If you had gone to Vegas and placed a bet that Rohit Chopra would still be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on January 24, you probably would be a very rich person right now. I don’t know anyone who saw this happening. Chopra himself has apparently already packed up his office and is waiting notified by President Trump that he is out and is going to be replaced. But that hasn’t happened yet.
“We’ve been preparing a transition, and I am ready to hand off the baton if they have a runner ready, but until that time, we are dealing with a lot of work at the bureau,” Chopra told Politico earlier this week. “I’ll keep serving my five-year term until I hear otherwise.”
Technically, Chopra’s five-year term as director doesn’t expire until October of 2026, but the Supreme Court has bestowed the president with the power to fire the director of the CFPB for any reason, not just for cause. It was that ruling that allowed former President Biden to present former CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger with an ultimatum of quit or be fired when taking office four years ago. Kraninger opted to resign minutes before Biden took the oath of office.
While the pace of announcements from the CFPB has slowed this week, it has announced the settlement of an enforcement action with a subsidiary of TransUnion and yesterday released a report highlighting the surge in automobile repossessions that are now higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Published reports indicate that the White House is waiting until Scott Bessent is confirmed as Treasury Secretary before making any other moves related to hirings and firings in the Treasury Department. Other reports indicated that some of the individuals who were at the top of the list to replace Chopra have turned the administration down because of plans to scale back the CFPB’s portfolio.
Like when watching sports, I believe I have the power to influence outcomes based on how I sit and what I hold and what I write, so I firmly believe that something is going to happen today because I have put thought into words so be on the lookout for announcements. Until then, keep placing those bets.
