The Trump administration announced it had fired Rohit Chopra, the chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration made the announcement on Saturday.
Chopra said he expected to be fired immediately after President Donald Trump took office. However, he spent the nearly two weeks following the beginning of Trump’s second term imposing a $2 million fine on a money transmitter and releasing reports on auto lending costs.
Before he left, Chopra posted on X, saying how important the work of the CFPB is.
It's been an honor serving as your @CFPB Director.
— Rohit Chopra (@chopracfpb) February 1, 2025
Every day, Americans from across the country shared their ideas and experiences with us. You helped us hold powerful companies & their executives accountable for breaking the law, and you made our work better.
Thank you. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JD7lIcwmHa
“With so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the C.F.P.B. have never been more critical,” Mr. Chopra wrote on X.
During his time as the chief of the CFPB, Chopra focused on tightening the rules governing big technology companies’ consumer payment services and the use of customer data. His efforts won praise from banking trade groups, according to The Times.
Chopra also was crucial in the Biden administration’s fight against “junk fees.” Last year, he issued a rule limiting most credit card late-payment fees to no more than $8 a month. However, banking trade groups sued and won an injunction temporarily blocking it. The bureau is currently fighting that lawsuit but a new chief could stop that.
The CFPB will now be helmed by Deputy Director Zixta Martinez until Trump chooses a new acting leader.
Experts believe the bureau under Trump will likely pull back its oversight. They also believe it will issue fewer regulations and freeze or rescind many of Chopra’s previous regulations.
Just before he left his role, Chopra said the bureau had looked at capping credit card interest rates at 10%, something President Trump endorsed on the campaign trail. Chopra said he had seen a path for enacting the proposal.
