Former CFPB director Rohit Chopra testifies before Congress. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The White House on Saturday fired the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra — one of the final regulators held over from the Biden administration.
Why it matters: Trump is the first president to fire a leader of the CFPB. The Supreme Court in 2020 ruled the agency's structure was unconstitutional and said presidents could fire directors at will.
- The future of the agency in the Trump era is up in the air. Chopra's term was not supposed to end until next year.
Catch up quick: Under Chopra, the consumer protection agency took aggressive action against banks, often putting him at odds with the financial industry.
- Days before Trump took office last month, the CFPB sued Capital One for allegedly "cheating customers" out of billions in interest on consumer savings accounts.
- Chopra cracked down on junk fees and signaled support for a proposal that would cap credit card interest rates, something Trump has openly supported.
The intrigue: That Chopra even briefly outlasted other Biden-era officials — who were fired by the Trump administration or resigned immediately — was a source of mystery among big bank interest groups.
- Elon Musk openly pushed for the bureau to be abolished, posting on X in November "Delete CFPB."
- Eliminating the CFPB was also one of the recommendations of Project 2025, the controversial government overhaul program mirrored in Trump's early executive orders.
What they're saying: "With so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the CFPB have never been more critical," Chopra wrote in a letter addressed to Trump posted on X.
Flashback: The CFPB was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as an independent agency with the task of protecting consumers against harmful practices.
- The CFPB was the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who released a video Saturday pledging to fight any efforts to "destroy the agency."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with background on opposition to the CFPB.