US: CFPB’s Mulvaney could stay until the end of year

The White House is stretching out the tenure of Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), by taking its time in nominating a permanent replacement, according to a report Tuesday, May 8, from American Banker.

That would, of course, enable Mulvaney, a fierce critic of the agency, to lead it until the end of the year or longer, according to unnamed sources in the report. Mulvaney wants to cut spending at the agency by tens of millions of dollars and take other actions that would make the agency less powerful and independent, according to previous reports.

American Banker said that President Trump is expected to name J. Mark McWatters, the chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, as his CFPB nominee close to June 22, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Federal law limits Mulvaney’s tenure to six months unless a permanent successor is nominated, American Banker reported. But if that nomination is made, “the acting appointee can stay in office as long as it is pending, a period that could extend for months.”

The report said that McWatters is viewed as “pragmatist,” unlike Mulvaney, who has a reputation as an “ideologue.” American Banker added that “McWatters has also worked directly with Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat -Massachusetts) the bureau’s staunchest defender and a harsh critic of Mulvaney’s policies.”

The US Senate Banking Committee would have to confirm a new nominee for CFPB director.

The latest development in who will next lead the agency comes after PHH Corporation opted not to appeal a case that questioned the CFPB’s constitutionality.

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