Judge sides with Trump on consumer watchdog staffing

WASHINGTON—A federal judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order Tuesday to block Mick Mulvaney from serving as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). President Donald Trump on Friday appointed Mulvaney, who currently serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget, after former CFPB director Richard Cordray resigned. Cordray had appointed his own successor, Leandra English. English filed a lawsuit to block Mulvaney from taking over until a permanent director could clear the Senate confirmation process. Amid the struggle for control of the CFPB, both Mulvaney and English arrived at the bureau’s Washington office Monday morning ready to begin the transition process. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly decided to deny English’s request but said the skirmish still raises constitutional questions. “There needs to be an answer from the courts,” he said Tuesday. “There needs to be a final answer.” President Barack Obama created the CFPB in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and appointed Cordray as its first director in 2011. The Trump administration praised Kelly’s ruling. “It’s time for the Democrats to stop enabling this brazen political stunt by a rogue employee and allow Acting Director Mulvaney to continue the Bureau’s smooth transition into an agency that truly serves to help consumers,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement.