Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger announced Wednesday she is resigning from her post at the request of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“As requested by the Biden administration, today I resigned as Director of the CFPB,” Kraninger said. “I am proud of all that we accomplished on behalf of consumers. It has been an honor to lead the agency during these challenging times.”
In a letter to the president, Kraninger said she is stepping down effective Jan. 20, 2021. She said she supports the Constitutional prerogative of the president to appoint senior officials within the government who support the president’s policy priorities. She said this will ensure the government is responsive to the will of the people as expressed in presidential elections.
This comes after Biden nominated FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra as the next director of the CFPB.
That’s because in 2020, the Supreme Court decision in Seila Law versus the CFPB declared the CFPB unconstitutional under its leadership structure, saying it violated the Constitution’s separation of powers by placing leadership of the agency in the hands of a single director who could only be removed for cause. The court declared the director removeable at-will by the president.
But now, Kraninger’s decision to step down from her role ends all speculation that Republicans could challenge Biden’s right to fire CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger and also appoint a new director to the role.
In a recent Mortgage Desk segment of HousingWire Daily, Mayer Brown Partner Ori Lev explained the clause that allows the president to nominate the next CFPB director could be challenged in the case of the director being fired.
“It has been an honor to serve the American people for over 20 years, and my privilege to do so alongside the many career and political civil servants who put country over self,” Kraninger said in the letter. “As I testified during my confirmation hearing, throughout my career, I have focused on implementing common-sense solutions to complex problems and delivering real value for the American people.”
“Over the past two years, that is precisely what I have done – with the law as my guide, with the support of the dedicated CFPB staff and in partnership with the many stakeholders who join in the bureau’s mission ‘to ensure all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services…that are fair, transparent and competitive,’” she said.