President Donald Trump reportedly fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) Rohit Chopra via email last week in an effort to rid his administration of Biden holdovers.
Chopra was originally appointed to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by Trump in 2017, but was made director of CFPB in 2021 by Joe Biden.
Chopra's term on the board was supposed to go until the end of 2026, but was prematurely cut short by Trump.
Chopra posted on X that he was grateful to serve under both Trump and Biden.
It's been an honor serving as your @CFPB Director.
Every day, Americans from across the country shared their ideas and experiences with us. You helped us hold powerful companies & their executives accountable for breaking the law, and you made our work better.
Thank you. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JD7lIcwmHa
— Rohit Chopra (@chopracfpb) February 1, 2025
Chopra claimed in a letter to Trump that he was ready to work with the new administration.
He may have run afoul of Trump, however, when he backed forcing banks to give loans to illegal immigrants in 2023.
He said at the time that the government “will not allow companies to use immigration status as an excuse for illegal discrimination.”
It probably didn't help that he was a protege of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), whose views on finance differ widely from Trump's.
Liberals including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, speculated that ousting Chopra signals a desire to get rid of the CFPB altogether.
The board was created after the Great Recession of 2008 to protect consumers engaging in transactions like mortgages and car loans.
Republicans have long considered it a “government power grab that does little to protect consumers and hampers economic growth."
The increase in paperwork that consumers have to deal with when getting these kinds of loans is due to the board, and does not seem to have made a great deal of difference in the long term.
