President Trump has nominated Stuart Levenbach to serve as permanent director of the CFPB. Levenbach is an Office of Management and Budget official and aide to OMB Director, and current CFPB Acting Director, Russ Vought. If the Senate confirms Levenbach, he likely would continue Vought’s work to close down the CFPB. President Trump withdrew his prior nominee to run the Bureau, Jonathan McKernan, last May.
Acting Director Vought’s Term Gets Extended.
One byproduct of Levenbach’s nomination is that it allows Vought to continue serving as the CFPB’s acting director. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, an individual may remain acting director for no longer than 210 days, beginning on the date of the vacancy. However, an acting director may continue to serve while a first or second nomination of a permanent director is pending. And if the nomination is withdrawn (as happened with the prior nomination for permanent director) then an acting director may serve for an additional 210 days.
The withdrawal of Jonathan McKernan’s nomination allows Vought to continue as acting director through December of this year. Levenbach’s nomination means Vought can continue as acting director while Levenbach’s nomination is pending in the Senate and, if the nomination is withdrawn, for an additional 210 days.
So, Vought could run the CFPB well into 2026. That seems to be the plan, as a CFPB spokesperson confirmed that Levenbach’s nomination was a “technical” maneuver designed to extend Vought’s time.
A wildcard?
Though, if you suspend your disbelief and imagine that Levenbach makes it all the way to and through the Senate, he would become the CFPB’s new, permanent director. Above, we assumed he would execute Vought’s plan—to close or effectively close the CFPB, and perhaps to revise a few regulations as enforcement and supervisory activity continue winding down.
Levenbach has a Ph.D. in marine ecology and a B.A. in biology and political science. He currently oversees natural resources and energy issues and, in the first Trump Administration, he was chief of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Levenbach has little to no experience in financial services. His priorities are unknown. His views regarding financial services are unclear. He could decide to go in a different direction.
Except that all of this is impossible to imagine.
