Issa said to be candidate for Trump's new CFPB chief | Pruitt reportedly tapped aide, donors to help wife get job at conservative group

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Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, is among the candidates who have been discussed as President Donald Trump gets closer to naming who will run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

In addition to Issa, J. Mark McWatters, a credit union regulator and former congressional staffer, is another top candidate, Bloomberg reported. The White House will likely make an announcement next week, according to Mick Mulvaney, the agency’s interim leader. Issa said earlier this year he will not seek re-election to Congress.

Pruitt tapped aide to help wife land job: Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt last year had a top aide help contact Republican donors who might offer his wife a job, eventually securing her a position at a conservative political group that has backed him for years, the Washington Post reported, citing multiple individuals familiar with the matter.

The Post said the job hunt included Pruitt’s approaching wealthy party supporters and conservative figures with ties to the Trump administration. He enlisted Samantha Dravis, then serving as associate administrator for the EPA’s Office of Policy, to line up work for his wife. The Post said a spokesman for the Judicial Crisis Network confirmed Tuesday that it employed the onetime school nurse “temporarily as an independent contractor,” but it did not disclose how long she worked there or what she was paid. Marlyn Pruitt left the JCN earlier this year, the spokesman added. Virginia Canter, executive branch ethics counsel for the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told the Post that Pruitt’s having a full-time EPA employee “become the headhunter for his spouse” was “highly inappropriate” since the outcome of the search “would affect his financial interests.” EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement, “I would refer you to outside counsel.”

Poll shows Mueller image at all-time low: A new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s public image has sunk to an all-time low since he began his probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Politico writes that months of sustained conservative attacks led by President Trump and his allies have harmed Mueller most among Republicans, with a record 53% now saying they view the lead Russia investigator in an unfavorable light. That’s a 26-point spike since July, when the poll first started asking voters whether they viewed Mueller favorably or unfavorably.

Ryan announces immigration votes: Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday night the House will consider two immigration bills next week to halt a bipartisan effort designed to force a series of votes on the divisive issue, USA Today reports. It’s the first time the House will take up legislation to protect undocumented immigrants that came to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers.

The announcement, says USA Today, means GOP leadership has avoided an embarrassing defeat by rogue moderates of their party and every House Democrat. On Tuesday, the bipartisan group was just two signatures away from putting into a play a rare maneuver — known as a discharge petition — to go around the speaker and bring legislation to the floor.