Reading Room Document

Designating an Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

The statute providing that the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall "serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director" authorizes the Deputy Director to serve as the Acting Director when the position of Director is vacant. Both the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the statute specific to the office of Director are available to fill a vacancy in the office of Director on an acting basis; the office-specific statute does not displace the President's authority to designate an acting officer under 5 U.S.C. § 3345(a)(2) or (3). The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/olc/file/1085611/download.

November 25, 2017