CFPB enforcement head resigns, citing ‘no intention to enforce the law’

Cara Petersen, who has served as the principal deputy enforcement director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since late 2017, resigned this week with a letter that’s highly critical of the enforcement posture at the bureau under the new administration of President Donald Trump.

Petersen’s resignation letter was obtained and initially reported on by American Banker. She reportedly said that the Trump administration has “no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way,” according to the report.

Petersen sent the email to staff at the CFPB’s enforcement division on Tuesday, saying that she’s leaving the bureau after nearly 15 years of service. She initially joined the organization that would become the CFPB in March 2011 during its implementation phase, according to the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers (ACCFSL).

Following the resignation of former CFPB enforcement head Eric Halperin earlier this year, Petersen has effectively served in the enforcement director role on an acting basis.

But following Trump’s firing of former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and the assumption of the acting director’s role by Russell Vought — the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — the bureau has been severely diminished through ongoing attempts to strip it of personnel and funding.

With very little enforcement work being completed, cases being dismissed or abandoned, and no sign of changes to this posture happening anytime soon, Petersen was ready to move on, according to the letter.

“It has been devastating to see the bureau’s enforcement function being dismantled through thoughtless reductions in staff, inexplicable dismissals of cases, and terminations of negotiated settlements that let wrongdoers off the hook,” she reportedly said in the letter based on the initial report.

The move leaves the bureau without an enforcement director. The position is likely to go unfilled as legal cases tied to the bureau’s attempted dismissals of staff, and legislation to reduce its funding allocation from the Federal Reserve, work their way through the courts.

Of the change in posture, Petersen reportedly described it as unprecedented — even when compared to the first Trump administration which also sought to sideline the CFPB.

“I have served every director and acting director in [the] bureau’s history and never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack,” she reportedly wrote.

“Our job has always been to root out misconduct, compensate consumers that were harmed, and deter illegal conduct in the consumer finance sector. We stand on the front lines protecting consumers and the economy against the risks and harms of another financial crisis.”

HousingWire attempted to reach Petersen for comment but did not receive an immediate response.