Stuart Levenbach has been nominated for the position of director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for a five-year term, as per an announcement from the U.S. Senate.
Nominated for a five-year term to helm the CFPB, Levenbach was most recently vice chair of the National Capital Planning Commission and earlier this year, named associate director of Natural Resources, Energy, Science, and Water for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by President Trump, where he oversees natural resources, energy, science, and water issues.
The CFPB was established by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Its mission is to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in financial products such as mortgages, credit cards, and loans. The Bureau enforces consumer financial laws, supervises banks and other financial institutions, issues rules, and provides educational resources. The CFPB has reportedly returned more than $20 billion to consumers cumulatively, with additional savings tied to fee reductions that are measured in the billions each year.
During President Trump’s first administration, Levenbach served as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency that studies and forecasts changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts to support severe weather preparedness, marine commerce, and resource management.
“Congratulations to Stuart Levenbach for his nomination to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which comes at a critical time for consumers and the financial services marketplace," said Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) President and CEO Lindsey Johnson. “America’s leading Main Street banks look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration on data-driven, pro-growth policies that will support hardworking Americans and drive the economy forward, while at the same time ensuring the Bureau fulfills its statutory mission and sticks to what Congress authorized it to do. This will not only help restore the trust and credibility of the CFPB, but will benefit consumers, industry, and the broader economy alike.”
News of Levenbach’s nomination comes just days after Russell Vought, director of the OMB and current acting CFPB director, issued a court filing, National Treasury Employees Union, Plaintiffs, v. Russell Vought, stating the Bureau is nearly depleted of its funding.
The CFPB is not funded through the congressional appropriations process like most federal agencies, but directly by the Federal Reserve System. Each quarter, the CFPB requests the amount of funding it needs from the Federal Reserve, up to a statutory cap based on a percentage of the Federal Reserve’s annual operating expenses (roughly 12% of the Fed’s total operating budget). The CFPB Director then determines the amount “reasonably necessary” to carry out the Bureau’s duties, and any funds not used are returned to the U.S. Treasury.
With Levenbach’s background deep in science and regulatory policy, his nomination to lead a major consumer finance agency has sparked a political debate over the future of the CFPB.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren argued that the nomination of Levenbach is a procedural strategy designed to allow Vought, Levenbach’s boss at the OMB, to remain in place indefinitely as the Trump administration pursues its dismantling strategy of the agency.
“Donald Trump’s sending the Senate a new nominee to lead the CFPB looks like nothing more than a front for Russ Vought to stay on as Acting Director indefinitely as he tries to illegally close down the agency,” said Sen. Warren. “Instead of doing everything in their power to lower costs for Americans, Trump and Vought want to make it easier for giant corporations to scam families out of their money.”
Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, added: “As they’ve already admitted, Trump’s nomination of Stuart Levenbach is nothing more than a scheme to prolong Russ Vought’s control over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without needing Senate confirmation – another part of their master plan to gut the agency entirely and avoid having to answer to Congress or the American people for it. This maneuver comes after nearly a year of dodging a series of letters from me and many other Members of Congress as well as ignoring the CFPB’s statutory mandates to report and testify before Congress every six months."
Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a person generally may serve as the acting head of an agency for only 210 days when the role is subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. That time is extended if the President nominates another person for the position — which the President has done three weeks before Vought’s 210 days are up.
