Who Is the Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

A Power Struggle Over the Agency that Protects Consumers from Fraud

The White House disagrees with the lawsuit, releasing a statement defending Trump’s decision to appoint Mulvaney:

“The administration is aware of the suit filed this evening by Deputy Director English. However the law is clear: Director Mulvaney is the Acting Director of the CFPB,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement.

“Now that the CFPB’s own General Counsel — who was hired under Richard Cordray— has notified the Bureau’s leadership that she agrees with the Administration’s and DOJ’s reading of the law, there should be no question that Director Mulvaney is the Acting Director. It is unfortunate that Mr. Cordray decided to put his political ambition above the interests of consumers with this stunt.”

“Director Mulvaney will bring a more serious and professional approach to running the CFPB,” Sanders added.

Leandra English has been warned that if she steps into the CFPB Monday morning under the assumption of acting director, that she would be acting without authority; furthermore, that she would be in violation of laws yet to be named.

Interesting. WH sends an implicit warning to CFPB Acting Dir. Leandra English that she could be in violation of laws (although WH is not sure which ones) if she goes in to work tomorrow and does Acting Dir. job. https://t.co/PN5CWFlaHE

— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) November 27, 2017

Despite the warning, CNN reports both English and Mulvaney showed up for work this morning, both as “acting director” of the CFPB, and that both “issued dueling emails to staff” in their separate attempts to assert authority and control of the agency.

@MickMulvaneyOMB sitting in director's office. Already hard at work as acting director at cfpb. pic.twitter.com/BKISYfduY7

— john czwartacki (@CZ) November 27, 2017

Senator Elizabeth Warren, who proposed the idea of the agency while still a bankruptcy professor at Harvard Law School, believes Trump’s actions will intentionally destroy an agency that has returned billions to working families who were cheated by Wall Street.

The only thing that will turn the @CFPB into a disaster is for @realDonaldTrump to ignore Dodd-Frank & name an acting director determined to destroy the agency.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 25, 2017