President Donald Trump fired Rohit Chopra from his job as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Saturday. Chopra, who had been fighting for stricter rules on banks and credit card companies since 2021, got the news through a White House email.
As CFPB director, Chopra took strong enforcement actions against financial institutions that violated consumer protection rules. In one major case, he made Wells Fargo return $2 billion to customers after the bank wrongly took some people’s cars and homes. He also worked to help people dealing with medical debt by removing $49 billion in medical bills from credit reports, which can make it easier for people to get loans or rent apartments.
Chopra pushed to lower fees that hit people’s wallets. He wanted to cap credit card late fees at $8, down from the much higher fees banks usually charge. He also tried to limit overdraft charges – the fees banks charge when people spend more money than they have in their accounts – to $5. Currently, banks often charge around $35 for these overdrafts.
Several major financial institutions and banking groups opposed these regulations. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase faced lawsuits from the CFPB under Chopra’s watch. The Consumer Bankers Association said his strict rules made it harder for some people to get loans when they needed them.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren, who first came up with the idea for the CFPB, supported Chopra’s work. “He held Wall Street accountable when they cheated hardworking families,” she said. Warren warned that if Trump and his team try to weaken the CFPB’s power to protect consumers, they “will have a fight on their hands.”
Trump can pick a new CFPB leader because of a 2020 Supreme Court decision. This ruling changed the original 2011 law that created the CFPB after the 2008 financial crisis. The court said presidents can fire CFPB directors whenever they want, instead of letting them serve their full five-year terms.
Before leaving, Chopra wrote a letter to Trump on social media. He pointed out that Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. “We see a path for making these changes happen,” Chopra wrote, suggesting the CFPB could help with Trump’s plan.
For now, Zixta Martinez, the CFPB’s second-in-command, will run the agency until Trump chooses someone new. Financial industry officials expect the agency to pare back its oversight, issue fewer new regulations and freeze or rescind some of those imposed by Chopra. This could affect how much banks can charge for various services and how they handle customer complaints.
The switch in CFPB leadership matters because it affects the rules banks must follow and the fees they can charge customers. These changes could impact everything from credit card bills to bank account charges for millions of Americans.