Yesterday, President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach, an energy official at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to serve a five-year term as permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). Levenbach’s experience is in natural resources and energy policy rather than financial regulation, and he would inherit an agency facing profound uncertainty after months of leadership turmoil, enforcement retrenchment, and dwindling finances.

Levenbach’s Background and Experience

As reported by Law360, Levenbach was appointed to OMB in February 2025 and currently serves as associate director for natural resources, energy, science, and water. Before that, he was director for a global energy technology company. In the first Trump administration, he served as a senior adviser at the National Economic Council and chief of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other roles. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has no prior experience in financial services or at a federal or state financial regulator. He holds a Ph.D. in marine ecology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in biology and political science from the University of Michigan. Furthermore, he does not appear to have a law degree.

CFPB Director Nomination

If confirmed, Levenbach would take the helm of an agency tremendously reshaped by Acting Director Russell Vought, who has significantly curtailed supervision and enforcement and publicly advocated for winding down the Bureau. Only Congress can eliminate the CFPB, but the opinion recently issued by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concerning Bureau funding and the Fed’s losses create a near‑term operational bind that any director must navigate. As others have noted, this nomination was required due to the Administration’s need to adhere to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which states that after 210 days, an acting director can only continue to serve if there is a nominee to fill that post. It is not expected that Levenbach’s nomination will change the direction in which the OMB is taking the CFPB, and we are unaware of any timeline being set for a confirmation hearing. We will continue to monitor this nomination and provide updates as they become available.