Politics

Sen. Warren backs Leandra English in fight over consumer protection office

Key Points
  • Leandra English is the new acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday.
  • English has done exactly what she should and that is come to Capitol Hill to talk about her plans as director of the agency, said Warren.
  • English claims she is the rightful acting director of the bureau, not Trump's pick Mick Mulvaney.
Sen. Warren: Congress has no plans to change the structure of the CFPB
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Sen. Warren: Congress has no plans to change the structure of the CFPB

In the battle over leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Leandra English can count on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to back her up.

English, who was promoted to deputy director by director Richard Cordray as he prepared to resign last Friday, claims she is the rightful acting director of the bureau.

However, President Donald Trump's pick to run the consumer watchdog group, Mick Mulvaney, showed up on Monday and took charge of the office's operations.

English has asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block Mulvaney from taking over.

Warren, one of the chief architects of the CFPB, met with English on Monday, disputing Mulvaney's assertion that English didn't show up at work.

"Since she is the new … acting director of the agency, she's done exactly what she should and that is she has come to Capitol Hill to talk about her plans as director of the agency," she said in an interview with "Closing Bell."

Warren touted the agency's track record and noted that English has been there since the beginning.

"She has demonstrated that she is out there fighting for American families, not on a partisan basis, but out there fighting to make sure that it's a level playing field and families don't get cheated by big financial institutions," she said.

During a press conference on Monday, Mulvaney said he hadn't met with English.

"In the ordinary world if you don't call, you don't show, you don't have a job the next day but I'm not sure how it works here so I have to find out what that's all about," he said.

Warren expects English to report to work tomorrow.

"She showed up this morning, and as far as I know, she'll show up again tomorrow," she said. "She certainly was on Capitol Hill doing her job," she said.

— AP contributed to this report.

Watch: The full interview with Elizabeth Warren

The full interview with Elizabeth Warren
VIDEO6:3606:36
The full interview with Elizabeth Warren