The White House is “dragging its feet” and purposefully using partisan bickering in Congress to its advantage as a means of keeping Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in power as long as possible, according to a published report.
Mulvaney, who was named acting director when former director Richard Cordray resigned in late November, can legally be in the position for 210 days, which takes him to the end of June. A permanent director must be nominated by that time. But Mulvaney can remain in the job until the permanent director is confirmed by the Senate, a process that could take months, based on the timelines of other individuals who have been nominated by President Trump and required confirmation.
Everyone is expecting President Trump to nominate J. Mark McWatters, the current chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, a regulator that oversees credit unions. But Mulvaney’s aggressive re-shaping of the CFPB has led some to wonder if he is being kept there as long as possible on purpose.
That being said, the White House’s strategy is not foolproof. A Demoractic-party landslide in the November elections could throw a nomination and confirmation battle into chaos.
“If they want to keep Mulvaney there, the best thing to do is to nominate a permanent director before the end of June, but they have to move somebody who they could confirm before November because the Democrats could freeze the nomination,” Charles Gabriel, the president of Capital Alpha Partners, an independent research firm, according to the published report.
