Member Alert: Trump Shifts CFPB Pick to Treasury as Bureau Pulls 67 Regulatory Guidance Documents

Significant change at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues.

McKernan Nominated for Treasury Role

Jonathan McKernan, originally nominated by President Trump to lead the CFPB, has instead been tapped for a senior role at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, according to a Treasury statement released Friday. McKernan, who had been awaiting Senate confirmation to head the CFPB, will now be nominated as Undersecretary for Domestic Finance. As a result, he is no longer under consideration for the CFPB post, and a new nominee will be named.

During the interim, the CFPB remains under the acting leadership of OMB Director Russell Vought amid ongoing upheaval at the agency. The Treasury noted that McKernan had served as an advisor while awaiting confirmation and had become a key member of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s senior team.

CFPB Withdraws 67 Regulatory Guidance Documents

Today, the CFPB published a notice in the Federal Register withdrawing 67 different pieces of guidance and interpretive rules that the Bureau has released, some of which date back to 2011. This includes guidance related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and Regulation F.

Please note that a withdrawal is not necessarily final. The Bureau will continue its review to determine which guidance will remain withdrawn and whether any may be reissued in the future. In the meantime, today’s withdrawn guidance will not be enforced.

Among the guidance that the CFPB is rescinding is:

Acting Director Russell Vought cited the Bureau’s commitment to “issuing guidance only where that guidance is necessary” and a mission to “reduce compliance burdens rather than increase them.”

Vought also cited a directive from President Trump to deregulate and streamline bureaucracy, noting that many of the CFPB’s enforcement responsibilities overlap or are duplicative of other state and federal regulators.

This Member Alert is intended for members of Receivables Management Association International, is for informational purposes only, and is in no way intended to provide legal advice. Members are encouraged to consult with an attorney of their choice for legal advice concerning this matter.