WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) – The White House has nominated a director to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a legal maneuver that buys Acting Director Russell Vought more time to close the agency, an administration spokesperson said.
Vought, who heads the Office of Management and Budget, has accused the consumer finance watchdog of politicized enforcement and advancing a left-wing agenda at the expense of free enterprise.
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On Tuesday, it nominated Stuart Levenbach, an associate director at the budget office, according to a notice provided to the Senate.
A spokesperson for the budget office said the nomination was intended to comply with federal law and that Vought did not intend to depart as CFPB acting director.
A representative for Tim Scott, the Republican chair of the Senate Banking Committee which handles nominations for the financial regulators, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on scheduling a confirmation hearing for Levenbach.
Reporting by Douglas Gillison and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Michelle Price, Katharine Jackson, David Ljunggren and Cynthia Osterman
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