Federal Judge Paul Gardephe on Feb. 1 dismissed Lower East Side People's FCU's lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.
The complaint, filed Dec. 5, 2017, with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argued that CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English should have been appointed as the agency's director. It also claimed that the president could not appoint a White House employee to run an independent agency.
However, President Trump claimed he lawfully exercised his authority to appoint Mulvaney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.
In his decision, Gardephe ruled that the New York-based credit union did not have the standing to challenge Mulvaney's appointment. "Plaintiff's standing cannot be premised on the CFPB's stated intent to engage in rulemaking," he wrote.
He also denied the credit union's motion for a preliminary injunction.
In November 2017, English also sued Trump and Mulvaney in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia regarding the appointment, but her motion was denied.
