President Donald Trump has selected Kathleen Kraninger for nomination to serve as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or "Bureau"). Currently, Kraninger serves as the program associate director for general government in the Office of Budget and Management (OMB). While at OMB, she also served as the clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which included overseeing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security budget. Acting Director Mick Mulvaney (who currently also serves as the director of OMB) will remain in place during the confirmation process.
Acting Director Mulvaney has served in his capacity at the Bureau since the former head, Richard Cordray, resigned in November 2017. In such cases, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (Vacancies Act) provides for a 210-day initial term for acting officers. Under the Vacancies Act, acting officers may continue to serve while the nomination for a permanent officer is pending in the Senate—with a maximum term of 210 days after a second nomination is rejected, withdrawn, or returned by the Senate.
Acting Director Mulvaney's initial 210-day term is set to expire on June 22, 2018. The nomination of Kraninger will extend his term as acting director well into 2019, and perhaps longer, given the historically challenging process of confirming Bureau directors.