WASHINGTON—The Trump administration said it would seek broad changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by altering its “personnel,” a move that could lead to an effort to remove its current director, Richard Cordray, before his term ends in 2018.

The restructuring of the CFPB, a watchdog agency created after the financial crisis with the aim of strengthening consumer protection, is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to revamp the Obama-era financial rules through legislative and regulatory measures. Mr. Trump is expected to sign two executive actions on Friday to start the process.

“Personnel is policy,” Gary Cohn, Director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, referring to a line repeated often by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a leading financial industry critic who helped create the bureau.

The CFPB is admired by consumer advocates but has long been criticized by Republican lawmakers and the financial industry as a symbol of government overreach.

Mr. Cohn said Trump administration officials have had various discussions about the CFPB, including the future for Mr. Cordray and a continuing court case in which the constitutionality of its single-director structure has been questioned.