Today, the House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), is holding a hearing with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra. Republicans are scrutinizing Director Chopra’s CFPB for its alleged politicized agenda and lack of accountability.
Chairman McHenry opened his remarks by referencing a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld the funding structure of the CFPB as created by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act. "My Democratic colleagues quickly called it a victory. Mr. Chopra, you stated the bureau will now be ‘firing on all cylinders.’ Unfortunately for my friends across the aisle, I’m not sure they fully understand what the Court’s ruling means," said McHenry.
McHenry emphasized that the opinion reaffirmed Congress' power to determine or create novel funding mechanisms for federal agencies and solidified its authority to change a funding stream. He argued that Republicans have a legislative solution to make the bureau more transparent and accountable to Americans and urged Democrats to collaborate on putting the CFPB on an appropriations cycle and enacting reforms.
Addressing Director Chopra directly, McHenry accused him of turning the CFPB into "an arm of President Biden’s political operation" and prioritizing politically favorable talking points over data, facts, economics, and sound analysis. He cited criticism from The Washington Post regarding unclear figures about potential consumer savings from cutting so-called junk fees.
McHenry also criticized Chopra for allegedly neglecting consumer financial protection in favor of political objectives and painting large segments of the financial services sector as bad actors. He reminded Chopra that these institutions comprise hard-working employees who are part of local communities.
The Chairman further condemned what he described as inflammatory rhetoric from the Biden Administration, which he claimed sows distrust among people relying on financial services without addressing actual fraudsters effectively.
In addition to critiquing Chopra's leadership at CFPB, McHenry pointed out issues within another agency where Chopra holds influence—the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Referring to recent hearings about workplace culture at FDIC under Chairman Gruenberg's leadership, McHenry expressed alarm over Chopra's silence on Gruenberg’s alleged mistreatment of staff despite having previously played a role in ousting Gruenberg's predecessor who was reportedly addressing employee abuse.
Concluding his remarks, McHenry accused Chopra of blatant partisanship and urged him to prioritize people working in and relying on financial services over political considerations.
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