Today, a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing took place to consider nominees for significant economic roles in the Trump Administration. The nominees included Bill Pulte for Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Jonathan McKernan for Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the committee, delivered opening remarks expressing concerns about these nominations amidst efforts by Donald Trump and Elon Musk to dismantle the CFPB.
Senator Warren emphasized that the CFPB has historically returned over $21 billion to consumers affected by unscrupulous financial practices. She noted that recent actions by President Trump and Musk are aimed at shutting down this agency, which she claims would primarily benefit "big banks, con-men and rip-off artists" as well as billionaires like Musk. According to Warren, "Mr. Musk woke up and tweeted 'CFPB RIP.' And soon after that, President Trump, DOGE, and Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought shut down the whole operation."
The hearing also addressed potential implications of Trump's housing finance plans under nominee Bill Pulte's leadership. Warren voiced concerns about privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stating it could increase housing costs for families while benefiting Trump's billionaire associates.
Other nominees present were Mr. Kessler for a national security position involving export controls and Mr. Miran as chief economic adviser responsible for analyzing tax policy and tariffs.
Warren criticized the limited time allocated for questioning each nominee: "(McKernan) will be squeezed in among four nominees, and we’ll have 75 seconds to ask him what he thinks his job will be if he is confirmed as CFPB Director while Trump and Musk try to kill the agency." She urged her colleagues to submit additional questions for the record due to time constraints.