CFPB Director Chopra’s Firing Tops Oligarchs’ Wishlist, Foreshadows Swing in Consumer Agency Priorities to Benefit Big Banks and Billionaires
February 1, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Donald Trump fired Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2021, Chopra was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a five year term atop the federal consumer watchdog, leading the government’s effort to ensure Wall Street, Big Tech, and other powerful financial interests treat working people fairly.
Chopra has been a staunch advocate for people with student debt, bringing blockbuster enforcement actions against student loan market leaders, predatory schools, and scam training programs. Under Chopra’s watch, the Bureau concluded its years-long litigation against one-time market leader Navient Corporation, permanently banning the firm from the federal student loan servicing industry. Evidence uncovered during the prosecution of Navient led the Biden Administration to cancel student debt for nearly 1.5 million Americans who relied on affordable repayment options mismanaged by student loan companies like Navient.
During the first three and a half years of his tenure, Chopra’s CFPB waged a war on “junk fees” across the economy, used the agency’s authority to serve as a counterweight to concentrated corporate power, and revived the practice of naming and banning individual corporate executives who break the law.
In response, Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) Executive Director Mike Pierce issued the following statement:
“Director Chopra pursued justice for working people at the expense of powerful financial interests in every corner of the American economy. Under his leadership, CFPB used the full weight of the power granted to it by Congress to rewrite the rules that govern how financial firms treat people, lower costs for working families and honest businesses, and prosecute corporations and executives without fear, favor, or prejudice.
“Today, student loan borrowers and their families lost an ally at the highest levels of power in Washington—a dark sign of things to come as millions of borrowers face debt collection, wage garnishment, and damaged credit for the first time in five years.
“Trump’s decision to sack the CFPB Director in his first weeks as President shows that he remains focused on doing the bidding of the oligarchs who ushered him back into power. It should come as no surprise that Trump cannot even pay lip service to his campaign promises to fight for everyday Americans and lower the cost of living—this was never part of the plan for Trump and his billionaire backers.”
Further Reading
Overview of CFPB’s effort to deliver for working families: Fast Facts: CFPB by the Numbers
Fact sheet providing an overview of Director Chopra’s tenure: The CFPB Under Director Rohit Chopra
Overview of enforcement under Director Chopra: CFPB Enforcement Under Director Chopra
###
About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.