Trump’s Search For Watchdog Chiefs Could Be Complicated By Promises Of Regulatory Cuts

President-elect Donald Trump announced a flurry of nominees to his new administration leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, but notably absent from these announcements were picks to lead various financial regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This is according to reporting from the Financial Times and from The Wall Street Journal.

As incoming administration officials and legislative allies of the president-elect have publicly enthused over potential cuts they’ll be able to impose on financial regulatory agencies, these same statements and plans may now be serving to drive away candidates to lead the agencies, according to the Financial Times.

It described the hunt for a new CFPB director as particularly fraught, saying that multiple “experienced candidates” have opted not to enter the selection process when reached about potentially serving in the role, the report explained.

One source described by the Financial Times as a former senior financial regulator, who said they were contacted about the job, described the split dynamic between the major political parties. They explained that Republicans have a belief that the CFPB “is unconstitutional,” while Democrats would “never give you credit” for meaningful consumer protection because of a Trump appointee’s party affiliation. The source was not interested in the position, according to the report.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that incoming leaders and advisers have been considering ways to change the regulatory posture of financial regulators, including the CFPB. One plan involved moving it away from enforcement efforts and toward information.

“Consumer-education jobs could replace regulatory and supervisory jobs” at the CFPB, according to a potential plan floated for the agency by transition officials, the Journal said.

Incoming leaders of the transition team’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” including billionaire Elon Musk and former political candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, recently targeted the CFPB in public statements. Musk said the agency should be “deleted.”

In the meantime, incumbent CFPB Director Rohit Chopra recently told a Senate committee that the agency will continue to operate with its current regulatory posture until the president instructs him to step aside.

Chopra’s name was first floated for CFPB director by the Biden transition team just days prior to the president’s inauguration in 2021, and then-incumbent director Kathleen Kraninger resigned from the post on Inauguration Day.