WASHINGTON — The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, has been waiting for a phone call, letter, email, text — anything, really — from the Trump administration that might say if he's getting fired.
After all, Chopra is a Biden administration appointee. He's an ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of President Donald Trump's favorite targets. Chopra has already packed up his office a few blocks from the White House. His picture no longer hangs in the lobby.
But as of Wednesday, Chopra remains one of the more important regulators from the Biden administration who's still on the job as Trump cleans house. That's according to a person familiar with Chopra's situation who insisted on anonymity to describe his status. Of course, it was Trump who during his first term picked Chopra to be a Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission.
For a president who took office with aggressive plans to reshape Washington, Trump seems not to have fully communicated what he wants from Chopra's agency. Under his leadership, the bureau has tackled junk fees, limited overdraft penalties and removed medical debt from people's credit ratings. His continued presence on the job may speak to how Trump's desire to move quickly in taking control of the government can lead to some oversights, but also to the challenge of fully merging Trump's populism with his pro-business calls to cut regulations.
Allison Preiss, a spokesperson for the CFPB, declined to comment on Chopra's job status. White House officials did not respond to questions about his status.
As a candidate, Trump pledged to cap the interest charged on credit card debt and the bureau has privately done work on that issue should the president wish to implement his promise.
''While working Americans catch up, we're going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates,'' Trump said at a September rally. ''We're going to cap it at around 10%. We can't let them make 25 and 30%.''
Under the law, Chopra serves a five-year term, which means he could stay on as the CFPB director. But he has publicly stated that he would leave his post if the president asked.
