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The
Senate Banking Committee tied 12-12 on Chopra's nomination to
the CFPB in March, but Schumer on Tuesday "discharged" Chopra
from the committee, meaning his nomination can be put to a full
floor vote.
Earlier on Tuesday, Schumer praised Chopra as having a long
history of defending middle-class people from financial
institutions and students from for-profit colleges.
Chopra's departure from the Federal Trade Commission, to which
he was unanimously confirmed in 2018, would leave the
five-member body with two Democrats and two Republicans. Three
members of the commission must support a proposal for it to go
forward. Privacy advocate Alvaro Bedoya has been nominated to
replace him.
Progressives see both financial regulators as key to advancing
policy directives around climate change and racial justice. The
CFPB has been a political lightning rod since it was created
following the 2009 financial crisis, beloved by Democrats as a
guardian of ordinary Americans but reviled by Republicans as too
powerful and unaccountable.
Chopra is expected to stamp out exorbitant lending rates and
abusive debt-collection practices and address the student debt
burden and gaps in minorities' access to credit.
"Americans need someone at the helm of the CFPB who is ready to
stand up to the biggest banks and the most powerful corporations
in order to protect consumers," Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, a
Democrat, said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
"Rohit Chopra has the expertise and track record to lead an
agency dedicated to protecting working families and all
consumers."
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Pete Schroeder; Editing by
Marguerita Choy and Peter Cooney)
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