Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney will continue to serve in that capacity as a federal judge today denied CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English’s request for an injunction stating that she is the rightful acting director. Judge Timothy Kelly said that English was not likely to win on the merits of the case.
Mulvaney was appointed acting director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which allows the president to name a currently serving Senate-confirmed official as acting director for a set period of time or until a permanent director is confirmed. Named deputy director shortly before Richard Cordray’s resignation in November, English sued Mulvaney and Trump on the theory that the Dodd-Frank Act makes her the bureau’s acting director during a vacancy.
In denying the request for an injunction, Kelly found that the Dodd-Frank language did not override the president’s powers under the FVRA and thus that English’s claim was not likely to be granted. The ruling leaves in place the status quo, with Mulvaney — also serving as director of the Office of Management and Budget — working three days a week at the CFPB.
