Donald Trump sacks director of financial regulator

US President Donald Trump has sacked the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of Biden administration staff.

Mr Chopra was one of the more important regulators from the previous Democratic administration who was still in the job since Mr Trump took office on January 20.

During Mr Trump’s first term, the Republican had picked Mr Chopra as a Democrat member of the Federal Trade Commission.

Mr Chopra was notified of his dismissal in an email from the White House, according to a person familiar with the notice who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mr Chopra is an ally of Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of Mr Trump’s favourite targets.

The Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement that the agency under Mr Chopra held “Wall Street accountable for cheating hard-working families” and prevented “the de-banking of Americans across the country, including consumers locked out of the financial system due to overdraft fees, religious organisations, and conservatives”.

Under the law, Mr Chopra was to serve a five-year term, which meant he could have stayed on as the CFPB director. But he had publicly stated that he would leave his post if the new president asked.