Justice Department, Republican AGs back Trump in fight over consumer bureau

The Justice Department and a group of 13 Republican attorneys general on Monday backed President Trump and his pick for the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a federal challenge to his appointment.

Both filed briefs supporting Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, whom Trump named acting director of the CFPB, in a federal suit filed against them over control of the CFPB in the district court for Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department and the group of GOP state law enforcement chiefs argued that Mulvaney is the rightful acting director of the CFPB.

{mosads}CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English is suing Mulvaney and Trump for control of the agency, arguing the line of succession outlined in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which created the CFPB, makes her the legal acting chief.

English is appealing the D.C. district court’s decision earlier this month to reject her suit against Trump and Mulvaney. She renewed her complaint with a motion to halt the previous verdict last week.

The Justice Department countered in its Monday brief that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act gives the president clear, specific powers to nominate any Senate-confirmed administration official to temporarily lead a department or agency. The agency argued that nothing in Dodd-Frank supersedes that law and that English hasn’t proven that she would be harmed by Mulvaney continuing as acting director.

The Justice Department also argued that replacing Mulvaney with English would upset the status quo at the CFPB, where senior leaders and the agency’s chief counsel have accepted his leadership.

The GOP attorneys general echoed those claims and argued that the power of the CFPB director position gives Trump the constitutional authority to decide who can fill it on a temporary basis.

More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general and lawmakers have filed their own briefs in support of English over the past month. English is expected to appeal the district court decision if her case is thrown out.