WASHINGTON—An outspoken critic of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kirsten Sutton Mork, has been named chief of staff of the CFPB.
Mork had been serving as staff director of the House Financial Services Committee under its chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX).
Hensarling, also a critic of the CFPB who has announced he will not be seeking re-election to Congress, recently endorsed NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters to head the Bureau. Several banking groups have since expressed opposition to any nomination of McWatters for the post.
Mork’s appointment fills the position last held by Leandra English. English’s status at the CFPB remains contentious as she continues to assert her appointment as interim director over President Trump’s own pick of Mick Mulvaney to lead the agency. As CUToday.info reported here, a vacancy was created at the CFPB when Director Richard Cordray resigned with the intention of English being elevated from deputy director to the top spot. President Trump, however, named Mulvaney, who is also director of the Office of Management and Budget, to the position.
English responded with a lawsuit and appeal of her own arguing the Dodd-Frank Act, which created the CFPB, is clear in how succession should work at the CFPB. The Trump Administration disagreed, citing the Federal Vacancies Reform Act for the authority to appoint Mulvaney.
Analysts are questioning what Mork's appointment may mean for the future of the CFPB since she has served as a long-time aide to one of the Bureau's most outspoken critics, Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), in her current role as staff director of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC).
"As one of my longest-serving and most dedicated aides, Kirsten has been an indispensable adviser to me for the last nine years. Her leadership, deep understanding of financial policy and the legislative process, strength of character, and commitment to conservative principles have been vital to the great victories the committee has achieved for the American People during her tenure here," said Hensarling in a statement.