The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Monday that Scott Bessent, the recently appointed secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will also serve as acting director for the CFPB following the firing of Rohit Chopra over the weekend.
“On Jan. 31, 2025, President Trump designated Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent as acting director of the [CFPB],” the bureau announced on Monday.
Initial reports had suggested that Zixta Martinez, the bureau’s deputy director, would be assuming the role of acting director. Instead, Trump named Bessent, an official who is largely recognized as more aligned with the Trump administration’s objectives.
Martinez joined the bureau prior to its official founding in 2011 and assisted in getting it off the ground following its authorization by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. She was named deputy director in 2021.
“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 in a statement announcing his role with the bureau.
The news comes as the CFPB is under renewed fire from Republicans empowered by the November election results. While Chopra remained in the top position at the bureau longer than most expected, his firing was widely anticipated due to the general opposition Republicans have had to the CFPB for the majority of its existence.
Republican lawmakers recently renewed their efforts to dismantle the bureau, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introducing a bill designed to cut off its source of funding from the Treasury department. Should the measure pass Congress and be signed into law by the president, Bessent would likely be in a position to implement it from both ends.
Recently, Senate banking committee chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) suggested that the administration would issue “a blockbuster announcement sometime soon as relates to who will be over at the CFPB.”
It’s unclear if he was referring to Bessent or a potential new permanent director. But other reports have suggested that the White House and its transition team had been running into challenges in locating someone they felt would be a suitable candidate, as well as legal issues that govern temporary appointments.
