President Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Biden Administrator holdover.
Chopra was one of the more important regulators from the previous Democratic administration who was still on the job since Mr. Trump took office on Jan. 20. In a letter to the president shared on social media, Chopra said it was an “extraordinary privilege” to serve as director of the CFPB.
“With so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the CFPB have never been more critical,” he wrote. “I’m proud that the CFPB has done so much to restore the rule of law.”
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Chopra was notified of his firing via an email from the White House, a person familiar with the notice who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told the Associated Press.
During his term, Mr. Trump had picked Chopra as a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.
An ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Chopra then was tapped by former President Joe Biden to lead the consumer agency that he helped launch after the 2008-09 financial crisis. He served as its deputy director, sounding the alarm about skyrocketing levels of student loan debt.
Warren, one of Mr. Trump’s favorite targets, said in a statement that the CFPB under Chopra held “Wall Street accountable for cheating hard-working families” and prevented “the de-banking of Americans across the country, including consumers locked out of the financial system due to overdraft fees, religious organizations, and conservatives.”
Under the law, Chopra was to serve a five-year term, which meant he could have stayed on as the CFPB director. But he had publicly stated that he would leave his post if the new president asked.
“I hope that the CFBP will continue to be a pillar of restoring and advancing economic liberty in America, and I wish you good luck in serving our great country,” Chopra said in his letter to Mr. Trump.
Consumer Reports applauded Chopra’s work at the CFBP saying he “leaves behind an impressive track record of accomplishments for working families.”
“Rohit Chopra has worked tirelessly at the CFPB to make sure that consumers are protected when they take out a loan, make a payment, or open a bank account,” said Delicia Hand, Senior Director, Digital Marketplace, at Consumer Reports. “Under Chopra’s leadership, the Bureau has scored a number of big wins for consumers, securing billions of dollars in relief for those who have been cheated out of their money and establishing critical new rules to ensure they are treated fairly.”
