U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member presses CFPB director nominee McKernan on resisting unlawful directives and addressing Musk-related conflicts

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, published a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director-Designate Jonathan McKernan ahead of his February 27 nomination hearing, seeking clarity on how he would lead the agency amid what she described as efforts by President Trump and Elon Musk to dismantle or shut down the CFPB. The letter asks whether McKernan agrees with President Trump’s view that the CFPB is an “important thing to get rid of” and whether, if confirmed, he would refuse to execute any unlawful directives from President Trump, Mr. Musk, DOGE, the Office of Management and Budget, or other federal officials. Warren also raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving Elon Musk, citing the CFPB’s work supervising auto lending and protecting consumers from scams and corporate misconduct, and noting Musk’s ownership of X, which has announced plans to launch a digital payment platform with Visa, and Tesla, which offers financing options for vehicle purchases; she asks McKernan to commit to ensuring that federal officials involved in CFPB decision-making comply with federal ethics laws. Warren’s letter frames the February 27 hearing as the forum in which McKernan must demonstrate to the committee that he would advocate for consumers, the CFPB, and robust enforcement of consumer protection law notwithstanding contrary directives.