Trump-appointed FDIC chairman resigns after warning of ‘hostile takeover’ by Democrats

Trump-appointed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman resigns after warning of ‘hostile takeover’ by Democrats
- Jelena McWilliams, 48, wrote an open letter on Friday slamming Senate MPs into bypassing it to meet their own agendas
- When I immigrated to this country 30 years ago, I did so with a firm belief in the American system of government, ”wrote McWilliams, a Serbian immigrant.
- His resignation appears to stem from clashes between McWilliams and Democrats over bank merger rules
- Rohit Chopra, CFPB’s new director, complained that McWilliams refused to acknowledge their attempts to review bank merger rules
- McWilliams said that while many Senate chambers have faced an opposing party FDIC chairman, none have ever behaved like the current generation of Democrats.
The FDIC president resigned Friday just weeks after trying to warn of a “hostile takeover” of the commission by the Democrats.
Jelena McWilliams, 48, wrote an open letter on Friday criticizing Senate MPs for bypassing it on their own agenda.
“When I immigrated to this country 30 years ago, I did so with a firm belief in the American system of government,” McWilliams, a Serbian immigrant, wrote in the letter.
McWilliams had a decades-long career in law, finance, and banking policy before Trump appointed her president.
His resignation appears to stem from clashes between McWilliams and Democrats over bank merger rules.
Jelena McWilliams, the future ex-president of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

McWilliams announced his resignation in a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday
Rohit Chopra, a member of the FDIC board of directors and new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, complained that McWilliams had refused to acknowledge their attempts to review bank merger rules.
“This approach to governance is dangerous and unhealthy,” he said. “It is also an attack on the rule of law.”
In a virtual meeting earlier Tuesday, McWilliams, the only Republican on the board, rejected Chopra’s request to record a vote on the review in the minutes. McWilliams said their general counsel declared the vote, which was taken earlier by Democrats, invalid.
“During my tenure on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the United States Senate, and the FDIC, I developed a deep appreciation for these venerable institutions and their traditions.”

Rohit Chopra, a member of the FDIC board of directors and new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, complained that McWilliams had refused to acknowledge their attempts to review the rules regarding bank mergers.

Martin J. Gruenberg served as interim president of the FDIC and is still a member of the board of directors of McWilliams.
McWilliams said that while many Senate chambers have faced an opposing party FDIC chairman, none have ever behaved like the current generation of Democrats.
“Of the 20 presidents who came before me in the FDIC, nine faced the majority of the board members of the opposing party, including [Martin J. Gruenberg] as president under President Trump until I replaced him as president in 2018, ”McWilliams wrote in his op-ed. “Never before has a majority of the board tried to bypass the president to pursue its own agenda.”
She clarified that her departure had nothing to do with bank merger disputes.
“This conflict is not about bank mergers. If this were the case, the board members would have been willing to work with me and the FDIC staff rather than attempt a hostile takeover of the board’s internal processes, staff and program. of the FDIC.
McWilliams’ resignation will take effect on February 4. Its replacement is not immediately clear.
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