CFPB Fight Is Yet Another Battle Over Trump Circumventing The Political Process

The current fight over who will be the acting head of the CFPB is yet another example of how Trump is corrupting our political processes with the implicit support of Republicans. The CFPB is probably the last agency within the government that is actively fulfilling its mandate, which clearly puts it at odds with the Trump administration. In addition, the agency has been a target of the Republicans in Congress and their financial backers on Wall Street ever since it was created. So, the struggle over who will run this agency, even temporarily, would always be a battle.

I am not a lawyer but it does seem that the statutory language in the bill that created the CFPB that allows the deputy director to become the acting director supersedes the President’s power under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. And that is what the current court case will eventually decide.

In the end, of course, Trump will be able to put whomever he wants in charge of the bureau because the person he nominates will be surely confirmed by the Republican Senate. Knowing that, in any other sane administration, the deputy director would become the acting director and the President would quickly nominate someone to become the permanent director. But this is the Trump administration. The real reason that Trump wants to install Mulvaney at CFPB is precisely because he has no interest in appointing a separate permanent director. Doing so allows him to once again have someone running an agency whose approach is totally antithetical to an agency’s mission, but without having to endure the Senate confirmation process and force yet another tough vote from Senate Republicans.

So, the issue here is not whether Trump has the right to appoint someone to lead the CFPB. Everyone agrees he has that right. The issue here really is whether Trump can get away with appointing an acting director without Senate confirmation. To do so, would just be another violation of our governing norms and yet a further erosion of the separation of powers and the GOP in Congress will be willing accomplices in this effort.