Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said today that his agency will press forward with rulemakings even as federal banking agencies have paused their major initiatives until after President-elect Trump takes office.
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) noted that the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of Comptroller of the Currency have all said they have no plans to push forward with major rulemakings until there is a change in administration. The CFPB has not made a similar pledge and recently proposed new rules on data brokers and credit reporting. Scott accused Chopra of pressing forward with a “unilateral partisan agenda” and questioned why the CFPB wasn’t pausing rulemakings like the other agencies.
“I don’t think it makes sense for the CFPB to be a dead fish,” Chopra said. “People between Election Day and Inauguration Day are still getting scammed, they’re still being subjected to questionable account closures, they’re still being the victims of so much wrongdoing.”
Chopra also declined to say whether he would resign from his position once Trump takes office but acknowledged that CFPB directors can be fired. “We serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said.
