CFPB to withdraw rule targeting data brokers; Senate confirms former Uber exec as DOD CTO

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to withdraw a Biden-era rule aimed at cracking down on data brokers and their selling of Americans’ personal and financial information. In a notice in the Federal Register, the CFPB said legislative rulemaking on the data broker industry “is not necessary or appropriate at this time,” and the agency does not plan to “take any further action” on the proposal. The notice was issued by Russell Vought, acting director of the agency, head of the Office of Management and Budget and a Project 2025 architect. The withdrawal of the rule, which was first reported by Wired, comes after President Donald Trump’s initial nominee to lead the CFPB signaled to Congress in February an openness to continuing Biden administration data-broker rules. Jonathan McKernan, a former Treasury Department and Federal Housing Finance Agency staffer, told the Senate Banking Committee that Rohit Chopra — President Joe Biden’s CFPB director — “was onto something” with his policies targeting data brokers and data aggregators. The CFPB’s withdrawal notice took particular issue with the rule’s focus on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, saying that the proposal was “not aligned with the Bureau’s current interpretation of the FCRA, which it is in the process of revising.” The Senate on Wednesday voted 54-43 to confirm businessman Emil Michael as undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and the Pentagon’s chief technology officer. In that position, Michael will serve as the primary advisor to the secretary of defense and other Defense Department leaders on tech development and transition, prototyping, experimentation, and management of testing ranges and activities. He’ll also be in charge of synchronizing science and technology efforts across the DOD. Michael comes to the job from the private sector, where he’s been a business executive, advisor and investor. He told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that he’s been involved with more than 50 different tech companies during his career. Perhaps most notable, from 2013 to 2017, he was chief business officer at Uber. In government, he previously served as special assistant to the secretary of defense when Robert Gates was Pentagon chief. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.