Trump Appoints Crypto-Friendly Bessent as Acting CFPB Director

President Donald Trump has appointed Scott Bessent, the recently confirmed U.S. Treasury Secretary, as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Bessent will lead the agency on a temporary basis, according to a statement released by the CFPB.

The CFPB, established in 2011, is responsible for overseeing consumer financial markets and has proposed rules related to cryptocurrencies in the past. Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager, has expressed a positive view of cryptocurrencies and has spoken against the issuance of a central bank digital currency. He will also serve as a member of the newly created "President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets."

Bessent's appointment comes after the Trump administration fired former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra over the weekend. The agency's future has been uncertain, as it has reportedly drawn the ire of the Trump Administration. For instance, Elon Musk, the billionaire co-lead of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, had previously joked about "deleting" the CFPB on Twitter.

The CFPB has worked on rules to rein in cryptocurrencies, including an "interpretive rule" last month to protect consumers against fraud in crypto transactions. The agency is also looking into how the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and other regulations would apply to incoming "digital payment mechanisms" like stablecoins.

Bessent's appointment has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, as it is generally frowned upon for one person to handle two demanding positions in the executive branch. However, there is no specific language in the U.S. Constitution that blocks someone from serving in a leadership role for two executive branch agencies or departments.

Some experts suggest that the Trump administration may be trying to consolidate and mitigate the CFPB's impact. The CFPB has been a contentious issue for the Republican and business communities since its creation in 2011, and the Trump administration may be attempting to limit its influence.

House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) criticized former Director Chopra's leadership and accused him of "regulatory overreach" in a statement on Monday. Hill expressed his support for Bessent's appointment and his intention to work with the acting director to rein in the CFPB by putting it under the appropriations process, making it a bipartisan commission, and providing appropriate statutory guardrails