Richard L. Trumka Jr.

Richard L. Trumka Jr., of counsel in Cohen Milstein’s Public Client practice, is a former Commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  Rich represents state attorneys general and other public-sector clients in investigations and lawsuits involving a wide range of claims including consumer protection, false claims, and fraudulent and deceptive trade practices.

Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Rich was Commissioner of the CPSC since 2021 when he was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. During his tenure, Rich stood up for consumers and delivered results to make consumers safer from hidden hazards and corporate misconduct. He helped the Commission crack down on infant products that were putting babies’ lives at risk. He led efforts to speed up the safety benefits of CPSC’s life-saving rules. And he joined his colleagues in declaring Amazon accountable for recalls of hazardous products sold on its platform.   

Prior to joining the CPSC, Rich served as General Counsel & Staff Director of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, under the leadership of civil rights champion and then-Chairman Elijah E. Cummings.  During his tenure, he focused his consumer protection and public health work on protecting children, including from toxic heavy metals in baby foods, mis-marketed car booster seats, e-cigarettes, and carcinogens in consumer talc products. He also helped uncover wasteful government contracts leading to over $400 million in taxpayer savings. 

In his prior service as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Rich prosecuted companies and their executives for violations of Maryland’s consumer protection laws.  He secured substantial judgments for Maryland consumers.  And he helped lead multistate data breach investigations affecting consumers nationwide.  

Rich began his career clerking for the Honorable Berle M. Schiller of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  He then went into private practice, focusing on complex litigation.