The White House nominated a close aide to budget director Russ Vought to serve as the permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, though it’s unclear if he will assume the role.
It’s part of an apparent attempt to extend Vought’s time as the acting director of the agency, which President Donald Trump and the White House have said they planned to dismantle.
Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach Tuesday night for a five-year term, according to congressional records first reported by Politico.
CFPB, a department within the Office of Management and Budget charged with regulating consumer financial products, has been led by Vought, director of OMB, unofficially since Trump withdrew his previous nomination to the CFPB in May.
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CFPB did not respond to NOTUS’ request for comment, but a spokesperson for the department told Politico the nomination was a “technical” maneuver that would allow Vought to maintain his position for an extended period of time without having to undergo the typical Senate confirmation process.
It’s unclear when — or if — the Senate Banking Committee will bring Levenbach’s nomination before the committee. The office of the committee’s chairman, Sen. Tim Scott, did not respond to a request for comment from NOTUS.
Since assuming the role leading the Office of Management and Budget in February, Vought has terminated roughly 90% of the CFPB’s staff and suspended much of the agency’s work.
In an October appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Vought said he plans to “close down” the agency in the “next two or three months.”
The White House deemed the CFPB to be legally barred from seeking additional money from the Federal Reserve, its usual source of funding.
The move to nominate Levanbach to the CFPB’s permanent director role will allow more time for Vought to continue working toward dismantling the agency in an acting director capacity.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have warned that without the CFPB, Americans would be left without enforcement of federal consumer protection laws and oversight from the nation’s $18 trillion consumer debt market.
“Instead of doing everything in their power to lower costs for Americans, Trump and Vought want to make it easier for giant corporations to scam families out of their money,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement.
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