NEW YORK— President Trump has nominated Brian Johnson to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Johnson was the deputy director of the bureau under Trump’s first CFPB director, Kathy Kraninger, and was known for being a powerful aide to Kraninger during her tenure who had significant leeway in deciding what the bureau should or should not work on, the AP noted.
Since leaving the CFPB in 2020, Johnson worked at Patomak Global Partners and was most recently a senior executive at Capital One.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, President Trump has consistently sought to all but eliminate the CFPB since beginning his second term, with interim Director Russell Vought—who also serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget—saying it has been his mission to shut it down. The courts, however, have overruled many of the moves made to gut the agency, which has recently said its workers would be returning to work, albeit in reduced numbers.
America’s CUs Extends Congratulations
“America’s Credit Unions congratulates Brian Johnson on his nomination to serve as CFPB Director. Johnson has significant experience in financial policy, and a strong understanding of the importance of right-sized regulations,” said America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Scott Simpson said in a statement. “We look forward to the opportunity to work with Johnson in this capacity to advance reforms at the bureau, should he be confirmed.”
The AP noted that Johnson has long been a vocal critic of the bureau’s work, particularly under President Joe Biden’s choice to run the bureau, Rohit Chopra.
“However, Johnson’s previous public statements about the bureau differ significantly from Vought, who has publicly said he would like the CFPB shut down or eliminated,” the AP reported, noting Vought’s tenure as acting director will run out in August. “While Johnson testified in 2023 to the House Financial Services Committee that the bureau is ‘ripe for reform’ either by Congress or internally, he believed that “properly structured and managed, (the CFPB) is capable of great good.”
DCUC Issues Statement
“DCUC welcomes President Trump’s nomination of Brian Johnson to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We recognize that Johnson brings extensive experience in consumer financial policy, including service as CFPB Deputy Director and Principal Policy Director, senior leadership roles with the House Financial Services Committee, and experience in both state government and the private sector,” the organization said in a statement.
DCUC added, “America’s financial services sector and the consumers it serves would benefit from a well-functioning, accountable CFPB. DCUC looks forward to working with Johnson to ensure the Bureau remains focused on its core consumer protection responsibilities while pursuing a balanced regulatory approach that avoids unnecessary burdens, promotes innovation, and enables credit unions to continue meeting the financial needs of their members and communities nationwide.”
‘The Next Hatchett Man’
Johnson’s nomination will now go to the Senate Banking Committee, where Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) the bureau’s biggest advocate, is now the top-ranking Democrat on the committee. Warren was a critic of Johnson when he was deputy director of the Bureau during Trump’s first term, and was also critical of Johnson’s nomination.
“Russ Vought can no longer serve as Donald Trump’s hatchet man at the CFPB. So here comes the next hatchet man to try to finish the job,” Warren said in a statement.
