November 29, 2017
Carr Supports President Trump's Legal Authority to Appoint an Acting Director of the CFPB
ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr joined a coalition of eight states in filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of President Trump’s legal authority to name an acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) until a permanent director is nominated and confirmed.
“President Trump is well within his authority to appoint Mick Mulvaney as the acting director of the CFPB,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “The White House counsel’s office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the CFPB’s general counsel all agree. We are pleased that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has denied the request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked the President’s legally valid appointment.”
Last Friday, the CFPB’s director resigned and purported to name his own replacement, Leandra English, who subsequently filed a lawsuit to block President Trump’s temporary appointee. In the friend-of-the-court brief, the attorneys general argue that the president’s action is authorized by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and that English’s position raises significant constitutional concerns.
Yesterday, Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied English’s request for a temporary restraining order to block Mick Mulvaney from taking the post.
A copy of the brief is attached.