The Senate Banking Committee today voted to advance to the Senate the nominations of Jonathan McKernan to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Bill Pulte to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
McKernan was most recently a member of the FDIC board of directors. During his nomination hearing last week, McKernan criticized the bureau’s past actions as politicized and said that if confirmed, the agency will enforce federal consumer financial laws and perform its other statutorily assigned functions. The vote was 13-11, with Democrats opposing the nomination.
Pulte is CEO of the private equity firm Pulte Capital Partners and a philanthropist. During his nomination, Pulte said his top priority will be to strengthen and safeguard the housing finance system. The vote was 15-9, with most Democrats opposed.
The committee also voted to advance the nominations of Stephen Miran to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and Jeffery Kessler to be undersecretary of commerce for industry and security.
