From today’s Reuters:
The White House has nominated a director to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a legal maneuver that buys Acting Director Russell Vought more time to close the agency, an administration spokesperson said.
Vought, who heads the Office of Management and Budget, has accused the consumer finance watchdog of politicized enforcement and advancing a left-wing agenda at the expense of free enterprise.
He has been acting director of the CFPB since February. His term in the role was due to expire next month. But federal law allows him to remain acting director if the White House nominates a permanent director.
On Tuesday, it nominated Stuart Levenbach, an associate director at the budget office, according to a notice provided to the Senate.
A spokesperson for the budget office said the nomination was intended to comply with federal law and that Vought did not intend to depart as CFPB acting director.
A representative for Tim Scott, the Republican chair of the Senate Banking Committee which handles nominations for the financial regulators, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on scheduling a confirmation hearing for Levenbach.
Vought has refused to seek additional CFPB funding, eliminated virtually all agency activities and is seeking to fire most remaining employees.
According to the CFPB, the agency’s remaining funds will last at least through the end of next month. It has warned staff of possible job cuts as available cash is exhausted and the agency awaits court rulings on the legality of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs.
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