J. Mark McWatters, long rumored to be the likely nominee to be the next permanent director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, is no longer a candidate, according to a published report.
McWatters, who is currently the chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, the federal agency that oversees and regulates credit unions, will remain with the agency.
The report did not include reasons why McWatters was no longer being considered as a candidate. Mick Mulvaney has been acing director of the agency following the resignation of Richard Cordray last November, who left the bureau to run for governor of Ohio. Mulvaney is also the director of the White House Office of Management & Budget and has been pulling double duty for more than six months. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Mulvaney can remain as acting director for 210 days — a timeframe that expires next week. Mulvaney can remain as acting director once President Trump has nominated an individual to be permanent director, until that individual is confirmed by the Senate. Mulvaney said earlier this week that a new director will be named next week.
A report a few months back revealed that McWatters was running the Alexandria, Va.-based NCUA from his home in Dallas. There was no word whether that had anything to do with him no longer being considered a candidate to run the BCFP or whether he refused to move to Washington, D.C. to run the BCFPB.
Among the names being circulated as possible candidates to become the next director are Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University, and Rep. Darrell Issa [R-Calif.], who is retiring from Congress this November.
