Despite legal dispute over his job, Mick Mulvaney waltzes in to first day as CFPB acting director with donuts

Mick Mulvaney started a new job on Monday under rather unusual circumstances: A legal battle is swirling around whether his new job title — acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — actually belongs to him. But that didn't stop Mulvaney from coming to his first day of work with a peace offering: donuts.

When the CFPB's previous director, Richard Cordray, stepped down from his position Friday, he appointed the agency's chief of staff, Leandra English, as deputy director, which would have made her acting director by default. But then, President Trump announced he wanted Mulvaney, who is also the current White House budget director, to fill the role. On Sunday, English filed a lawsuit claiming Trump did not have the legal authority to appoint a new head of the CFPB. The lawsuit claims that under Dodd-Frank — the financial reform bill signed in 2010 that created the CFPB — the agency's deputy director is next in line for the job.

As head the Office of Management and Budget, Mulvaney has pushed for financial deregulation and heavy spending cuts. A Politico profile written over the summer quotes Mulvaney as saying, "I don't think anyone in this administration is more of a right-wing conservative than I am." He's also previously called the CFPB "a joke," and during his confirmation hearing said the agency was run by "essentially a one-person dictator." At least the new dictator likes donuts.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up