Groups of consumer advocates, law school professors, Democratic members of Congress, and the attorneys general of 18 states have all filed amicus briefs in support of Leandra English’s lawsuit against President Trump and Mick Mulvaney. his pick to be the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
English, who was promoted to deputy director by former director Richard Cordray in the hours before he resigned on Nov. 24, filed a lawsuit to validate her assertion that she should be acting director until the president names a permanent replacement.
A hearing to grant a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for next week. Briefs in support of English’s cases were due last Friday. The Justice Department has until Dec. 18 to file its brief. That is also the deadline for anyone seeking to submit amicus briefs in support of the Justice Department’s defense.
The president’s decision to appoint Mulvaney as the acting director contravenes the expressed intention of the CFPB’s independence, the state AGs argued in their brief.
Congress enacted a comprehensive scheme to ensure the CFPB’s independence. It did not simply declare the CFPB independent and leave unresolved the bounds of that independence. Instead, the Consumer Financial Protection Act has numerous, detailed provisions that create a high degree of agency independence, while still striking a balance that carefully delineates its scope.
