The former heads of the House and Senate banking committees argued Thursday that the Dodd-Frank Act clearly intended to allow the CFPB's deputy director to serve as acting director after the full-time head of the agency departed.

With leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resolved by a federal court, the banking industry is eager to find out what interim head Mick Mulvaney plans to do once he gets a handle on the agency, including whether he will delay pending new mortgage rules.

Richard Cordray took a big gamble in his final act as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, attempting to appoint his own interim successor. He lost Tuesday, but he was far from the only one.

District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled Tuesday that Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was the legal interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, denying a request by Deputy Director Leandra English to block the appointment.

Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are privately questioning why outgoing director Richard Cordray abruptly tapped a 34-year-old chief of staff with no enforcement, supervisory or legal experience to head the embattled agency after he resigned.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said he would "fix" the CFPB by ensuring it protected consumers without cutting off access to financial services. His comments came as a federal judge declined to rule yet on the legality of Mulvaney's appointment.

Leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to be resolved quickly after a federal court Monday assigned a judge appointed by President Trump to resolve a lawsuit over who will become the agency's acting director.

President Trump has tapped Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as interim head of the CFPB. He has taken tough stances on the CFPB, its payday lending rule, housing finance reform and other issues pending before the agency.

CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English filed a lawsuit late Sunday against the Trump administration challenging OMB Director Mick Mulvaney's appointment. The bureau's general counsel has sided with President Trump, however.

The Trump administration insisted Saturday that OMB Director Mick Mulvaney was the rightful interim leader of the CFPB, but Democrats said that the appointment was illegal. It remains unclear who is legally in charge.