Jonathan McKernan, the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, is stepping down from his role, adding another name to the growing list of departures from the agency under Secretary Scott Bessent’s leadership.
McKernan’s exit was first flagged by Capitol Account on July 8, with sources indicating he was ready to leave public service as early as the following week. No successor has been named, and no specific policy disruption has been cited as the reason for his departure.
A short tenure with a long regulatory runway
He was confirmed by the Senate in October 2025 in a 51-47 party-line vote. The path to the position was itself a winding one. McKernan was initially nominated to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in early 2025. That plan was scrapped, and he was redirected to the Treasury role, with the appointment announced on May 9, 2025.
Before any of that, McKernan had carved out a track record as an FDIC board member, serving from January 2023 until his resignation on February 10, 2025.
