Tell Your Reps: Stop Trump and his Cronies from Shutting Down the CFPB

The Trump administration is stifling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) because his friends in Big Tech don’t like the agency and its work to protect consumers and their rights. This move comes alongside other efforts to undermine core democratic institutions. We need to preserve the agency and its ability to take action against companies that break the law or treat consumers unfairly.

Take Action Now: Ask your reps to protect the CFPB and help get it back doing its good work.

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What is the CFPB?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an independent government agency. It protects people from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices by financial companies. This includes companies in the financial and tech sectors. The Bureau takes action to stop predatory financial practices. It pushes companies to be fair and transparent. It gives consumers the information and tools they need to make smart decisions. When companies harm consumers, the CFPB compels companies to compensate affected consumers.

What does the CFPB have to do with tech and digital rights?

The CFPB monitors risks, particularly financial risks, to consumers. As more people use tech such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and CashApp like credit cards, this drew the attention of the CFPB. The Bureau began looking into the ways tech companies and data brokers profit off collecting, sharing, selling, and exploiting users’ data. The agency took action to protect people from these companies’ predatory practices. In November 2024, the Bureau expanded its oversight to include tech companies. This rule allowed the CFPB to supervise tech companies that act like banks and financial institutions. It regulates their data collection and sharing practices, stops misrepresentations about data protection practices, tries to protect users’ personal data, privacy, and reduce fraud. So, it comes as no surprise that the administration and its tech friends had the agency on the chopping block in its first two weeks.

The Trump Administration’s Attacks on the CFPB

On Saturday, February 1, 2025, President Trump fired Rohit Chopra, the director under whose leadership the CFPB targeted Big Tech and Big Banks.

Shortly after, on Monday, February 3, Scott Bessent, who had just been confirmed as Treasury Secretary by the Senate, was named acting director of the CFPB. After assuming this position, the CFPB’s work was brought to a halt. Staff members were instructed to immediately cease the Bureau’s work. This includes a halt on issuing or approving proposed, final rules or guidance, and suspending the effective dates of all final rules that have been issued but have not yet become effective. Staff members were also instructed not to commence or settle enforcement actions, nor to issue any public communications of any type, including research papers. This directive was made “in order to promote consistency with the goals of the Administration”.

On February 7, Russell Vought, an architect of Project 2025 and head of the Office of Management and Budget, took over as Acting Director of the CFPB. Soon after, the agency’s X account was taken down and its website displays a 404 error.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also gained access to the Bureau’s data and internal systems, including personnel files and financial records.

By Monday, February 10, Vought informed employees via email that the CFPB headquarters is closed and asked them not to come in or perform any work tasks.

On Friday, February 14, the entire technology team who helped uncover financial wrongdoing, out-of-control AI, and consumer harm was fired—a win for Big Tech and Wall Street but a loss for everyday people. That afternoon, the courts issued an order stopping further firings, reductions in force, destruction of data, or return of CFPB funds. 🎉

If we allow this shutdown to happen quietly and without pushback, we risk losing another avenue to hold Big Tech accountable for years to come. And we allow Trump to continue his effort to dismantle the federal government unobstructed. We can’t afford that. Tell your representatives to fight this move by the Trump administration.

Actions

The National Treasury Employees Union which represents the CFPB’s employees filed two lawsuits against the acting director for the violation of the Privacy Act in how employee records were handled and for illegally infringing on Congress’ authority to set and fund the missions of the Bureau.
Monday, February 10, 2025 @ 4:15PM ET | CFPB Building, DC | Stop Elon’s Billionaire Grift: Hands off the CFPB Rally: Join Indivisible, Progressive Change Institute, MoveOn, Americans for Financial Reform, and CFPB Union NTEU 335 to Rally at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Maxine Waters to fight back against Elon Musk’s attempt to kill it.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 | Virtual | Save Our Services Day of Action: Join fellow federal employees and community supporters across the country for a Save Our Services day of action.

Supporters

Learn more about the CFPB’s work and track record

The CFPB has taken action against various companies across numerous industries to protect consumers and stand up for their rights in the face of harmful practices. Here’s some examples of its recent efforts.

📌CFPB Orders Wise to Pay $2.5 Million for Illegal Remittance Practices

📌CFPB Orders Equifax to Pay $15 Million for Improper Investigations of Credit Reporting Errors

📌CFPB Takes Action Against Draper & Kramer Mortgage for Discriminatory Mortgage Lending Practices

📌 CFPB Orders Honda’s Auto Financing Arm to Pay $12.8 Million for COVID-19 and Other Credit Reporting Failures

📌 CFPB Orders Operator of Cash App to Pay $175 Million and Fix Its Failures on Fraud

📌CFPB Regulations Target Big Tech

📌CFPB Sues Capital One for Cheating Consumers Out of More Than $2 Billion in Interest Payments on Savings Accounts

📌CFPB Proposes Rule to Ban Contract Clauses that Strip Away Fundamental Freedoms

📌CFPB Sues Experian for Sham Investigations of Credit Report Errors

📌CFPB Sues Vanderbilt for Setting Borrowers Up to Fail in Manufactured Home Loans

📌CFPB Sues Walmart and Branch Messenger for Illegally Opening Deposit Accounts for More Than One Million Delivery Drivers

📌CFPB Files Lawsuit to Stop Illegal Kickback Scheme to Steer Borrowers to Rocket Mortgage