ESCALATING

Trump Administration Sued Over CFPB Appointment

Successor chosen by agency’s former head wants to stop Mick Mulvaney from taking over.

President Trump’s administration has been hit with a lawsuit over its decision to appoint Mick Mulvaney as acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite the agency’s outgoing director having already picked his own successor. “The president’s attempt to install a White House official at the head of independent agency—while allowing that officer to simultaneously serve in the White House—is unprecedented,” Deepak Gupta, a lawyer representing Leandra English, said in a statement Sunday. English, the agency’s deputy director, has vowed to “stand up for the CFPB” after Trump appeared to override a decision by the agency’s former director, Richard Cordray, to name her as the acting leader. The decision triggered confusion among lawmakers and fueled concerns among Democrats that Mulvaney, a staunch critic of the consumer-rights agency, will overhaul it completely. CFPB General Counsel Mary McLeod has reportedly backed Trump in the dispute, saying the president can name an acting leader in accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Politico reported. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) became one of the first lawmakers to condemn English’s lawsuit, calling it a “lawless action.” Cotton issued a statement calling for English’s dismissal from the CFPB, which he described as a “rogue, unconstitutional agency.”