Jonathan Gould was confirmed to the top post at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in a straight party-line vote Thursday in the Senate.
Nominated by President Donald Trump (R) in February to a five-year term, Gould will return to the OCC as the first confirmed comptroller since Joseph Otting, confirmed in November 2017, vacated the post in May 2020.
Rodney Hood is the third person to serve the post in acting capacity since Otting’s departure. In a statement Friday, Hood congratulated Gould and pledged a smooth transition.
“It has been my honor to lead the OCC during these past five months while Mr. Gould’s nomination has been pending,” Hood said in the statement. “I look forward to supporting a smooth leadership transition so that Comptroller Gould can continue to build on the agency’s significant progress improving the safety, soundness, and fairness of the federal banking system.”
Gould served under Comptroller Otting as the OCC’s senior deputy controller and chief counsel.
The Senate voted 50-45 Thursday to confirm Gould to the comptroller post, with three Republicans and two Democrats not voting.
The OCC website shows that Gould, prior to his earlier stint at the agency, had previously served on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee and has also served at Promontory Financial Group, BlackRock, and Alston & Bird LLP. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and law degree from Washington and Lee University, it says. It shows he held his OCC chief counsel post from late 2018 until mid-2021, when he left for the private sector.