25 Dem lawmakers file court brief backing English over Trump consumer bureau pick

Over two dozen Democratic lawmakers on Monday filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of Leandra English’s authority to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over President Trump’s appointment, Mick Mulvaney.

Twenty-five current Senate and House lawmakers filed a friend of the court brief arguing that English, who was elevated by the CFPB’s director on his last day, should serve as acting director of the consumer bureau until a permanent director, nominated by the president, is confirmed by the Senate. 

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Trump, in a move apparently meant to supersede English’s appointment, named Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, as acting director hours after English was promoted.

“President Trump is entitled to choose who the next Director of the Bureau will be, but he must nominate that person, and the Senate must agree to confirm him or her,” the lawmakers wrote. “Until that happens, Dodd-Frank makes clear who should be running the Bureau: its Deputy Director.”

They also criticized Trump’s appointment of Mulvaney as “a designee who reflects the President’s policy preferences but has not been subject to the check of Senate confirmation.”

Among some of the Democratic lawmakers to sign the court brief include Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn).

A dramatic showdown began on Friday after the White House and the CFPB butted heads over who will lead the Wall Street watchdog agency following Richard Cordray‘s resignation.

Before stepping down, Cordray named his chief of staff, English, to the deputy director position. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act says the deputy director will lead the agency if there is not a permanent director.

Both officials claimed they are the rightful acting director of the CFPB on Monday, entangling current employees in an escalating legal dispute.