After a six-month delay in his nomination, Rohit Chopra has been confirmed as the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, returning to the agency he helped launch and likely bringing a renewed enforcement push.
The Senate approved his nomination for a five-year term Sept. 30 by a 50-48 vote, with no Republicans supporting his nomination. The Senate Banking Committee had considered his nomination in March, but it was deadlocked in a 12-12 vote, forcing Senate leaders to file a discharge petition in September to let his nomination move forward.
Chopra, who has served as a Federal Trade Commissioner since 2018, will likely bring a more aggressive approach to consumer protection enforcement and rulemaking. During his confirmation hearing, Chopra suggested that one of his top priorities would be to address financial distress caused by the pandemic, including issues related to consumer access to credit and discrimination.
After the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, Chopra joined the Treasury Department to launch the CFPB, where he then served as Assistant Director, overseeing the agency’s student loan agenda and efforts to address the student loan financing market.
“At a time when consumers need a strong watchdog, Mr. Chopra will be an advocate for working families. So, I congratulate Mr. Chopra on his confirmation and as Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, I look forward to working with him closely to better protect consumers,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement.
In contrast, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who is the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, was strongly opposed to Chopra’s nomination, criticizing his actions during the nomination process, including failing to respond to written questions, as well as when he served at both the CFPB and the FTC.
“I have grave concerns that Commissioner Chopra would return the CFPB to the lawless, overreaching, highly politicized agency it was during the Obama administration,” Toomey said in a statement. “Under President Obama, the CFPB pursued an activist anti-business agenda that limited consumer choice, drove up the cost of credit, and unfairly burdened employers with overregulation. CFPB repeatedly engaged in overreach and abuse of its authorities.”
The CFPB was established in July 2010, following enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. It is classified as an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve with funding to support operations obtained primarily through transfers from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System.
The areas that Dodd-Frank authorized the CFPB to exercise authority include:
- providing consumers with information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions;
- protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination;
- helping to enforce federal consumer financial law to promote fair competition; and
- ensuring that markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.
Dave Uejio has been serving as Acting Director since Jan. 20, 2021, being named shortly after President Biden was sworn in. Kathy Kraninger, who was nominated under President Trump, had been serving as director, but stepped down at the request of President Biden. Kraninger’s term was not set to expire until 2023, but a 2020 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the director could be removed at-will by the president.
