Rohit Chopra’s CFPB beat back overdraft and credit card junk fees, tackled medical debt, credit reporting, student loans, and high-cost lending
WASHINGTON – Today, President Donald J. Trump fired Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an active, pro-consumer regulator. Director Chopra focused the nation’s leading consumer protection agency on protecting people from unfair and deceptive practices by the financial industry and rolling back predatory junk fees, stopping damaging credit industry practices, and bringing enforcement actions that contributed to the nearly $20 billion the CFPB has returned to the pockets of working people.
“I am deeply concerned about President Trump’s decision to fire CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who had 20 months to go in his term and has done critical work to support ordinary people against powerful corporate interests,” said Richard Dubois, executive director of the National Consumer Law Center. “Under Director Chopra’s leadership, the CFPB has fought to reduce overdraft and credit card late fees, take medical debt off 15 million credit reports, stop fraud on big tech payment apps, and hold powerful Wall Street companies accountable when they violate the law. The CFPB supports struggling families no matter their political ideology, and its important work on behalf of everyday people must continue.”
“Chopra exposed and penalized lending practices that disproportionately harmed consumers of color, and made clear that discrimination is unfair in any financial service,” said Dubois.
“Director Chopra finalized rules to eliminate medical debt from credit reports and to reduce overdraft fees from $35 to $5, and the decision to fire Chopra raises the threat that President Trump will side with big banks that are pushing Congress to overturn those rules so they can keep taking billions from our pocketbooks,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center.
President Biden appointed Chopra director of the CFPB in 2021. In his first term, President Trump nominated Chopra to serve on the Federal Trade Commission. In recent polling, an overwhelming majority of voters across party lines – roughly nine in 10 – agree that regulating financial services and products to ensure they are fair for consumers is important.
Related Resources
- CFPB: Enforcement by the Numbers, Jan. 17, 2025
- Press Release: CFPB Rule Removes Medical Debts from Credit Reports, Jan. 7, 2025
- Press Release: CFPB Overdraft Rule Provides Real Savings for Families Living Paycheck to Paycheck, Dec. 21, 2024
- NCLC Digital Library: 18 CFPB Actions in 2024 Aiding Private Consumer Litigants, Aug. 21, 2024
- Press Release: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Consumer Watchdog, May 16, 2024
- Press Release: NCLC Welcomes Chopra at CFPB, Sept. 30, 2021
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