In a soap opera that seems determined to get ever bubblier, the CFPB has now been sued by a federal credit union looking to stop Mick Mulvaney from being installed as the agency’s leader.
Calling the move “regulatory chaos” and noting that it has tipped off a pitched fight over who is the legal leader of the regulator, the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union petitioned the courts to officially remove Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director.
The credit union would instead like to have Leandra English, the CFPB’s deputy director, put in place as the proper acting head of the bureau.
The case has been filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The fight has been going on for about two weeks now — English has insisted she should run the agency after being named deputy director by Richard Cordray, who resigned in November.
Mulvaney contends the role his his, as he was put into position by President Trump. Mulvaney has, since taking over, put in place a hiring and enforcement freeze on CFPB actions.
English is also suing in federal court — but the lawsuit filed yesterday is the first case brought against the administration by an entity regulated by the CFPB.
“The Credit Union does not know who is validly in charge of the CFPB, who is authorized to make the rules, or whose rules to follow,” the credit union said in its complaint.
“The Court must resolve this regulatory chaos. It must determine who is in charge of the Bureau. To the Credit Union, it is plain that Leandra English is the only lawful Acting Director in charge of the CFPB,” the lawsuit said.
A Mulvaney spokesman has not responded to requests for comments as of yet.
A U.S. District Court judge last week sided with Trump and ruled against English, which for now is keeping Mulvaney in head as acting director.
Clearly, though, there is more to come in this particular story.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More