Finance
Senators grill Trump CFPB pick, Jonathan McKernan: ‘Good luck’
Jonathan McKernan, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sits on the day he testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday withstood grilling from Democrat senators who repeatedly asked him to confirm that he would uphold his legal obligations to run the agency.
Pressed by senators including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jonathan McKernan, a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board member, told lawmakers he would “fully and faithfully” enforce laws related to the CFPB’s mission.
“My legal career started just as the 2008 financial crisis was beginning,” McKernan said. “Watching that crisis unfold left me with an enduring conviction that we must have a financial regulatory system that works for everyday Americans. Consumer protection is critical to that end.”
Still, McKernan made it clear that he disagreed with how predecessor Rohit Chopra ran the agency. In opening remarks, he said that the CFPB “acted in a politicized manner,” exceeded its legal authority, hurt consumers by inadvertently raising prices and suffered from a “crisis of legitimacy.”
“This must be corrected if the CFPB is to reliably do what it’s supposed to do: look out for the American consumer,” said McKernan, a former corporate banking lawyer and Senate aide.
Since acting CFPB Director Russell Vought took over this month, the agency has shuttered its Washington headquarters, fired about 200 employees and told those who remain to stop nearly all work. Those moves, along with an allegation from a CFPB union that Vought intends to fire more than 95% of the agency’s staff, has spurred fears that the agency faces extinction.
Earlier Thursday, the CFPB dismissed at least four enforcement lawsuits, including actions against Capital One and a Berkshire Hathaway unit.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at a rally outside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Feb. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
Warren pressed McKernan on if he would uphold CFPB’s statutory requirements, including having a website and toll-free line for consumer complaints, as well as maintaining advocacy offices for military veterans and senior citizens.
“Each of the offices I think you mentioned is mandated by statute,” McKernan said. “Yes, I’ll follow the law.”
Rattling off a list of public comments and steps made by the Trump administration that indicate the bureau could be shuttered entirely, Warren questioned how effective McKernan could be.
“It kind of feels like you’ve been lined up to be the No. 1 horse at the glue factory,” Warren said.
For his part, McKernan said that if confirmed by the Senate, he would “right-size” the CFPB, as well as “refocus it” and “make it accountable.”
Sen. Jack Reed, D.-R.I., followed up, adding that Vought has canceled the lease on the agency’s headquarters and dismissed cases against “predatory lenders.” Reed also mentioned reporting that both Trump and Vought, who is also head of the Office of Management and Budget, want to eliminate the bureau.
“You’re going to be placed in a very difficult position,” Reed said. “You do not appear to have much presidential support or OMB support, and I have this sinking feeling that you’re departing Liverpool on the Titanic. Good luck.”
McKernan didn’t verbally respond to Reed’s comment, only smiling ruefully while nodding slightly.
‘The Big Money Show’ co-hosts discuss buy now, pay later spending options and the impact it will now have on your credit score.
Small, everyday purchases like a meal from DoorDash are now able to be financed through eat now, pay later options — a practice that some experts deem “predatory.”
“You’ve got to have enough sense to not follow the urge to finance a taco, okay? You have got to be an adult,” career coach Ken Coleman told “The Big Money Show,” Wednesday.
“This is predatory, and it’s going to get a lot of people in deep trouble.”
RISKS OF BUY NOW, PAY LATER: ‘TICKET TO OVERSPENDING,’ EXPERT SAYS
DoorDash and Klarna are now partnering up to extend buy now, pay later options to consumers. (Reuters, Getty / Getty Images)
Financial wellness experts are continuously sounding the alarm to cash-strapped consumers, warning them of the devastating impact this financial strategy could have on their credit score as some lenders will begin reporting those loans to credit agencies.
Consumers may risk getting hit with late fees and interest rates, similar to credit cards.
“So your sandwich might show up on your FICO score, especially if you pay for it late,” FOX Business’ Jackie DeAngelis explained.
EXPERTS WARN HIDDEN RISKS OF BUY NOW, PAY LATER
Major players like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna have risen to prominence at a time when Americans continue to grapple with persisting inflation, high interest rates and student loan payments, which resumed in October 2023 after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramsey Solutions personal finance expert and ‘The Ramsey Show’ co-host George Kamel discusses the ‘buy now, pay later’ craze and the trend that celebrates the financial benefits of being childless.
“The Big Money Show” co-host Taylor Riggs offered a different perspective, suggesting that company CEOs have a “duty” to attract as many customers as they want.
“Unfortunately for me, this always comes down to financial literacy — which I know is so much in your heart about training people to save now by later,” she told Coleman, who regularly offers financial advice to callers on “The Ramsey Show.”
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Coleman continued to come to the defense of financially “desperate” consumers, arguing that companies are targeting “immature” customers.
“I’m for American businesses being able to do whatever they want to do under the law. That’s fine. But let’s still call it what it is: it’s predatory, and they know who their customers are,” Coleman concluded, “And I’m telling you, they’re talking about weak-minded, immature, desperate people.”
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
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