President Trump today nominated Brian Johnson to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been without a full-time leader since the firing of Rohit Chopra last year.
Johnson is currently an executive at Capital One. He previously served as deputy director of the CFPB during Trump’s first term. He has also held various positions on Capitol Hill, including policy director and chief financial institutions counsel on the House Financial Services Committee.
Office of Budget and Management Director Russ Vought has been serving as acting director of the bureau, a position from which he also serves as an FDIC commissioner. Trump previously nominated Stuart Levenbach as CFPB director, but that nomination was a “technical” maneuver to allow Vought to continue leading the agency as acting director without a Senate confirmation.
The Senate must confirm Johnson’s nomination. If confirmed, he would serve a term of five years.
In a statement, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said Johnson has a distinguished track record in bank regulatory policy both at the bureau and on Capitol Hill, “and he will bring a thoughtful approach to setting the Bureau’s priorities in the years ahead if confirmed.”
“The bureau upholds its consumer protection mission best when it operates within its statutory authority, promotes responsible innovation and pursues regulations that are appropriately tailored and applied evenly to all market participants,” Nichols said. “We look forward to the confirmation process and learning more about Brian’s plans for the CFPB moving forward.”
