_____

Shannen W. Coffin in The Weekly Standard:

“The dispute and the resulting litigation will cast further doubt over the legitimacy of an already troubled agency.”

The president has the law on his side, Mr. Coffin argues. While Democrats are likely to slow-walk the confirmation process for whomever Mr. Trump ultimately appoints, the president still has the constitutional authority to name an interim director, he says. Moreover, Mr. Coffin, a lawyer who has “represented clients affected by and opposed to C.F.P.B. regulation,” is eager for Mr. Mulvaney to begin rolling back what he considers to be the bureau’s regulatory overreach. Read more »

_____

David Harsanyi in The Federalist:

“Republicans have long argued that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is corrupt, unaccountable and unconstitutional. This week, Democrats proved that’s exactly how they like it.”

The chaos emerging from the agency could not come at a better time, Mr. Harsanyi writes. The conflict over who will helm the bureau is a perfect opportunity for the Trump administration to start “seriously diminishing the power and reach of the agency, and perhaps eliminate it altogether.” He points out what he sees as “norm-busting” hypocrisy on the left, writing, “Democrats are now arguing that their favored bureaucrat should be able to wrest control of a law-enforcement agency because they’re unhappy with the outcome of the last election.” Read more »

_____

Ronald L. Rubin in National Review:

“Cordray cared about consumers, but he was consumed by politics.”

Mr. Rubin, who was an enforcement lawyer at the consumer finance watchdog, views Mr. Cordray’s appointment of Leandra English as interim director of the agency as a “sickening stunt” that reeks of politics. He accuses Mr. Cordray of trying to cover up some of the agency’s missteps, including its “failure to investigate the Wells Fargo fraud; data manipulation in its failed attempt to regulate car dealers by guessing buyers’ races and alleging discriminatory lending; inspector-general admonishments to stop obstructing congressional oversight; and some particularly explosive sexual-harassment claims against C.F.P.B. senior managers.” Read more »