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President Trump Fires Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra
President Donald Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Biden administration holdover. Chopra was one of the more important regulators from the previous Democratic administration who was still on the job since Trump took office on January 20.
Chopra’s tenure saw the removal of medical debt from credit reports and limits on overdrafts penalties, all based on the premise that the financial system could be fairer and more competitive in ways that helped consumers. However, many in the financial industry viewed his actions as regulatory overreach.
In a social media post, Chopra thanked people across the country who “shared their ideas and experiences” with the government’s consumer financial watchdog agency. He noted that the agency was ready to work with the Trump administration, and had prepared rules to block Russia, China, and others from using data brokers to surveil Americans, as well as policies to prevent people from losing access to banking services for exercising their constitutional right to express their political or religious views.
Chopra was notified of his firing in an email, according to a person familiar with the notice. He had publicly stated that he would leave his post if the new president asked.
His departure has been met with both praise and criticism. Some have praised his efforts to hold powerful companies and their executives accountable, while others have criticized his regulatory overreach. The Consumer Bankers Association, for example, argued that Chopra’s policies reduced access to financial credit for vulnerable consumers.
Chopra is an ally of Senator Elizabeth Warren, who developed the idea of the CFPB and is one of Trump’s targets of criticism. The Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement that the bureau under Chopra had held “Wall Street accountable for cheating hard-working families and preventing the de-banking of Americans across the country.”
The CFPB was created in response to the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans, and other consumer finance. It has been opposed by Republicans and their financial backers, and faces challenges in its funding and scope.