Leandra English, the No. 2 to former director Richard Cordray and former interim director, is leading the team to review the bureau’s operations for the Biden-Harris transition. Editor’s Note: This article is available for members only.
11/10/2020 14:00
Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Leandra English is leading the “agency review team” for the bureau as part of the transition team for President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.
As ACA International recently reported, English was promoted by former CFPB Director Richard Cordray when he resigned in November 2017—meaning under the Dodd-Frank Act, she would step in as interim director.
However, President Donald Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney, at the time in charge of the Office of Management and Budget, as interim director.
English responded to the conflict with a lawsuit, English v. Trump, et. al, seeking a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration, ACA previously reported.
Ultimately, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against English and Mulvaney took the role as acting director of the bureau under the president’s authority to make that decision as outlined in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA).
With the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Biden can remove bureau Director Kathy Kraninger at-will, or she will resign.
In her role as lead of the agency review team, English, now special policy advisor for the New York Department of Financial Services, will help evaluate the operations of the bureau.
The team also includes Manuel Alvarez, commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which has oversight of the state’s new Consumer Financial Protection Law.
“The agency review teams will proceed by meeting with former agency officials and experts who closely follow federal agencies, and with officials from think tanks, labor groups, trade associations,” according to a news release. “Agency review teams are responsible for understanding the operations of each agency, ensuring a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris and their cabinet to hit the ground running.”
These teams are composed of highly experienced and talented professionals with deep backgrounds in crucial policy areas across the federal government, according to the news release. The teams have been crafted to ensure they not only reflect the values and priorities of the incoming administration, but reflect the diversity of perspectives crucial for addressing America’s most urgent and complex challenges.