WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Rohit Chopra to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, two sources said.
Chopra, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, helped launch the agency in 2011 and previously served as its assistant director.
He is an ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who proposed and built the consumer-focused agency. He is also backed by progressive groups. Bloomberg first reported Chopra’s selection.
Among those who applauded the move Sunday were Randi Weingarten, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, and the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, which called him a “fantastic pick who will return the agency to its days of actually fighting for consumers.”
At the consumer bureau, Chopra worked on student loan issues and helped secure funding for people unlawfully targeted by debt collectors, for-profit colleges and others, according to his agency biography.
At the FTC, he “pushed for aggressive remedies against lawbreaking companies, especially repeat offenders, and has worked to reverse the FTC’s reliance on no-money, no-fault settlements,” his biography says.
Geoff Bennett reported from Washington and Tim Stelloh from California.
