The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced that Meredith Fuchs will serve as Acting Deputy Director when Deputy Director Steve Antonakes departs the agency at the end of July. Antonakes currently serves as both Deputy Director for the Bureau and Associate Director for the Division of Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending. Earlier this month, Fuchs announced her intention to step down as General Counsel, but she will continue to serve as General Counsel and Acting Deputy Director until a permanent replacement is selected for each position. David Bleicken, Deputy Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending, will serve as Acting Associate Director for that division while a search for a replacement is conducted.
“Steve has been an enormous asset to the Bureau, and a great friend and colleague to me since the early days of the agency,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “His contributions to this agency have been extensive in his dual roles as Deputy Director and Associate Director of Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending and he will be sorely missed. Meredith’s experience and vision have helped build the Bureau since before we opened our doors, and I could not be more pleased that she has agreed to take on the role of Acting Deputy Director. I am deeply grateful to Steve and Meredith for their contributions to the CFPB and the American public we serve.”
Fuchs joined the Bureau in 2011 as Principal Deputy General Counsel before serving as Chief of Staff to CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Prior to joining the CFPB, she served as Chief Investigative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. Previously, Fuchs held positions as vice president and general counsel of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, a litigation partner in private practice, the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellow at the Public Citizen Litigation Group, and an officer on the D.C. Bar Board of Governors. She is the recipient of the American Library Association’s James Madison Award. Fuchs served as a law clerk for Judge Patricia M. Wald on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Paul L. Friedman on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
