U. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead

Feb 2

President Trump Fires CFPB Director Chopra, The Senate Banking Committee Looks At Debanking, and House Republicans To Meet on Rolling Back Regulations Via The Congressional Review Act

February 3 - 7, 2025

It has only been the second week of the Trump Administration, but it was jam-packed with Executive Orders, efforts to reorganize the government, confirmation hearings, and much, much more. But the big regulatory news of the week came this weekend when President Trump fired Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.

Chopra has been the last remaining Biden financial regulator. No replacement has been named by Trump, and it is unclear who will run the agency until a replacement is named. The President – the surprise of many – has yet to announce any new regulators since naming Paul Atkins as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission last month.

Meanwhile, Congress continued to ramp up its work. The Senate Banking Committee announced they will be holding a hearing this coming week on debanking – an issue President Trump spoke about during his recent address to the World Economic Forum in Davos (we would note President Trump himself was debanked by several major banks in January 2021 after the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill). Taking Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) is bringing in three witnesses to testify – two who have companies that have been “debanked” including Black Rifle Coffee Founder and CEO Evan Hafer.

Black Rifle, a conservative-leaning coffee business, was apparently targeted by the FDIC who wanted them debanked because they had “black rifle” in their name (as Chair Scott pointed out in a tweet in January).

he other debanked witness will be Nathan McCauley, CEO and Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital. Anchorage was debanked following Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC guidance in 2023 regarding crypto firms. However, Anchorage is a federally chartered bank.

Over in the House Financial Services Committee, Republican members are going to hold a one-day retreat (but are not going far – they are holding it across the street from the Capitol in the Library of Congress). The big focus of the retreat will be to discuss which financial regulations passed in the last year that can be repealed by passage of the Congressional Review Act (to understand what that is and how Congress is able to reach in and repeal regulatory rulemaking, you can go HERE.).

The Committee is also holding two hearings next week – one looking at how to “make community banking great again” and the second looking at the Biden Administration’s efforts to “put crypto in the crosshairs.”

Turning to the regulators themselves, there is not a lot going on this week (as there are no chairs at any of the agencies yet). We will be watching, however, two speeches being given by Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman on bank regulation. Bowman continues to be the odds-on favorite to be chosen by President Trump to be the next Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision. We should note that state banking organizations from all 50 states sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Friday urging President Trump to name Bowman the Vice Chair (you can read the letter HERE).

Below is what else we are watching in the Washington financial regulatory world this coming week:

U.S. Congressional Hearings

U.S. Senate

· Monday, February 3, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to vote on the nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture.

· Wednesday, February 5, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hold a hearing on "Investigating the Real Impacts of Debunking in America."

· Wednesday, February 5, 10:30 a.m. – The Senate Agriculture Committee holds a hearing entitled “Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy.”

· Thursday, February 6, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Finance Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Jamieson Greer as U.S. Trade Representative.

House of Representatives

· Tuesday, February 4 – The House Financial Services Committee Republicans will hold a retreat at the Library of Congress to discuss strategy for 2025 including regulations they want to roll back using the Congressional Review Act.

· Wednesday, February 5, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on "Make Community Banking Great Again."

· Thursday, February 6, 2:00 p.m. – The House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing entitled “Operation Choke Point 2.0: The Biden Administration's Efforts to Put Crypto in the Crosshairs”

Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks

· Tuesday, February 4, 7:30 p.m. – Federal Reverse Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson gives a speech on the U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy to the Economics Department Special Lecture, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania.

· Wednesday, February 5, 3:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman gives a speech entitled “Brief Economic Update and Bank Regulation” at the 2025 Kansas Bankers Association Harold A. Stones Government Relations Conference.

· Wednesday, February 5, 7:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson gives a speech entitled “Do Non-Inflationary Economic Expansions Promote Shared Prosperity?” at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

· Thursday, February 6, 2:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller gives a speech on the future of payments at the Navigating the Future of Payments with Christopher Waller, Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C.

· Friday, February 7, 9:25 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman gives a speech entitled “Brief Economic Update and Bank Regulation” at the 2025 Wisconsin Bankers Association Bank Executives Conference.

· Friday, February 7, 12:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana D. Kugler gives a speech entitled “Entrepreneurship and Aggregate Productivity” at the 2025 Miami Economic Forum, Miami, Florida.

U.S. Treasury Department

· Tuesday, February 4, 9:00 a.m. – The Treasury Department holds a closed meeting of the Debt Management Advisory Committee to discuss the economy, financial markets, treasury financing, and debt management and to present a written report of its recommendations.

Department of Commerce

· The U.S. Senate will likely vote early in the week to confirm Howard Lutnick as the new Secretary of Commerce (Date To Be Confirmed)

Department of Housing and Urban Development

· The U.S. Senate will likely vote early in the week to confirm Scott Turner as the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Date To Be Confirmed)

Securities and Exchange Commission

· Wednesday, February 5, 3:00 p.m. – SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce will participate in a one-on-one conversation at the SIFMA Women’s Leadership Forum DC.

· Thursday, February 6, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC holds a Closed Meeting.

Commodities Futures Trading Commission

· Sunday & Monday, February 2 & 3 – CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will speak at the Commodity Market Council’s 2025 State of the Industry conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

· Monday, February 3, 3:15 p.m. – CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham will speak at a keynote fireside chat at Commodity Market Council’s 2025 State of the Industry Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

· Thursday, February 6, 4:00 p.m. – CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will participate on a panel, Decoding DeFi, at the Digital Assets at Duke Conference at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and Duke Financial Economics Center in Durham, North Carolina.

· Thursday, February 6, 5:30 p.m. – CFTC Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson will moderate a fireside chat with the Honorable Sharon Bowen at the Financial Service Professional’s 10-year anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation