In a major shift from the Trump administration, incoming President Joe Biden has nominated a consumer friendly administrator to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Biden nominated Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra, an ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to lead the CFPB.
Politico reports Chopra helped to establish the CFPB under the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Law in 2010 and previously served as Assistant Director of the agency. Congress unanimously approved his appointment as a Federal Trade Commissioner just two years ago.
Under the Trump administration, CFPB director Mick Mulvaney spent his two years on the job dismantling the policies established at an agency founded to protect consumer rights. As a congressman, he once called the agency a joke, according to NPR. His replacement, Kathleen Laura Kraninger, continued the rollback of Obama-era rules including loosening the regulations on payday lenders.
“We congratulate Rohit Chopra on his nomination to serve as the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” said Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. “We look forward to working with Commissioner Chopra to make sure consumers continue to have access to the financial products and services they want and need with the protections they deserve,” the group told the CFPB Journal.
According to CNN, Chopra’s appointment is a victory for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party which has pushed for more aggressive oversight of the financial industry.
The Indian American attended Harvard and completed his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Journal reports he has a history of aggressively going after lawbreaking companies. He is also considered a protector of consumer privacy and for fair competition.
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