Sarah Huckabee Sanders grilled on power strug bell who is running the Consumer Protection bureau. How the white house and the interim director Mick Mulvaney are responding now. Plus shocking, humbling, embarrassing. Senator al franken responding to allegations of sexual harrassment speaking to the press this afternoon, looking to learn from his mistakes. David yeah, right. Melissa to put this all behind him, but can he . Well ask karl rove. As this scandal looms large, it is makeorbreak time for the senate, back to work on capitol hill this hour, facing a blistering schedule to push through highstakes agenda items by end of the year. Chief among them, by the way, tax reform. That is very serious. We are hearing key holdouts could be coming around. Where things stand right now. David . David what is full responsibility . I take full responsibility . Melissa yeah. What does that mean when nothing happens, after you say it . Melissa yeah. David at any rate, stocks sliding after hitting new highs, Nicole Petallides on the floor of new york stock exchange. Nicole, what happened . I thought we would be way up today. And it came down. We are still in the green on the dow as we mentioned but it came down. Why . Verizon, 3m, home depot helped lead the Dow Jones Industrial average. There was a little bit of optimism when we heard from senator rand paul when he was likely to be a yes, sir vote. Weve seen back and forth action. We hit intraday record alltime highs. Pretty much a flat line now. For the month were looking great for eight months in a row for gains of dow and s p. Dow has not seen that more than 22 years. Well look to see if we clock in records. Look at retailers. Names such as amazon, new high. Google, facebook, home depot, all hit record highs but across the board retailers really wowed wall street throughout the day. They had a great month, many of them. Weve seen records for black friday. Cyber monday estimated to be 6. 6 billion. So much ecommerce. Within ecommerce, shopping online is mobile. That is a big, big emerging trend is the mobile shopping. That is what these advertisers and companies are hoping to see Going Forward. Back to you. David nicole, thank you very much. Melissa. Melissa a lot at stake for the white house this week. Now a power grab at the countrys top Consumer Agency has some in d. C. Wondering whos the boss . Fox businesss blake burman is at the white house with the latest on this one. I have to tell you ive been enjoying following this story today, blake. Reporter who would have thought the cfpb would be above the fold, front page news, first questions right out the chute at the White House Press briefing. It is intriguing. You have a power struggle. Mick mulvaney who is the budget director and Leandra English, Deputy Director at cfpb, both think they are the boss. White house, department of justice and cfpb general counsel saying 1998 vacancies reform act the law, gives President Trump the ability to put mulvaney and interim role. English and democrats say the 2010 doddfrank act, Succession Plan laid out in the law makes english the new head. English filed a lawsuit. Fast forward to this morning both showed up to the agency this morning thinking they led it. Mulvaney fired off this email within hours being on the post. He said, and i quote, please disregard any instructions from miss english in her presumed capacity as acting director. If you receive Additional Communications in any form, related in any way to the function of her actual or presumed official duties such as not personal, please inform the general counsel immediately. Like i mentioned, this was the story, one of them at least at the press briefing. Here is what i asked sarah sanders. Does the white house believe Leandra English is unqualified for that position . Look. Im not saying that we do have anything against her. Im saying we want director mulvaney to lead this agency. That is a decision the president is allowed to make and one that he has made and has Legal Authority to do so. Reporter now one thing to keep in mind here, this is an interim post. Something that could only last potentially weeks or even months. President trump still has to name a nominee. That person still has to go before congress. What they are fighting over right now, what you just heard from sarah sanders, this administration feels that the president has a right to do what he did. Leandra english, democrats and others say, well see you in court. Melissa. Melissa only one of those bosses showed up with doughnuts. That was Mick Mulvaney. Reporter walked in with doughnuts. Melissa im a big believer bringing a treat to those who you want to have work for you and help you and you know, there you go. Anyway, that shows who is boss. Reporter try to charm them. If you like dunkin donuts. He is signed it acting together. Melissa here he is. Broader group, three or four dozen folks, tell you pre much the same thing i told them, then i take a couple questions. This is ordinary course of business in washington, d. C. , what youre witnessing at cfpb, happens every Single Agency every couple years which is transition. So happens cfpb has never been through a transition before. It was inevitable at some point. It would be now or in july that mr. Cordray left and mr. Trump would get a chance, President Trump would get a chance to put someone in this position. So i had a chance to walk through with a lot of folks here who had not been through transition what they should expect. They should expect that this agency will stay open. Rumors that im going to set the place on fire or blow it up or lock the doors are completely false. Im a member of the executive branch of government. We intend to execute laws of the United States including provisions of doddfrank that govern the cfpb. That being said, the way we go about it, interpret it, enforce it will be dramatically different than the Current Administration than under the last. Anybody who thinks a Trump Administration cfpb, same as Obama Administration that elections have consequences at every agency. Includes the cfpb. I dont have specifics in terms of actions in terms of new attitude were taking at cfpb in fact that the Trump Administration is in charge. I tell these folks what is happening immediately. Effective today, we put something similar in place what we did across the entire executive branch at outset of the administration. We did a 90day hiring freeze. We put a 30day hiring freeze at cfpb. More importantly, we put 30day immediate freeze on any new rules, regulations guidance. Anything in the pipeline stops for at least 30 days, while i get a chance to see exactly what is going on and kick the tires here at the bureau. Additionally, there will be no payments out of the Civil Penalties fund for at least 30 days while i see a chance to get what is happening. I think excess of 50 million in the fund. I want to get a handle what the fund is all about before we start making any distributions. There will be obvious important exceptions to this i had a chance to talk to legal some today and enforcement and things going on in existing lawsuits. I will be briefed tomorrow, roughly 100 or so lawsuits that the agency, that the bureau is involved with. I get briefed on that tomorrow. Clearly if there are statutory deadlines, those will continue to be met. If there are legal deadlines as part of litigation, those will be met. In terms of anything that is discretionary, were putting a 30day hold on it here. Other than that, it is really too early to say how things will be different. I will be briefed tomorrow on not only lawsuits but enforcement actions, investigations, rulemaking in the pipeline. I will have more idea tomorrow as what some of the next steps may be. Lastly, then i will take some questions, folks asked me, if im going to be here . Some folks in the press have asked that. Some folks here at agency. I keep saying agency. I apologize, bureau. Yeah the president makes it clear he wants me here. Honestly since the my name son the door here i want to be here. I dont want anything coming out of here i dont know about it inevitably will be linked to me anyway. I want it to be good, quality, work. I will be here three days a week. Be across at omb three days a week. I recognize it adds up more than five days a week. Ive been a Small Business owner. I slept at office. I worked 16 hours a day and slept at office. That is not something new. If you started something new, working extra is not that big of a deal in final scheme of things. With that we take questions for a couple minutes if that is all right. Director mulvaney. Yes, sir. You had the opportunity to meet with the president earlier today. What did he tell you about what he wants . Wants me to fix it. Wants me to get it back to the point where it can protect people without trampling on capitalism, without choking off the access to Financial Services that are so critical to so many folks. So many folks actually in the lower and middle classes. Folks trying to start their own businesses. People trying to break out. People trying to get credit for the very first time. We need to figure out a way to both follow the law and protect citizens asset forth in the act but do so in such a fashion that it doesnt choke off the access to capital. What does that mean . The access to money, that is important for some people to succeed in their Small Business, private lives and so forth. So that is the charge he has given me. We both share the belief that this administration, this particular bureau under the Previous Administration had gone too far over towards strangling access to capital. Making it difficult for Financial Services to flow. As a result, folks that we want to try to help are hurt. We want to fix that. A sense how long they expect you to be in this temporary position . That will be up to the senate more than anybody else. I know the president is interested in naming a permanent replacement as quickly as possible and as quickly as quality of the candidates allows. My guess is you will see fairly Swift Movement on that. That being said, Swift Movement on the president s part has very rarely translated in Swift Movement on the senates part. Well see how long it actually takes. Yes, sir. Well go across the room. Reporter Financial Times . Yes, sir. Reporter some injunction. Court will do whatever it is going to do. Thats fine. I read legal opinion not only department of justice but more interestingly, not more interestingly, as interestingly the legal opinion of the general counsel here. This is the president s right. My guess the court will hear same arguments from capable folks. If the Court Decides to issue a temporary restraining order, order me not to come into the building. I will absolutely follow the law. We follow the law around here in the executive branch. Im not concerned about it. Im Going Forward tonight and tomorrow assuming i will be here. I will be here until the court or president tells me otherwise. Reporter what criticism bureau reflective of your idealogical commitment to small government . I dont know how to answer at that question. I will talk about the previous statements about the bureau . How about that . My previous opinion structure cfpb, i think it is awful example of a bureaucracy gone wrong almost entirely unaccountable to people that are supposed to oversee it and pay for it. I have same fundamental principled misgivings the way this bureau is structured. I think it is wrong to have completely unaccountable federal bureaucracy. I think it is completely wrong. I learning about powers i have as acting director. They would frighten most of you. Would worry to think how little oversight congress has over me now as i am director. How little everysight the committees have how cfpb functions. If you, if you really studied the constitution, nature of our government, study the way the bureaucracy is supposed to work, it would both frighten and disturb you this agency is as independent as it is. It doesnt surprise me by the way, to the extent were having succession challenge, as lodged by miss english, it doesnt surprise me that grows out of an agency think it is not accountable to anybody in the first place. So, none of that has changed. That being said i cant change a lot of it, because it is statutory. Up to congress to fix it. Im running agency as law sets for the. Yes, maam. Reporter quick followup to that question [inaudible]. You have called the agency [inaudible]. How can you insure the American People you are the right person to lead this agency . Actually i think you go back look at line it, was a joke and in a sick, sad kind of way which is slightly different but again the sentiment is the same. The reasons that i said that, the reasons that i still believe that this agency is flawed are things i think people back home would agree with. Look at it this way. This is how i explained it to people here today. When i was in congress, if you, if the cfpb did something to you back home you did not like, okay, there was literally nowhere for you to turn for redress. You could not call your senator. You could not call the congressman. In fact, house of representatives. You can not call the president. You can only fire director is for cause. That is completely unaccountable agency. That is wrong. Citizens should have some ability to hold the bureaucracy accountable and they cant here. Why we need structural and legislative change to the way the place is run that is being said, that is outside of the bounds of the director to fix. Yes, maam. Reporter thank you. Do you find this power struggle between yourself and lee lee andrea english, you said it was do you find more awkward for people that work here. I dont know her. I havent read her. There were couple headlines, people showed up at work claiming to be director. One person showed up at work claiming to be director. She wasnt here. More uncomfortable for the folks that know her and work here not knowing what the future holds. She is private citizen. She can do what she did. She brought the lawsuit in private capacity. Im assuming she spaying for her own lawyers. The cfpb is not. The cfpb did not pay for lawsuit. She has a right to do that. Well move on here and let the occurs do as they will. She didnt come to work. I did not see her here today. I have been here since 7 30. Have you had any contact can i go this way . Reporter during meeting with staffers push back from views about bureaus work . Folks asked question. I am not here to shut the place down. The law doesnt allow me to do that. That being said well run it differently than the Previous Administration. They appreciate the candor. These are professional people. Even if they have been here five years, have been in government, 10, 15, 20, a lot of folks came from other agencies. They are very professional. They know the gig for lack of a better word. I hope they appreciate the candor. I appreciated candor they showed to me. It was extraordinarily professional. I have absolutely no complaints. I hope they dont either. Yes, maam . Reporter [inaudible] if the law allowed this place not to exist i would sit with the president to make the case other agencies could do this job just as if not more effectively. That being said, if i had the chance to change it, put it on appropriations, subject to oversight to congress i can do that as well. I have none of that flexibility as director of agency, this bureau. Yes, sir . Reporter couple things. Do you have any plan for her ongoing appointments for the assistant director and [inaudible] . To last point first. I will be here all day tomorrow, all day thursday, going through the regs in the pipeline. Stuff out the door, i dont think there is very much i can do about it. Once it is gone from here, finally gone from here i think next step in the review process for lack of a better word would be cra, as much as i think the president just signed today on arbitration rules. That is the ordinary course of business. Well follow the ordinary course of business around here. Regarding ms. English, i dont know. I havent met her. If you dont call, you dont show, you dont have a job next day but im not sure how it works here. I have to find out what that is all about. Yes, maam . Reporter [inaudible]. No i think the president called her that a couple times before. That is probably not the last time he called you that. I think it is interesting, itch not seen the lawsuit yet. I dont know if ive been named as defendant. I heard a rumor theyve been named. I have not seen a lawsuit. Nor have been served with it. I am speculating what is in the lawsuit. One of the assertions the agency needs to be independent. At same time i hear today, media reports miss english is on the hill meeting with mr. Schumer and miss warren. It makes you wonder who she wants to be independent from. Does she want to be independent from everybody or independent from donald j. Trump. My guess is the latter. I have no comments about mrs. Warrens comments about me. Yes, sir . Reporter [inaudible]. Yeah. Reporter. Is that a concern . You have a seat on the yeah. Reporter should be any concern of independent agency headed by someone with direct report to the president . My understanding, first of all it has to be, number one, in order for the president to fill this spot using vacancies act, somebody currently Senate Confirmed anyway. Every person would report to the president , number one. Number two, from president ial value this is how it has been done here. People forget the first acting director was the treasury secretary. I will, i will be as closely tied to d