By Douglas Gillison and Pete Schroeder
(Reuters) – The U.S. consumer finance watchdog is moving ahead with rulemaking in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, in a bid to advance consumer protections before President-elect Trump overhauls the agency, said three people familiar with the agency’s thinking.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hopes to finalize a ban on including medical debt in credit reports, a proposal championed by Vice President Kamala Harris, and to propose restrictions on data brokers which track and collect personal data, said one of the sources who has direct knowledge of the matter.
On a Nov. 8 call with reform advocacy groups, CFPB director and Biden appointee Rohit Chopra said the agency was still considering adopting more regulations, according to the other two sources with direct knowledge of the call.
The sources asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive policy matters.
The decision by Chopra to keep rulemaking, which Reuters is the first to report, is a blow for firms that had hoped the agency would shelve efforts to curb their businesses after Trump’s Nov. 5 victory.
It also defies congressional Republicans, who have called for agencies to cease rulemaking, and contrasts with the Biden administration’s bank regulators who told Congress last week they will stop work until Trump takes power in January.
A CFPB spokesperson said Chopra attended the call to listen to the groups’ concerns but did not share his plans.
“Director Chopra has not made any decisions about what the bureau may finalize before the change in administrations but we are continuing to work,” said the spokesperson, adding the CFPB is an independent agency which carries out its work regardless of political cycles.
The agency, which under Chopra has pursued major rules, has at least seven other pending proposals, including curbs on fees lenders charge on overdrafts and transactions declined for insufficient funds, and rules governing paycheck advances.
‘DELETE CFPB’
Created following the 2008 mortgage crisis to protect consumers from predatory lending, the CFPB has been repeatedly targeted by Republicans and industry groups who argue it is a politically unaccountable impediment to free enterprise.
Trump has not outlined plans for the CFPB, but Democrats worry his administration and a Republican Congress will weaken the agency.
On Wednesday, billionaire Elon Musk and investor Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with slashing government costs, called for the CFPB to be deleted. Ramaswamy separately said all last-minute rules merit “special scrutiny” and could be rescinded.