On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Brian Johnson as the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Johnson, a former aide and financial services executive, previously held a key role in the bureau during Trump’s first term. If confirmed, he will lead the CFPB for the remainder of Trump’s second term.
Brian Johnson gained prominence as the deputy director under Kathy Kraninger, the first CFPB director appointed by Trump. During Kraninger’s leadership, Johnson wielded considerable influence, shaping the direction and priorities of the bureau. After his departure in 2020, Johnson joined Patomak Global Partners and later held a senior executive position at Capital One, a major player in the credit card industry.
Should the Senate confirm his appointment, Johnson will take over a bureau that has been largely inactive since Trump returned to office. Under the temporary leadership of Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, the CFPB has focused on reversing previous regulatory actions.
Established in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB was created by Congress to serve as an independent regulator, overseeing consumer financial products and services with broad enforcement powers. However, Republicans have consistently criticized the bureau, arguing that it wields excessive, unchecked authority. They have made several attempts to curtail its influence since its inception.
Johnson has been an outspoken critic of the CFPB, particularly during the tenure of President Joe Biden’s appointee, Rohit Chopra. Despite his criticisms, Johnson’s views are notably less extreme than those of Vought, who has openly advocated for the dismantling of the CFPB. Vought’s term as acting director is set to conclude in August.
While Johnson testified in 2023 to the House Financial Services Committee that the bureau is “ripe for reform” either by Congress or internally, he believed that “properly structured and managed, (the CFPB) is capable of great good.”
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Lindsey Johnson, the president and CEO of the banking industry lobby group Consumer Bankers Association, described Johnson as having a “tenured background steeped in consumer protection policy.” Lindsey Johnson is unrelated to Brian Johnson.
Johnson’s nomination will go to the Senate Banking Committee, where Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the bureau’s biggest advocate, is now the top-ranking Democrat on the committee. Warren was a critic of Johnson when he was deputy director of the bureau during Trump’s first term, and was also critical of Johnson’s nomination.
“Russ Vought can no longer serve as Donald Trump’s hatchet man at the CFPB. So here comes the next hatchet man to try to finish the job,” Warren said in a statement.