WASHINGTON—Donald Trump has nominated Jonathan McKernan to serve as CFPB director and Jonathan Gould to take over as Comptroller of the Currency.
The moves follow a flurry of appointments regarding CFPB leadership.
As CUToday.info reported, the Trump Administration first tapped Scott Bessent to be the Bureau’s acting director, and then replaced him with Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought over the weekend. Bessent first halted CFPB orders, and then Vought shut down the agency.
Analysts don’t see the current Administration’s assault on the CFPB changing under McKernan. McKernan served as an FDIC board director and stepped down from his position Monday.
“The Trump Administration’s intentions to scale back the CFPB and slow down its regulatory and enforcement overreach is obvious, and Jonathan McKernan would not be nominated if his views were not consistent with the Administration’s,” said former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar.
But the Dollar Associates principal believes McKernan’s confirmation will be a challenging fight.
“Because the Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democrats in the Senate have a lot of personal political equity in the CFPB and will be unrelenting in their opposition,” Dollar said. “But, barring a major stumble on his part where he loses the support of Republican senators, McKernan should be confirmed when it’s all said and done, as he was a few years ago for the FDIC board.”
The Defense Credit Union Council welcomed McKernan’s nomination.
“We hope he will fulfill President Trump’s deregulatory vision at the CFPB,” said DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. “The agency grew well beyond its intended role and it is well past time to rein it in. We look forward to working with him once confirmed to putting in place common sense rules that trust credit unions to serve their members.”
America's Credit Unions Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt said McKernan's nomination offers insights into how President Trump is filling key regulatory positions.
"Everyone needs to keep in mind that the acting CFPB director sits on the FDIC board," noted Hunt. "So, in effect, McKernan is leaving the FDIC, going to the CFPB, and then he’s still working with the FDIC in a different capacity. That’s an interesting commentary on how the Administration is looking to fill roles at the agencies."
OCC Chief
Gould—a financial regulatory attorney in private practice, was previously senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel at the OCC from 2018 to 2021—would step in to replace former NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood, who was tapped this weekend by the Trump Administration to serve as acting Comptroller of the Currency. Both McKernan and Hood will hold their roles while McKernan and Gould move through the Senate confirmation process.