Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

President Barack Obama nominated Richard Cordray as the bureau's first director in 2011

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government. It was established by President Barack Obama in 2011.

What do they do?

It is responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. They work within banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and other financial companies operating in the United States.

Creation

The CFPB's creation was made by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, whose passage in 2010 was a legislative response to the financial crisis of 2007–08 and the eventual Great Recession.^[1] The CFPB was established as an independent agency, but this status is being reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Leadership

The CFPB is headed by a director who is appointed by the President for a five-year term. The bureau is also assisted by a Consumer Advisory Council, which is composed of at least six members who are recommended by regional Federal Reserve presidents.

The first director of the CFPB was Ohio politician Richard Cordray who served from 2012 through 2017. The current Acting Director is Russell Vought since February 7, 2025. On February 11, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Jonathan McKernan to serve as director.

2020 Supreme Court decision

The Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS), in a 5-to-4 decision, ruled June 29, 2020, that the structure of the CFPB violates the separation-of-powers clause of the constitution since the bill directed that the CFPB director could be removed by the president only for "cause," defined as "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

List of directors

Status

  Special Advisor

  Acting Director

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	Tenure	Presidents
–		Elizabeth Warren Special Advisor	Massachusetts	September 17, 2010	August 1, 2011	318 days		Barack Obama
–		Raj Date Special Advisor	District of Columbia	August 1, 2011	January 4, 2012	156 days
1		Richard Cordray[a]	Ohio	January 4, 2012	November 24, 2017[2]	5 years, 16 days
						308 days (5 years, 324 days total)		Donald Trump
–		Leandra English Acting[b]	New York	November 25, 2017 (One minute)[3]		0 days
–		Mick Mulvaney Acting[c]	South Carolina	November 25, 2017	December 11, 2018	1 year, 16 days
2		Kathy Kraninger	Ohio	December 11, 2018	January 20, 2021[4]	2 years, 40 days
–		Dave Uejio Acting	District of Columbia	January 20, 2021	October 12, 2021	265 days		Joe Biden
3		Rohit Chopra	District of Columbia	October 12, 2021	February 1, 2025	3 years, 100 days
						12 days (3 years, 112 days total)		Donald Trump
–		Zixta Martinez Acting[d]	Texas	February 1, 2025[5]	February 3, 2025	2 days
–		Scott Bessent Acting	South Carolina	February 3, 2025[6]	February 7, 2025	4 days
–		Russell Vought Acting	Virginia	February 7, 2025	Incumbent	31 days
Nominee		Jonathan McKernan[e]	Tennessee	TBD

Notes

1. Cordray’s resignation took effect at the stroke of midnight (12:00 A.M.) Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 25, 2017.
2. As Deputy Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), by operation of law, English had served as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for one minute on November 25, 2017 immediately following the resignation of Director Richard Cordray taking effect at the stroke of midnight (12:00 A.M.) Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 25, 2017 until President Donald Trump’s appointment of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took effect one minute later at 12:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 25, 2017.^[3]
3. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took effect at 12:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 25, 2017.^[3]
4. As Deputy Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), by operation of law, Martinez had served as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for two days immediately following the firing of Rohit Chopra on February 1, 2025^[5] until President Donald Trump’s appointment of United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) two days later on February 3, 2025.^[6]
5. On February 11, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated McKernan to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).^[7]

References

1. Eaglesham, Jean (February 9, 2011). "Warning Shot On Financial Protection". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
2. Wattles, Jackie (November 24, 2017). "Richard Cordray resigns as head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau". CNN Money.
3. "USCA Case #18-5007 Document #1715745" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. January 31, 2018.
4. Lane, Sylvan (2021-01-20). "Consumer bureau director resigns after Biden's inauguration". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
5. Williams, Claire (February 1, 2025). "Chopra out at the CFPB". American Banker. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
6. Berry, Kate (February 3, 2025). "Trump taps Treasury's Bessent as acting CFPB director". American Banker. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
7. Goldstein, Matthew; Cowley, Stacy (February 11, 2025). "Trump Names 2 New Top Financial Regulators". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via archive.today.