Finally. In what might be one of the longest confirmation timelines ever — at least it felt that way at times — the Senate yesterday confirmed Rohit Chopra to be the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, more than nine months after he was tapped by President Biden for the post.
The official vote to confirm Chopra was 50-48 along party lines (two Republicans — Sen. Rand Paul [R-Kent.] and Sen. John Cornyn [R-Texas] did not vote). Chopra will take over for Acting Director Dave Uejio, who himself is leaving the CFPB after being nominated by President Biden to be an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Many in the accounts receivable management industry have not been looking forward to Chopra’s ascension to the top of the CFPB, fearing a return to the regulation-by-enforcement days when Richard Cordray led the agency. The common expectation across the industry is that Chopra will be as aggressive as Cordray was in using enforcement actions and the power of the CFPB to attack practices he and his team deem to be over the line.
The area of greatest speculation is what, if anything, Chopra will do in the area of Regulation F. The long-awaited debt collection rule is due to go into effect in less than two months and the industry has been preparing diligently to be ready for November 30. Former Deputy Director Tom Pahl suggested that a Chopra-led CFPB will let the rule go into effect as is, but will issue another rule — one that is more in line with his way of thinking. Time will tell.
Advocates and lawmakers lined up on both sides to praise and criticize Chopra’s confirmation, which is likely an indication of the type of partisan rhetoric that will take root as Chopra’s term progresses. Rep. Maxine Waters [D-Calif.], the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee said that “there is no better person to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at this time than Rohit Chopra,” while Sen. Pat Toomey [R-Penn.], the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he expects “Commissioner Chopra would return the CFPB to the rogue, unaccountable, anti-business agency it was during the Obama administration, and would continue to disregard legitimate congressional oversight.”
