Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., weighs in on Trumps tax cuts amid Scott Bessents confirmation hearing and Congress grappling with a strategy for the reconciliation bill.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency announced on Monday.
« I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth, » Bessent said.
The CFPB’s announcement noted that President Donald Trump designated Bessent as the agency’s acting director on Friday. Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra wrote in a letter published Saturday that he was no longer serving as the agency’s director.
Bessent was confirmed as Treasury secretary last week, when the Senate cast a bipartisan 68-29 vote to confirm him to the role. Bessent, 62, served as a key economic policy adviser to the Trump campaign before he was nominated to the Cabinet role.
SCOTT BESSENT CONFIRMED BY SENATE TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S TREASURY SECRETARY
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting director of the CFPB. (Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Republicans have long criticized the CFPB for its aggressive approach to regulating the financial services industry. The agency also faced a legal challenge to the constitutionality of its funding structure that reached the Supreme Court, which determined the agency’s funding was constitutional.
While Bessent was going through the confirmation process, he responded to a questionnaire from senators in which he was asked if he believes the CFPB should be abolished.
« The CFPB was created by legislation passed by Congress, » Bessent wrote. « I look forward to working with the incoming director of the CFPB as appropriate to ensure that the Bureau can be effective at fulfilling its statutory mission. »
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The CFPB regulates the financial services industry but has faced GOP criticism for its aggressive approach. (Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
It’s unclear at this time how long Bessent will serve as acting director of the CFPB or when the Trump administration intends to nominate a new director.
Chopra could’ve remained in his role as the agency’s leader, as he was in the third year of a five-year term due to end in 2026, though he had previously said that he would step down from the role if asked by the new president. The Supreme Court in 2020 determined that the CFPB director was an at-will employee.
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Billionaire Elon Musk, who Trump has tasked with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), signaled he may try to eliminate the agency in a post on X.
« Delete CFPB, » Musk wrote. « There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies. »
