Blumenthal Introduces CFPB Nominee Rohit Chopra Before Senate Confirmation Hearing

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, introduced the Biden Administration’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Rohit Chopra before his confirmation hearing in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Blumenthal touted Chopra’s expertise and experience, encouraging support for his nomination.

“I couldn’t be prouder to introduce to the committee Rohit Chopra because I couldn’t imagine a better person to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at this critical time,” said Blumenthal. “It is indeed an economic crisis that has burdened particularly communities of color and Rohit Chopra is sensitive to the challenges that those communities of color encounter in this perfect storm of economic crisis. Consumers can be sure he will be in their corner and have their back. He has a great mind and a deeply good heart, and I have seen him fight for consumers but fairly so, heeding the need for bipartisanship and listening to stakeholders on both sides of issues.”

The full transcript of his remarks can be found below.

Thank you so much Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Toomey. I’m honored, very honored, to visit with the committee on this occasion with such eminently qualified distinguished nominees for their respective posts.

Really, I couldn’t be prouder to introduce to the committee Rohit Chopra because I couldn’t imagine a better person to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at this critical time. It is indeed an economic crisis that has burdened particularly communities of color and Rohit Chopra is sensitive to the challenges that those communities of color encounter in this perfect storm of economic crisis. Consumers can be sure he will be in their corner and have their back. He has a great mind and a deeply good heart, and I have seen him fight for consumers but fairly so, heeding the need for bipartisanship and listening to stakeholders on both sides of issues. He is indeed tough but fair, insightful, and perceptive, but he also has reverence to the American values that have motivated him throughout his extraordinary career at the highest academic institutions and then in public service.

As the current Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee and formerly Ranking Member and, as you observed Chairman Brown, Attorney General of the state of Connecticut for twenty years, I have been involved in observing the importance of fair, tough enforcement of consumer protection laws and he fits that need right now. But I’ve also seen his work, his fight to protect the Made in America label which means more jobs for Americans. That Made in the USA label serves enforcement, his vigilance to the harms of Big Tech, collaborating with state attorneys general and his Republican colleagues, benefitting consumers and competition. His expertise and experience in protecting household and students from unfair and burdensome practices, and of course he has been saluted by veteran’s organizations. As a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee as is the Chairman, I am very, very proud to recognize the strong endorsements that he has received from military and veterans organizations for his work in protecting them against the kinds of predatory threats that exist now more than ever.

I believe that tough and fair enforcement consumer protection laws is actually pro-business, because it protects the good guys from an unlevel playing field when those kinds of competitive or consumer laws are violated by members of the business community why may be trying to cut corners and putting the good guys at a disadvantage.

I think Rohit Chopra will be an extraordinarily distinguished head of the CFPB and I look forward to him serving with distinction. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

-30-