Here. The report–by is based in turn on a report by Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller. In their view, this “make[s] practical and legal sense” because it “help[s] avoid a leadership vacuum.” Vought’s acting director term is to expire August 1 and in the likely event that Johnson is not confirmed by then, Deputy Director Mark Paoletta is expected to become acting director. The folks at Consumer Finance Monitor predict that “the de facto acting director will continue to be Russell Vought on August one until Brian Johnson is confirmed and sworn in.”
Regular readers of the Consumer Law and Policy Blog will not be surprised to hear I have a different take about this. In my view, the CFPB under Vought already suffers from a leadership vacuum. It also suffers from a consumer protection vacuum. And assuming that Vought is no longer permitted under law to serve as acting director, the idea that he could serve as de facto acting director makes neither practical or legal sense to me. It is past time for Vought to move on, but he certainly should not serve as the CFPB’s acting director, de facto or otherwise, without congressional authorization.
