President Donald Trump’s Administration has nominated the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach to serve a 5-year term.
Stuart Levenbach was appointed to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in February 2025. He currently serves as associate director for natural resources, energy, science, and water. Prior to that role, Levenbach was the director for a global energy technology company. During the first Trump Administration, Levenbach served as senior advisor at the National Economic Council and Chief of Staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among other roles. From all appearances, Levenbach has no prior experience in the financial services industry, nor as a state or federal financial regulator.
The nomination has occurred as statements made by current acting director Russell Vought have indicated that he plans to completely close or at least significantly reduce the size of the CFPB. In statements made during an interview, acting director Vought noted that only a “handful of employees will remain at the CFPB while we close it down”. The statement was made in October 2025 just after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction, allowing the CFPB to continue with large scale layoffs.
The CFPB has been dismissing much of its workforce since April 2025. The first reduction in workforce issued by the CFPB dismissed approximately 1,500 personnel, which accounted for an estimated 88 percent of its workforce. Additionally, the CFPB announced that it would be decreasing its inspection operations of financial services companies by 50 percent. The trend for reducing the size of CFPB workforce will seemingly continue through the end of the year. The CFPB has announced that it plans on furloughing much of its staff on December 31.
There is some speculation that the nomination is intended to suspend the deadline for Vought’s position as acting director. According to an anonymous source, Stuart Levenbach’s nomination is not intended to be presented at a confirmation hearing. Acting director Vought, per U.S. law, is only able to remain acting director for 210-days. Once a nomination has been made, the “clock” is suspended until the Senate has held a confirmation hearing. Levenbach’s nomination may be a way to “suspend the clock” for current acting director Vought to continue to decrease the CFPB’s size.
While acting director Vought intends to decrease the size of the CFPB, it requires an act of Congress to completely dismantle the Bureau. Further, even if Congress chose to eliminate the CFPB, the regulations promulgated by the Bureau would still stand and financial institutions would still be required to follow them.
For the moment, until Levenbach’s confirmation, acting director Vought is the head of the Bureau and Levenbach will answer to him.
To date, the confirmation hearing needed for the Senate to confirm Levenbach’s nomination has not yet been set.
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