Judge Ends Battle Over CFPB, Sides With Trump & Mulvaney

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBSMiami) – A U.S. District Court judge in Washington has ruled in favor of the White House in the battle over who runs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The CFPB was created by the Obama administration in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis to protect consumers from predatory banks, lenders, and other financial bodies that could defraud people.

The original director, Richard Cordray, resigned last week, but before he did, he appointed Leandra English to be the interim director.

President Trump, however, argued Cordray did not have the authority to select his own successor so Trump appointed White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.

English filed a lawsuit to block Mulvaney's appointment but late Tuesday, the U.S. District Court judge ruled against her, allowing Mulvaney to take his post as interim director of the consumer watchdog group.

What does the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau do?

The bureau overhauled the mortgage practices that were a factor in the financial crisis. It wrote simpler mortgage rules aiming to help consumers navigate the mortgage process, from selecting a loan through paying it back, created mortgage-servicing rules geared toward helping protect homebuyers, and it put in place more protections for those who get behind in their mortgage payments.

Republicans, broadly speaking, have never been fans of the CFPB, which they see as too powerful, largely unaccountable, and perhaps unconstitutional.

An independent agency, the CFPB gets its funding from the Federal Reserve, not through Congressional appropriations.

Democrats argue that the agency has done a good job of protecting consumers and note that the agency has paid out some $12 billion in relief to defrauded consumers. They also say that Mulvaney, who once called the CFPB "a joke…in a sick, sad kind of way" is not the person who should be running it.