Top Line
Russell Vought, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, told agency employees on Monday that they would not get a job or not do their job. He said this is a tragic sign of a bureau targeted by President Donald Trump, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, and tech billionaires.
Russell Vote testifies at a nomination hearing of the Senate Banking Committee in Darksen …(+)
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Timeline
Vought told email employees “don’t enter the office” or “do the work tasks,” according to multiple reports.
The National Treasury employee union representing CFPB employees sued Vought, claiming that it had stopped the department’s work to judges and granted staff on government efficiency access to CFPB’s internal communications system .
Vought, who heads the Office of Business and Budget, said it has notified the Federal Reserve that the CFPB will not receive the next federal fund withdrawal. Multiple reports.
CFPB’s X account @CFPB appeared to be offline, but the agency’s website also shows 404 errors.
Vought, the architect of the conservative Project 2025 Agenda, took over the CFPB as Trump and Doge tried to gush the station.
Musk’s Doge staff reportedly accessed the CFPB building and the computer system of the station. The CFPB Union denounced it as “a clear attempt to attack union workers and attack Defang, the only institution that checks for payment provider greed.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent briefly served as acting CFPB director before taking over Vought, and emailed the department’s staff to halt all regulatory duties and “any type of public communication.” , according to multiple reports.
Important Quotes
“CFPB RIP🪦,” Musk posted on X on Friday afternoon.
Chief critic
“Vought gives big banks and giant companies a green light to scam families,” says D-Mass, who originally conceived CFPB. Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted Saturday night in response to reports that employees ordered them to stop all jobs. “The Consumer Financial Protection Agency has returned more than $21 billion to families who were fooled by Wall Street. Republicans didn’t guil it in Congress or in court. They’ll fail again.”
What did Elon Musk say about CFPB?
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has attacked the CFPB and joined the chorus of technology and finance, arguing that its agents are taking a pushy approach to regulations. Musk, who has advised Trump on how to reduce the size of the federal government, said in November that he would like to remove the CFPB. Large tech companies and others who offer digital fund transfer and payment wallet apps. Musk is working on launching an online payment system known as X Money, and is set to debut later this year, with CFPB potentially becoming one of X’s regulators. X recently signed a contract with Visa to support digital wallets.
What did Marc Andreessen and Mark Zuckerberg say about the CFPB?
Billionaires Marc Andreessen and Mark Zuckerberg were also attacked by agents. This threatened to sue Meta last year over allegations of improper use of financial data in its advertising business. In an interview with the podcast, Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan that he “found a theory he wanted to investigate,” the CFPB, questioning whether there is a “quiet consensus” among regulators that want to punish the tech industry. Advising some members of the Trump administration, Andreessen also claimed that he “terrorizes anyone trying to do something new in financial services.”
What did Republicans say about the CFPB?
Republicans tried to refund the CFPB and praised Chopra for his firing. R-Ark. French MP Hill said in a statement that Bessent was “finally restrained by this inexplainable institution by placing the CFPB under the expenditure process, turning it into a bipartisan committee and providing appropriate statutory guardrails.” I vowed on Monday. The CFPB receives funds directly from the Federal Reserve, rather than the Congressional expenditure process designed to maintain its fairness.
Important background
The CFPB was established in 2011 in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, by the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Trump previously tried to limit CFPB powers during his first term, former lawmaker Mick Mulbany, Rs.C. was appointed acting director. Mulvaney has since sent the CFPB budget request to the Federal Reserve for $0, ordered a job freeze and halted new enforcement actions, according to the New York Times. Former President Joe Biden then hired Chopra to cancel his obedience behavior, and the agency under Chopra’s direction will limit overdraft fees, credit card deferral fees and remove medical debt from credit reports. Chopra took the lead, and repeatedly clashed with the big bank.
Read more
Elon Musk Homes in New Government Target: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Forbes)