The article discusses the origins of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as envisioned by Elizabeth Warren during the housing crisis and its establishment in 2011. It highlights the CFPB's ongoing struggle for existence, particularly under the Trump administration, as various officials attempt to undermine it. A memo from Russell Vought, leading OMB, instructs CFPB staff to halt rule-making, investigations, and communications, reflecting broader efforts to diminish federal oversight. This situation underscores the contentious climate around consumer financial protection in the U.S. government.
It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.
The CFPB has long been in President Donald Trump's crosshairs. In the Project 2025 report, Robert Bowes called for the agency's abolition on grounds that its scope of authority is too broad, including having the ability to levy 'knee-buckling penalties'.
Russell Vought, Trump's head of the Office of Management and Budget, is seeking to shutter the agency. He sent a dramatic email to CFPB staff instructing them to not approve or issue any proposed or final rules or formal or informal guidance.
The drama at CFPB, of course, is just part of a broader Trump administration effort to sidestep Congress and reduce the federal workforce by administrative fiat.
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