While Democrats vow that they’re not ready to hand the leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over to Mick Mulvaney without a fight, the Trump administration is moving forward with helping Mulvaney staff up in his new position.
Mulvaney, who also serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget, was chosen to serve as acting director of the CFPB late last week when the agency’s previous director, Richard Cordray, stepped down.
Cordray appointed Leandra English to serve as acting director to “ensure a smooth transition,” but a federal judge sided with Trump, handing control to Mulvaney until the Senate confirms a permanent CFPB director.
For the time being, Mulvaney is pulling double duty between the CFPB and the OMB, so the Trump administration is reportedly bringing in some help.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House tapped Brian Johnson, a Republican congressional lawyer and an ally of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, to help Mulvaney run the CFPB.
From the WSJ:
Mr. Johnson, an aide to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), will serve as senior adviser to Mr. Mulvaney, according to an administration official. Mr. Hensarling is Congress’s leading critic of the CFPB, an agency created under the Obama administration after the financial crisis.
Mr. Johnson, who is senior counsel at the House Financial Services Committee, is expected to have a significant role in pushing the CFPB through the transition, with the authority to act on behalf of Mr. Mulvaney, who also serves as White House budget director.
Considering Hensarling and Mulvaney’s opinions about the CFPB, odds are the bureau will function a little differently with Mulvaney and Johnson in charge than it did before.
