Housing industry insiders have thrown their support behind President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On Tuesday, a coalition of organizations urged the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to quickly confirm nominee Jonathan McKernan to lead the agency, known as the CFPB, after his confirmation hearing that’s set for Thursday.
“We all agree that we need safe and affordable lending, and resilient, liquid markets that better serve borrowers and support affordable housing,” the letter said. “Mr. McKernan brings a wealth of experience in housing finance and financial regulation…We believe he is committed to working with industry stakeholders, consumer advocates and bipartisan policymakers to ensure affordable and fair lending practices, and safeguard the safety and soundness of the market, for every American.”
Signatories included the National Association of Home Builders, the National Housing Conference, the National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Homeownership Council of America. Individual groups, such as the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association, issued separate letters of support to the committee as well.
McKernan’s pending confirmation is just the latest development as the new administration crafts the team that will drive housing policy in the country. Earlier this month, Trump’s nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, was confirmed. And on Thursday, McKernan will testify alongside Bill Pulte, who is nominated to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Leaders at the National Association of Realtors and Mortgage Bankers Association said McKernan’s experience in senior roles at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporate, Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department make him a suitable candidate to uphold those protections without overregulating.
“While some regulation is necessary to create a stable housing finance system, a balanced approach is needed to keep costs low for consumers while still providing adequate protections from abuse,” Kevin Sears, president of the National Association of Realtors, said in a letter to the Senate committee last week. “We believe that Mr. McKernan is uniquely suited in finding this balance and leading the CFPB into its next chapter.”
Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, added in a separate letter that McKernan’s experience “makes him a strong choice to lead the regulatory reforms necessary to lower compliance costs and pass those savings along to prospective homeowners and renters.”
Efficiency agenda
Thursday’s hearing comes on the heels of a period of turmoil for the CFPB, which was established in response to the 2008 financial crisis, as the agency has been tangled in the White House’s agenda to improve government efficiency.
It started at the beginning of the month when Trump fired the Biden-appointed director of the CFPB and temporarily installed the newly confirmed secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, as the bureau’s top dog. That was short-lived, with Bessent’s leadership lasting just about a week before Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget as well as a co-author of Project 2025, was put in charge of the CFPB.
So far, both acting directors have stirred great change at the agency. Earlier this month, employees were ordered to stop all work and the CFPB’s Washington, D.C., headquarters were shuttered, raising questions about the future of the bureau.
Since then, as employees have staged protests outside the D.C. office, the CFPB has been pulled into a legal battle. The latest in that saga was a motion filed Tuesday in which Vought insisted that “there will continue to be a CFPB” and said actions taken by the bureau’s new leadership are being taken to create a “more streamlined and efficient” bureau. Another hearing is scheduled for March 3.
It’s important to note, however, that it would take more than one unilateral executive act to do away with the agency because it was created by Congress, according to law firm Arnold and Porter.
“These recent developments have occurred against a backdrop of broad statements from the executive branch regarding the significant restructuring of the federal bureaucracy and specific statements from Elon Musk and some members of Congress that the CFPB should be eliminated entirely,” partners at the firm wrote in a Feb. 18 advisory. “Although the outcome of the litigation is uncertain, there is little question that the administration will take advantage of whatever runway the courts make available.”