The newly assigned acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney outlined on Monday his plans for the agency, amid debates whether President Donald Trump had the power to appoint him to the position. Mulvaney pledged that he would not dismantle the agency as many speculated.
“I’m not here to shut it down. The way we go about it, the way we interpret it, the way we enforce it will be dramatically different under the current administration than it was under the last,” he said during a press conference after his first day as acting director.
CFPB’s deputy director, Leandra English filed a lawsuit against Mulvaney, requesting that he is temporarily blocked from taking on the position, but the federal judge who is to consider it said he would postpone it until the government filed its briefing.
The Department of Justice was expected to file its opposition to the temporary restraining order by English by the end of Monday. Mulvaney again denied any implications that he would drastically change the way the agency is run.
“The president wants me to be here, and honestly, since my name’s on the door now, I want to be here. The rumors that I’m going to set the place on fire or blow it up or lock the doors are completely false,” he said, adding that “elections have consequences at every agency.”
Still, Mulvaney has already ordered a 30-day hiring freeze, effective Monday. He pointed out that the CFPB under the Trump administration will be run considerably differently compared to how the Obama administration ran it. However, Mulvaney said that should the judge impose a restraining order he would abide by it.
According to him, English did not come to work on Monday, a clear sign she should be terminated.
“”I don’t know if a no call, no show for one day justifies termination, so we have to find out. Look, we do expect people to work,” Mulvaney said, though a lawyer for English denied his claims and maintained English went to the office and performed her duties accordingly.
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