(Note: updated Nov. 28) A judge’s decision is expected as soon as Tuesday on a request to declare the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the acting director — and block President Donald Trump from naming an interim director.
A second hearing on the subject was set for Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington. The hearing was set after the judge received a response from the Justice Department to the order request from CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English.
The first hearing was held late Monday afternoon before Kelly. Rather than rule then, Kelly instead invited the government’s response to English’s request. Kelly ordered the government to file its opposition brief Monday night; he indicated he would make his decision on the request after that, apparently following the Tuesday hearing.
Mulvaney has said that if the judge issues an injunction preventing him from working at CFPB, he would comply.
Mick Mulvaney was designated Friday by President Donald Trump as acting director of the bureau. He took a seat at the bureau’s helm Monday. Mulvaney, who is also director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was appointed by Trump to succeed outgoing bureau Director Richard Cordray, who stepped down Friday.
However, before stepping down, Cordray named Leandra English, the agency’s chief of staff, to be deputy director – essentially positioning her to succeed Cordray as director under the auspices of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), which calls for the deputy director to be the acting director “in the absence or unavailability of the director.”
Mulvaney was appointed by Trump under the auspices of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1988 (FVRA).
Mulvaney held a press conference Monday where he indicated that, under his direction, a 30-day moratorium will be imposed on new hires, regulations and civil money penalties imposed by the bureau, according to press reports.