Heritage Foundation calls for consolidation of banking regulators, end of CFPB.

An influential conservative think tank is recommending that if a conservative is elected president in 2024, that chief executive should work with Congress to eliminate the NCUA as an independent agency.

Instead, the Heritage Foundation says, “The new Administration should establish a more streamlined [banking supervision] by supporting legislation to merge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Reserve’s non-monetary supervisory and regulatory functions.”

In “Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise,” Heritage also is joined by other conservative groups in calling for the dismantling of the CFPB.

“The actions of liberal politicians in Washington have created a desperate need and unique opportunity for conservatives to start undoing the damage the Left has wrought and build a better country for all Americans in 2025,” the document reads.

Backstory and Context

In the past, Heritage has compiled a volume of recommendations for the next president. This year, that effort—coordinated with other groups—includes activist training and a database of people who would like to serve in a conservative administration.

The “Mandate for Leadership” is a 920-page roadmap outlining a massive overhaul of the federal government.

“This is an agenda prepared by and for conservatives who will be ready on Day One of the next Administration to save our country,” the volume states.

On Consolidating Banking Regulators

Heritage and the other groups do not expand on the consolidation of the banking agencies, instead discussing them in general terms.

“U.S. banking law remains stuck in the 1930s regarding which functions financial companies should perform,” the groups said. “It was never a good idea either to restrict banks to taking deposits and making loans or to prevent investment banks from taking deposits. Doing so makes markets less stable.”

They added, “Policymakers should create new charters for financial firms that eliminate activity restrictions and reduce regulations in return for straightforward higher equity or risk-retention standards.”

On Eliminating the CFPB

The groups also do not pull any punches about their position on the CFPB, a favorite target of Republicans.

“The CFPB is a highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable federal agency,” they wrote. “It is unconstitutional. Congress should abolish the CFPB and reverse Dodd-Frank Section 1061, thus returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators and the Federal Trade Commission.”

They added that the next conservative president should order the “immediate dissolution of the agency—pull down its prior rules, regulations and guidance, return its staff to their prior agencies and its building to the General Services Administration.”

The groups do not provide details about how the president could single-handedly accomplish that, since the CFPB is enshrined in federal law.

Additional Recommendations

The next conservative administration also should go after diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Heritage and the other groups said.

“Treat the participation in any critical race theory or DEI initiative, without objecting on constitutional or moral grounds, as per se grounds for termination of employment,” they recommended.