Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement following President Donald Trump’s latest decision to fire the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Rohit Chopra. Director Chopra’s term is not set to end until 2026. Congresswoman Waters recently released a fact sheet exposing President Trump and Elon Musk for their stated plans to eliminate the agency.

“President Trump’s decision to fire CFPB Director Rohit Chopra marks the end of an era of strong consumer protection and the beginning of a plan to end this important agency. Since taking the helm of the CFPB in 2021, Director Chopra has worked tirelessly to ensure the agency fulfills its critical mission of protecting American families in the financial marketplace. In the face of repeated and coordinated attacks, Director Chopra’s fearless advocacy on behalf of working-class families has returned more than $6 billion to harmed consumers. That’s not all. Director Chopra has taken decisive action to address the harsh reality that hardworking families are increasingly stretched thin and living paycheck to paycheck. Under his leadership, the CFPB has taken action to eliminate costly and illegal junk fees imposed by big banks, hold student loan servicers like Navient accountable for defrauding hardworking students, protect servicemembers from high-interest loans, promote transparency in the small business lending market, ban medical debt from being used to block creditworthy borrowers from accessing credit, tackle discrimination in housing and the economy, and take on big banks like Wells Fargo for repeatedly breaking the law and exploiting the very consumers they claim to serve. 

“While his accomplishments are too long to list, Director Chopra also advanced reforms to promote competition and strengthen privacy protections for consumers, actions that earned him unusual praise from Congressional Republicans. It’s no wonder why four out of five Americans support the CFPB, including a staggering 77% of Republicans. Even a conservative Supreme Court hostile to all kinds of regulatory agencies agreed that the CFPB and its funding is constitutional.

“Director Chopra, we thank you for your years of public service and remain grateful for the incredible work you have done in the past few years leading the excellent CFPB staff in protecting our nation’s consumers.

“Make no mistake, today’s decision is the first step by Trump, his co-President Elon Musk, and their Republican allies in Congress to dismantle the agency entirely, leaving consumers with no place to turn to for help and no real watchdog to hold predatory lenders and other bad actors accountable. Rest assured, my fellow Committee Democrats and I will continue to fight, as we have for more than 14 years, to defend the CFPB from Republican attacks and ensure they stay true to its mission of protecting hardworking Americans from financial institutions who continue to profit at their expense.”

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