Another day, another lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
This lawsuit is being fought between Office of Management and Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, and Leandra English.
(Photo thanks to Katie Rogers)
Trump appointed one of his favorite cabinet flunkies Mulvaney, to take over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
But there was a problem.
The day before, long-time CFPB director Richard Cordray stepped down and named Leandra English his chief of staff, as acting director.
That set the stage for a battle with Democrats and the Trump Administration. It doesn't take much nowadays for the two party's to fight like honey badgers.
What cracked me up was Mulvaney's weak attempt to get the CFPB staff to like him when he appeared with a big bag of Dunkin' Donuts.
Yeah...that's the trick...give em' donuts and they'll love you Mulvaney!
Meanwhile, English was going about her duties as acting director while Mulvaney was trying to bribe the staff with donuts.
An interesting dynamic if I ever saw one.
Trump wants to make sure the CFPB quits going after his corporate buddies like Wells Fargo (who had to pay out $100 million in fines last year to the consumers they cheated).
Actually, it's not just Trump and his puppets that want to see the agency neutered, it's Republicans in general. They hate it when the common man has a recourse to their corrupt dealings.
Don't be surprised if Trump just shuts the agency down. After all, it was another Obama creation started after the great financial collapse of 2008.
This latest skirmish centers on language in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and whether it usurps the 1998 Federal Vacancies Act.
Trump and his allies say the 1998 law gives him the authority to make the appointment, not Cordray, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to head the independent agency.
Democrats point out the language contained in Dodd-Frank was written with the Federal Vacancies Act in mind and explicitly calls for Cordray to name an acting director, not the president.
It's hard to predict what the courts will decide. Some pundits say that Trump has the upper hand in this squabble.
Let's hope that isn't true, or Americans will be without recourse against the corporations and banks that rip them off with impunity.
Time for me to walk on down the road...
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