As Musk, Trump administration target CFPB, Democrats defend consumer watchdog's impact

Source: ABC News

February 10, 2025, 5:22 PM


The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to safeguard Americans against unfair business practices, is the newest target of Elon Musk and the Trump administration. The agency is at a virtual standstill after Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and Russell Vought, the leader of the White House budget office and now acting director of the CFPB, took control.

They and congressional Republicans have accused the agency of overreach and not being politically accountable.Internal emails obtained by ABC News show Vought advised the agency's headquarters in Washington will be closed all week and told employees, "Please do not perform any work tasks."

In a post on X Saturday night, Vought said the CFPB's funding, which comes through the Federal Reserve, is "now being turned off." Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who helped create the CFPB, posted a video on Monday "ringing the alarm bell" on what the impact will be if its gutted.

Warren highlighted what she said the agency does for average Americans, including finding fraud in payment apps, stepping in if a bank tries to repossess your car and working to cut credit card fees. She argued that only Congress can dismantle the CFPB, and that Trump and Musk do not have the authority to do so unilaterally.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/musk-trump-administration-target-cfpb-democrats-tout-consumer/story?id=118664275