The Senate is expected to vote this week on the nomination of Rohit Chopra, President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture to end debate on the nomination, the final step before a full floor vote. That comes a week after the Senate voted along party lines, 49-48, to discharge Chopra’s nomination from the banking committee, where it had languished after the committee was split in advancing him.
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Chopra is popular with the Left, and his first foray into Washington was to work with Elizabeth Warren, now a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, in setting up the CFPB amid the fallout of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Chopra was later appointed to fill an open Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission after Schumer recommended him.
The CFPB, responsible for regulating consumer banking, mortgages, credit cards, and other financial products, is a punching bag for Republicans who are not fans of increased government regulation and believe the consumer watchdog holds too much power.
Warren, known as being one of the most liberal lawmakers and for her stance as a financial regulation hawk, praised Chopra’s nomination by Biden. She called him a “fearless champion for consumers.” He was also championed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which touted his “willingness to challenge concentrated corporate power.”
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Biden can’t spare a single Democratic vote to confirm Chopra because no Republicans are likely to cross the aisle during his floor vote. Even if all Democrats vote in favor of confirming him, including centrists such as Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Vice President Kamala Harris would still have to serve as the tiebreaking vote.
