RSSPresident Donald Trump nominated former FDIC Board Member Jonathan McKernan to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Trump’s Feb. 11 nomination of McKernan came a couple days after Acting Director Russell Vought ordered the bureau to stop working. The CFPB’s homepage has added an error message to its home page.
McKernan, who joined the FDIC board in 2023, co-chaired a special FDIC committee looking into allegations of sexual harassment and professional misconduct. He stepped down from the board on Feb. 10.
McKernan was a counsel to former Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He’s also been senior counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Before he joined the government, McKernan was a private attorney focusing on banking and consumer financial laws.
Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Lindsey Johnson expressed optimism that McKernan will undo regulations issued under previous Director Rohit Chopra.
“McKernan’s experiences as a former FDIC board member, counsel to lawmakers, and attorney focused on consumer finance and banking highlight his qualifications to lead the bureau at a critical time,” Johnson said. “We are confident McKernan understands the importance of working collaboratively with industry on behalf of the millions of consumers we both industry and government serve.”
