The Senate Banking Committee today voted 13-11 along party lines to advance the nomination of Brian Johnson to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Committee members also voted unanimously to advance legislation reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program.
Johnson previously served as deputy director of the CFPB during Trump’s first term and is currently an executive at Capital One. During his nomination hearing in July, Johnson outlined his three goals at the CFPB: Protecting consumers, especially from fraud and scams; promoting accountability by ensuring the bureau acts within its statutory bounds; and modernizing the agency’s operations.
The committee also advanced S. 4395, which would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for seven years. A similar bill in the House – H.R. 7128 –would raise the dollar threshold for declaring an act of terrorism a major event from $5 million to $10 million, starting in 2029. The House version cleared that chamber in June.
While TRIA is not scheduled to expire until the end of next year, the American Bankers Association stressed to lawmakers in an August letter that early renewal is imperative to avoid market disruption.
“Past TRIA reauthorizations have benefited from strong bipartisan support, and Congress has recognized the vital role that TRIA plays and has reauthorized the program on five separate occasions,” ABA said.
The full Senate will take up Johnson’s nomination and TRIA reauthorization at a later date.
