
The question over who is actually in charge at the CFPB is harmful for both consumers and businesses, according to New York Credit Union Association President/CEO William J. Mellin.
Last week, CFPB Director Richard Cordray announced that he was resigning his post as head of the bureau. Before leaving, Cordray appointed Leandra English as acting director of the agency. However, the Trump administration also appointed an acting successor: Former Rep. Mick Mulvaney, who currently serves as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
English has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the White House from appointing Mulvaney as acting director.
In a statement, Mellin called on English to step aside and allow for a smooth transition of power:
The decision by the leadership at the CFPB to try to extend its control over the bureau, even after the director has resigned, is of questionable legality and undermines much of what the bureau claims to stand for. A prolonged fight over who is actually in charge of the bureau could mean that American consumers and businesses will be subject to months of uncertainty about which regulations apply to whom and how they should be interpreted. And if the holdover leadership continues in this fight, they would simply be confirming what the CFPB’s harshest critics have claimed for years: that the bureau has too much power, is accountable to no one and—as presently constituted—may violate the Constitution.
Regardless of who assumes control over the bureau, Cordray’s permanent replacement will have to be confirmed by the Senate.