CFPB’s Mulvaney To Keep Deputy Director English On Board

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s acting director, Mick Mulvaney, said Monday (Dec. 4) that he isn’t planning on firing Leandra English, who had been appointed by former CFPB head Richard Cordray to lead the agency until his replacement was found. When Mulvaney was then appointed as interim director by President Donald Trump, which sparked a battle between English and Mulvaney.

According to a report in Reuters, during a news briefing, Mulvaney said he would “absolutely not” consider firing English. What’s more, he said he wants her to continue on as acting deputy director. The report noted that Mulvaney hasn’t had any direct contact with English since last week’s skirmish broke out.

Since taking over the head role for the interim, Mulvaney – a long-time critic of the CFPB and its reach – has instituted a hiring freeze and also halted all new regulations for the next 30 days. He said Monday that he’s looking over more than 100 pending enforcement actions and litigation and settlement talks, reported Reuters. While Mulvaney wouldn’t discuss specific cases, he said there are two litigation cases that he had been asked to delay, and also that he has issues with the case against the mortgage company PHH Corporation, although he didn’t expand on those comments.

During the briefing, Mulvaney, who is also the White House budget chief, said he has hired Brian Johnson, a Republican congressional lawyer, as a senior advisor. He’s aiming to bring on more staffers to review all existing cases and pending regulations at the CFPB. “Then I’m going to get down to the weeds of something I enjoy, which is the budget, and how the agency … is funded, how it’s structured, personnel, those types of things,” he added.

While Mulvaney is playing nice with English, Reuters noted that based on court filings, she is expected to file a formal injunction to stop Mulvaney’s appointment.