Judge Rules in Favor of Trump’s CFPB Appointee

The judge sided with Mulvaney — President Donald Trump’s choice for the interim position — over Leandra English, the agency’s deputy director who has said she is the rightful acting director.

“The court finds that English is not likely to succeed on the merits of her claims, nor is she likely to suffer irreparable harm absent the injunctive relief sought,” said Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a 46-page decision.

The ruling came after Kelly denied a request by English last month for a temporary restraining order to remove Mulvaney and install her as acting director.

The restraining order decision could not be appealed, so English’s attorney, Deepak Gupta, filed for a preliminary injunction. Kelly heard nearly two hours of arguments on the injunction Dec. 22.

The denial of the injunction request by Kelly, a Trump appointee, can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“We are disappointed in today’s decision,” Gupta said Wednesday night. “Mr. Mulvaney’s appointment undermines the bureau’s independence and threatens its mission to protect American consumers.”

Spokespeople for Mulvaney and the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s choice last month of Mulvaney, the White House budget director and an outspoken opponent of the bureau in the past, drew protests from Democrats and consumer advocates.

The dispute began Nov. 24 when Richard Cordray, a Democrat, stepped down as bureau director. He promoted English, his chief of staff, to deputy director and said she would be the acting director under a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that created the bureau.

Within hours of Cordray’s resignation announcement, Trump appointed Mulvaney to fill the post under the Federal Vacancies Act of 1998. The administration said that law allowed Trump to appoint an official who already had been confirmed by the Senate in another capacity to also serve as the bureau’s acting director.

Kelly noted in his decision that both sides urged a quick resolution to the uncertainty about the bureau’s leadership and said removing Mulvaney, who has been serving as acting director, would not accomplish that.

“There is little question that there is a public interest in clarity here, but it is hard to see how granting English an injunction would bring about more of it,” Kelly said.

“The president has designated Mulvaney the CFPB’s acting director, the CFPB has recognized him as the acting director, and it is operating with him as the acting director,” he said. “Granting English an injunction would not bring about more clarity; it would only serve to muddy the waters.”