Johnson Noncommital on CFPB Funding in Confirmation Hearing

President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Capital One executive Brian Johnson, said Thursday (July 23) that he has not decided whether to pursue the administration’s plans to fire most of the regulator’s staff, Reuters reported Thursday.

Speaking at a Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing, Johnson said, per the report: “I would pledge to you to have an open mind to take a look at staffing levels with the agency.

The Hill reported Thursday that during the hearing, several Democratic senators questioned Johnson about the job cuts proposed by CFPB Acting Director Russ Vought.

Asked if he believes the administration should “eliminate” the CFPB, Johnson said that is not his “intention.” Asked whether he disagrees with anything Vought has done, Johnson said, “None come to mind at the moment,” according to the report.

The Senate Banking Committee’s ranking member, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in opening remarks for the hearing that Johnson’s nomination should not be confirmed.

“But for everyone who already had doubts about Mr. Johnson, Acting Director Vought testified last week and told us exactly why he should not be confirmed. The most damning thing about Mr. Johnson’s nomination is that he has gotten at rousing stamp of approval from the outgoing director, Russ Vought, who spent a year and a half trying to kill the agency and who now says Mr. Johnson will, ‘do a great job’ running it — yeah, running it — into the ground.”

When Johnson was nominated to the CFPB post in June, PYMNTS reported that Johnson held four positions at the CFPB between December 2017 and March 2020, most recently serving as deputy director.

After serving as partner at a law firm and managing director at a consultancy, Johnson joined Capital One in November 2024 as vice president and U.S. card compliance officer, and he continues to hold that role.

In his testimony for Thursday’s nomination hearing, Johnson said: “If confirmed, I will have three priorities: protecting consumers, especially those who are vulnerable to fraud and scams; promoting accountability by ensuring the CFPB acts prudently and within its statutory limits; and modernizing CFPB operations.”