Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray on Friday appointed the agency’s chief of staff, Leandra English, as the CFPB’s deputy director, establishing her as his successor when he steps down at the end of the day.
The move appears designed to thwart any move by President Donald Trump to name another temporary official to head the controversial agency. Trump has been reported to be considering White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney for the role.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which created the CFPB, explicitly says the consumer bureau's deputy director shall "serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director."
Trump will likely
now have to nominate someone who must be confirmed by the Senate before he can oust English.
Cordray's chess move is the latest drama to engulf an agency that Republicans have targeted since its inception. GOP lawmakers and business executives argue that the consumer bureau regulates through enforcement rather than rulemaking and that its single director has unconstitutional power.
In deciding to leave at the end of the day today, Cordray is speeding up his original timetable of departing at the end of the month, which he announced on Nov. 15.
"Upon my departure, [English] will become the acting Director pursuant to section 1011(b)(5) of the Dodd-Frank Act," Cordray said in a note to staff.
"In considering how to ensure an orderly succession for this independent agency, I determined that it would be best to avoid leaving this key position filled only in an acting capacity," he added. "In consultation over the past few days, I have also come to recognize that appointing the current chief of staff to the deputy director position would minimize operational disruption and provide for a smooth transition given her operational expertise."
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