Kraninger resigns as Biden nominates successor
(Jan. 22, 2021) There was more change this week in Washington as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger resigned Wednesday, shortly after President Joe Biden took the oath of office.
Kraninger had served about 25 months of a five-year term that began in 2018. She was succeeded by Dave Uejio, the chief strategy officer of CFPB since 2015, who is now the bureau’s acting director. Biden made the appointment later in the day Thursday.
In her resignation letter addressed to Biden, Kraninger said she supports “the Constitutional prerogative of the President to appoint senior officials within the government who support the President’s policy priorities, which ensures our government is responsive to the will of the people.” She said she wished the best for new president and the nation going forward.
Meanwhile, Biden has nominated former CFPB Assistant Director Rohit Chopra to be the next director. Since 2018, he has been a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Chopra has made a name for himself as an advocate for fair student lending, including serving as student loan ombudsman while at the agency (a post mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act). Chopra was also instrumental in “standing up” the agency in 2011 after its creation.
If ultimately confirmed by the Senate, Chopra would be the fourth CFPB director or acting director. Richard Cordray was the first, followed by Acting Director John (“Mick”) Mulvaney, and then Kraninger.
In the meantime, Acting Director Ueijo is apparently ready to work: In a memo to staff Wednesday, he said he will take action quickly. “The magnitude of the challenges facing the country is simply too great to wait,” Uejio reportedly wrote.