Judge tosses suit against Trump over CFPB chief
Score one for President Trump.
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday threw out of court a lawsuit that claimed Trump had no legal authority to appoint an interim head of a Wall Street watchdog.
The Lower East Side People’s Credit Union had asked the court to block the White House’s move to install Mick Mulvaney as the interim boss of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which monitors credit cards, loans, and other consumer financial products, because it violated the agency’s rules.
But Judge Paul G. Gardephe, in a 20-page decision, said the credit union didn’t have standing to challenge the appointment.
“Plaintiff’s standing cannot be premised on the CFPB’s stated intent to engage in rulemaking,” Gardephe wrote.
The CFPB has been at the center of a political firestorm since November, when its former director resigned abruptly and appointed his chief of staff, Leandra English, to an interim director position.
That set up a challenge to the White House, which had appointed Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget who has been extremely critical of the agency.
The win is the second for Trump in his battle for control of the agency. A separate case challenging Mulvaney’s appointment, filed in Washington, DC, was also dismissed. That case is on appeal.
“We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and respectfully disagree with it,” Ilann M. Maazel, a lawyer for the credit union, said in a statement.
“We are evaluating our options in this extremely important case.”