WASHINGTON—Saying the CFPB is not a “dead fish,” the agency’s director, Rohit Chopra, stated Wednesday the Bureau will press forward with rulemaking, even as federal banking agencies have paused their major initiatives until after President-Elect Trump takes office, the ABA Banking Journal reported.
As CUToday.info has reported, the CFPB has introduced several new rules as the year comes to a close, including the latest rule on overdraft charges.
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing Wednesday during which Chopra testified, Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) noted the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of Comptroller of the Currency have all said they have no plans to push forward with major rulemakings until there is a change in administration, ABA Banking Journal reported.
Scott accused Chopra of pressing forward with a “unilateral partisan agenda” and questioned why the CFPB wasn’t pausing rulemakings like the other agencies, ABA Banking Journal noted.
“I don’t think it makes sense for the CFPB to be a dead fish,” Chopra said. “People between Election Day and Inauguration Day are still getting scammed, they’re still being subjected to questionable account closures, they’re still being the victims of so much wrongdoing.”
Chopra also declined to say whether he would resign from his position once Trump takes office but acknowledged that CFPB directors can be fired. “We serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said, according to the ABA Banking Journal report.