The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Brian Johnson, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EDT in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Following an executive session to vote on several unrelated nominations, the Committee will convene in open session to consider the nominations of Brian Johnson to serve as CFPB Director, Abby Warren to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Commerce, and Irving Dennis to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The hearing marks the next significant step in the confirmation process for Johnson, who previously held senior leadership positions at the CFPB from December 2017 until March 2020, including as Acting Deputy and then Deputy Director for a majority of that period. If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson would become the first Senate-confirmed CFPB Director of President Trump’s second Administration.
Johnson’s confirmation has taken on added significance because of the CFPB’s ongoing restructuring efforts and several high-profile court proceedings. As we recently discussed, the CFPB and the National Treasury Employees Union jointly requested, and Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted, a stay of litigation concerning the Bureau’s proposed 2026 reduction-in-force (RIF) pending Johnson’s confirmation. The parties advised the court that, if confirmed, Johnson should be given the opportunity to determine whether to proceed with, modify, or abandon the Bureau’s proposed RIF plan. Judge Jackson’s order requires the parties to file a joint status report within two days after Johnson is confirmed by the Senate.
The confirmation hearing is also likely to provide the first detailed public indication of Johnson’s priorities for the CFPB. Members of the Banking Committee can be expected to question him on a wide range of issues, including:
- the Bureau’s ongoing workforce restructuring and proposed reduction-in-force;
- the CFPB’s supervisory, enforcement, and rulemaking priorities;
- implementation of the Bureau’s substantially reduced statutory funding cap;
- the future of significant pending regulations and litigation; and
- Johnson’s broader vision for the Bureau under the Trump Administration.
Given the sweeping changes already underway at the CFPB, Johnson’s testimony will be closely watched by banks, nonbank financial services companies, trade associations, consumer advocates, and others with a stake in the Bureau’s future direction.
Russell Vought’s term as Acting Deputy Director will expire on August 1. Mark Paoletta, the current Acting Deputy Director of the CFPB and Chief Legal Officer, will become the new Acting Director of the CFPB unless and until Brian Johnson is confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office.
We will monitor the confirmation hearing and provide a detailed summary of Johnson’s testimony, the questions posed by Committee members, and the implications for the CFPB and the consumer financial services industry.