McKernan was confirmed by the Senate on a 51-47 vote, according to Congress.gov. The roll call vote was split along party lines, with 51 Republicans voting in favor, 45 Democrats and 2 independents voting against, and two Republicans not voting.
“I want to thank President Trump and [Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent] for their confidence in me to further the economic agenda of this Administration as we look to accelerate this nation’s sustainable economic growth,” McKernan said in a press release issued Tuesday by the Justice Department.
Bessent said in the release that McKernan’s credentials make him an ideal leader in the position for which he was confirmed.
“He will play an instrumental role in strengthening our economy by clawing back the government overreach and excess that defined previous administrations,” Bessent said. “I look forward to working with him as we lay the economic foundation for America’s Golden Age.”
PYMNTS reported in May that McKernan was nominated for this post after previously being nominated to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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The Treasury Department said at the time in a press release that McKernan had been an adviser to the Treasury Department while he was awaiting Senate confirmation for the position at the CFPB.
“During that time, McKernan has become an integral part of the Secretary’s senior team,” the release said. “His continued service at Treasury will ensure that his experience and expertise are best put to advancing the President’s America First agenda.”
McKernan resigned from his position on the FDIC board on Feb. 10 as his term expired after having served on the board since 2023. President Trump nominated him for the CFPB director position the next day.
Prior to joining the FDIC board, McKernan spent time as a senior counsel for the Federal Housing Finance Agency and aide to former Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.
PYMNTS reported Feb. 24 that McKernan wrote in a May 2023 social media post on financial services that “we should avoid the temptation to pile on yet more prescriptive regulation or otherwise push responsible risk taking out of the banking system.”
