Trump Consumer Watchdog Kraninger Steps Down at Biden’s Request

(Bloomberg) -- Kathy Kraninger, former President Donald Trump’s director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, posted her resignation letter to Twitter Wednesday, saying she was stepping down according to the wishes of President Joe Biden.

“I have focused on implementing common-sense solutions to complex problems and delivering real value for the American people,” Kraninger said in her resignation letter, detailing what she considers the agency’s accomplishments during her two-year tenure.

Progressives see things differently, accusing Kraninger of contributing to the Trump administration’s efforts to muzzle the CFPB, which oversees everything from mortgage lenders to student-loan companies and credit-card issuers.

The agency was created through the Dodd-Frank Act to protect consumers from the kind of abuses that were commonplace in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Biden has announced he plans to nominate Rohit Chopra, a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, to replace Kraninger. Chopra, 38, is an acolyte of Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who is credited with conceiving of the CFPB and played a significant role in setting it up.

Chopra is expected to be an aggressive regulator, and because he’s already Senate-confirmed for the FTC, he can quickly step into the role as acting CFPB director while awaiting Senate approval.