The U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) 50-48 in a party-line vote that got no Republican support for Rohit Chopra, who currently serves as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission.
As FTC Commissioner, Chopra was often met with pushback over his views that the CFPB didn’t crack down hard enough on violators, particularly Facebook and Google. He consistently sought bigger fines and restrictions, according to reports.
See also: CFPB Nominee Chopra Could Gain Senate Approval
Chopra helped develop the CFPB 10 years ago with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who conceived the agency to regulate financial companies, protect consumers, and head off the abuses that led to the 2008 mortgage crisis and recession. He became the bureau’s assistant director and was the student loan ombudsman until 2015.
“Rohit is a terrific champion for consumers,” Warren said in a statement. “I look forward to his leadership at the bureau as he works to return it to its core mission of protecting consumers from discrimination and predatory institutions.”
See: CFPB Pick Chopra To Focus On Pandemic-Rooted Debt
A Wharton MBA, Chopra worked for management consultancy McKinsey & Co. before getting into government. In 2018, he became a commissioner at the FTC, where he advocated for more oversight and aggressive enforcement.
“If there are unlawful, egregious practices, it is important for enforcement to make sure that they stop — that’s what’s best for consumers, that’s what’s best for the honest market participants and that’s the role Congress has asked the CFPB to play,” Chopra said at his March confirmation hearing for the consumer bureau post.
Biden has nominated privacy advocate Alvaro Bedoya to replace Chopra at the FTC.
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