The Executive Suite: Federal judge refuses to block Mulvaney from serving as director of CFPB

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Federal judge refuses to block Mulvaney from serving as director of CFPB

In a ruling from the bench Tuesday, US District Judge Timothy Kelly of the District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] refused a request [WP report] for a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited Mick Mulvaney[official profile] from serving as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) [official website].

The request was initially filed [JURIST report] by Leandra English, the CFPB's deputy director who was slated to become the agency's temporary chief director. Legal counsel for English argued that the agency should remain independent of political influence and asked the court to overrule the president's ability to appoint new CFPB directors.

Kelly refused to do so while also agreeing that President Donald Trump's appointment of Mulvaney may raise some constitutional questions. This is because the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act [text], the statute which created the CFPB in 2010 in response to the 2008 recession, was intended to keep the agency independent. Furthermore, by the letter of the statute, which lays out a specific plan for succession to the position of director, English should have become the acting director of the agency until a permanent director is appointed by the Senate.

Counsel for English is now reportedly weighing whether or not to appeal the matter.