Ex-FDIC official McKernan nominated as new CFPB director

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Donald Trump has nominated a new director to lead the agency.

Trump nominated former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board member Jonathan McKernan to be the next director of the CFPB for five years, according to a letter sent to the Senate on Feb. 11.

McKernan was sworn in as a member of the board of directors at FDIC on Jan. 5, 2023; he also served as an advising counsel to former U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., on the staff of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs from January 2021 to December 2022. 

In the Feb. 11 letter, Trump also nominated: 

• Jason De Senna Trennert to be the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; 

• Sean Cairncross to be the National Cyber Director; 

• Jonathan Gould to be the Comptroller of Currency; and 

• John Hurley to be the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crime.

McKernan has been nominated with a mandate to manage the CFPB’s transition, which could include significant reductions in its scope, regulatory authority, and operational footprint, Jim McCarthy, founder and chairman of financial consulting agency McCarthy Hatch and a founding member of the CFPB, told Equipment Finance News’ sister publication Bank Automation News.  

“If Congress lacks the political will to fully eliminate the CFPB, the director is expected to focus on curtailing its enforcement capabilities, reducing regulatory burdens on financial institutions, and limiting the bureau’s impact on the marketplace,” McCarthy said. 

As the future of CFPB hangs in the balance, the bureau on Feb. 12 terminated roughly 70 probationary employees, including Enforcement Division attorneys, as first reported by Bloomberg Law, and has halted all enforcement activity. 

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