Trump to nominate Brooks as comptroller of the currency

President Trump on Tuesday announced his intention to nominate Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks to a full five-year term leading the federal bank regulator.

Brooks has served as the acting chief of the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) since May after the abrupt resignation of former Comptroller Joseph Otting. He was the OCC’s deputy comptroller until Otting’s departure and served as the chief legal officer for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase before joining the agency in 2018.

Brooks called his pending nomination “a great honor” in a Tuesday statement and pledged to “work ceaselessly to ensure the agency continues to fulfill its critical mission and the men and women of this agency have the resources, training, and leadership they need to succeed in their duties.” 

If confirmed by the Senate, Brooks would begin a five-year term leading the OCC shortly before President-elect Joe Biden takes office and would likely cut it short. The president can fire the comptroller of the currency at will and appoint an acting replacement to serve until his nominee is confirmed by the Senate.

It is unclear how Brooks being fired as a Senate-confirmed director instead of an acting director could impact how Biden replaces him.

Senate Republicans also face a narrowing window to confirm Brooks while the GOP controls the upper chamber. Brooks’s nomination would expire if the Senate is unable to confirm him before the new Congress convenes in January, and he is unlikely to receive much, if any, support from Democrats.