President Trump Nominates Former CFPB Deputy Brian Johnson to Lead Bureau as Permanent Director

Today, President Trump nominated Brian Johnson, a former deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the first Trump Administration, to serve as the bureau’s next permanent director. Johnson would replace Russell Vought, whose tenure as Acting Director is scheduled to end August 1. Under federal law, Vought cannot continue to serve in an acting capacity once a formal nominee has been submitted to the Senate.

Johnson most recently served as a senior executive at Capital One and previously worked at regulatory consulting firm Patomak Global Partners. During the first Trump administration, he was deputy director under former CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, where he played a significant role in shaping bureau policy. Before joining the CFPB, he served as chief counsel for the House Financial Services Committee and spent more than a decade working on financial regulatory issues on Capitol Hill.

The nomination is expected to face strong opposition from Senate Democrats, particularly Elizabeth Warren, the Ranking Member on the Senate Banking Committee and one of the architects of the CFPB. Warren has already criticized the nomination, arguing that Johnson would continue efforts to weaken the agency and reduce its consumer protection mission.

Until Johnson is confirmed, CFPB Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta is expected to serve as acting director. Paoletta also serves as general counsel at the Office of Management and Budget, where Vought remains as director.

If confirmed, Johnson would inherit a CFPB that has already been significantly reduced in size and whose long-term role remains the subject of both political and legal battles. His leadership, however, may represent a shift away from efforts to dismantle the agency and toward efforts to redefine and narrow its mission.