Court sides with Trump in consumer agency fight

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit from an official who claims that she, and not President Trump appointee Mick Mulvaney, is the rightful director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia refused to grant Leandra English a restraining order to bar Mulvaney from serving as the CFPB’s acting director.

The ruling from Kelly, a Trump appointee, clears the way for Mulvaney to run the CFPB until a permanent director is sworn in or English successfully appeals the decision.

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Trump last week appointed Mulvaney to temporarily lead the CFPB until the lawmakers confirm his pick to replace Richard Cordray, who resigned as the agency’s director on Friday.

The president was able to appoint Mulvaney to the role because he was already confirmed by the Senate for another position — director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

The legal dispute arose because Cordray, in one of his final acts at the agency, promoted English, his former chief of staff, to the role of deputy director.

Under the agency’s line of succession, that would make English acting director upon Cordray’s resignation.

But the White House said the president has clear authority to name an acting director to the agency and quickly announced that Mulvaney would assume the role.