went smoothly, though he noted the power struggle may be awkward for people who know English. Responding to news reports about the conflicting leadership, he said, “There was one person today who showed up at work claiming to be director. She wasn't here.”
English filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sunday night, challenging Trump’s appointment of Mulvaney as unlawful. She requested a temporary restraining order to block him from taking the position and declaring her the lawful acting director.
The case was randomly assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated by Trump this year and took his seat on the bench in September. A hearing Monday afternoon concluded without a ruling.
The White House said Sunday night that the president had the authority to appoint Mulvaney to serve as acting director until a permanent choice is nominated and confirmed by the Senate. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel agreed with the administration’s interpretation of the law as did the bureau’s general counsel, Mary McLeod.
McLeod sent a memo to the bureau’s senior leadership team Saturday that it was her opinion that Trump has the authority to appoint an acting director, and she advised agency personnel “to act consistently with the understanding that Director Mulvaney is the acting director of the CFPB.”
The Dodd-Frank Act, which created the agency in 2010, specifically states that the deputy director shall “serve as acting director in the absence or unavailability of the director.”
But just hours after Cordray’s move, Trump named his own acting director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.