Ahead of Committee Vote, Warren Releases Troubling Responses from Trump’s CFPB, Commerce, HUD Nominees

Ahead of Committee Vote, Warren Releases Troubling Responses from Trump's CFPB, Commerce, HUD Nominees

Text of Johnson Response (PDF) | Text of Warren Response (PDF) | Text of Ledbetter Response (PDF) | Text of Dennis Response (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Ahead of the committee vote, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, released the troubling responses from President Donald Trump's nominees to the Questions for the Record (QFRs) she submitted following their respective confirmation hearings on July 23, 2026.

CFPB Director Nominee Brian Johnson

Ranking Member Warren's questions pressed Johnson on his alignment with former Acting CFPB Director Vought - who repeatedly tried to destroy the agency - and his own planned approach as Director of the CFPB. When asked whether he disagreed with any of Vought's decisions during his confirmation hearing, Johnson affirmed that he "(did) not recall any at this moment." He also refused to commit to drawing funds to ensure CFPB's continued operations, stating only that he would "exercise (his) discretion regarding any future funding requests." In addition, Johnson refused to commit to report evidence of politically manipulated research to the Senate Banking Committee and refused to comment on whether he would take steps to prevent political considerations from influencing the CFPB's research on financial markets. He also refused to answer straightforward questions about who won the 2020 presidential election, instead saying, "My understanding is that Congress certified the winner of this election."

See Johnson's responses HERE.

Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Nominee Abby Warren

Ranking Member Warren's questions pressed Abby Warren on the Trump Administration's rollback of key export controls and the sale of advanced AI chips to entities with ties to China's military. In her responses, Abby Warren refused to confirm that export-control decisions should not be influenced by the financial interests of a President or family members, stating that "I do not believe this scenario would present itself" - despite extensive reporting that the Administration granted the UAE favorable access to restricted U.S. chips after it backed investments in the Trump family's crypto company, World Liberty Financial. Abby Warren also declined to take a position on whether theUnited States should approve advanced AI chip exports to companies the Department of Defense identifies as "Chinese Military Companies," instead emphasizing that the Defense Department and the Commerce Department lists have "different objectives and standards." She also refused to answer straightforward questions about who won the 2020 presidential election, stating, "(w)hile I have not reviewed the specific election results discussed above, I have no reason to doubt the results were certified consistent with applicable law."

See Warren's responses HERE.

HUD Inspector General Nominee Jeffrey Ledbetter

Ranking Member Warren's questions pressed Ledbetter on recent cuts to HUD and HUD OIG staffing, whistleblower claims that HUD is failing to enforce fair housing and civil rights laws, and Ledbetter's ability to act independently from the President. In his responses, Ledbetter - who has no history working on housing or urban development issues - failed to demonstrate that he understands the OIG's role in overseeing HUD's compliance with statutory requirements, including those related to fair housing and civil rights. He also refused to answer straightforward questions about who won the 2020 presidential election or any other presidential election, instead saying in part that he had "not reviewed the specific results from the election."

See Ledbetter's responses HERE.

HUD Chief Financial Officer Nominee Irving Dennis

Ranking Member Warren's questions pressed Dennis on HUD's decisions during his current role as the Acting CFO at the agency, including his work with DOGE, HUD's illegally freezing of grants, and the use of crypto to pay grantees. In his responses, Dennis avoided providing details about the extent of his interactions with DOGE employees while confirming that he reviewed recommendations DOGE made on "HR evaluations, contract reviews, process reviews and review of rules and regulations." Although he acknowledged that the CFO "coordinates the drafting and publication of notice of funding opportunities," Dennis refused to prevent NOFOs from being structured to include unlawful criteria or reductions for civil rights enforcement. In addition, despite public reporting that HUD, "which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin," Dennis claimed "not to have studied the issue." Dennis also dodged straightforward questions about who won the 2020 presidential election, instead stating "(t)he HUD CFO has no oversight over the federal election process and/or results."

See Dennis's responses HERE.

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