Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has temporarily put a halt to virtually all of the agency’s work.
President Trump designated Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as acting bureau director Friday night. He replaced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had served as acting CFPB director until Vought’s appointment.
“As Acting Director, I am committed to implementing the President’s policies, consistent with the law, and acting as a faithful steward of the Bureau’s resources,” Vought wrote, in, in a widely reported email. Administration officials have made it clear that they oppose the strict regulatory regime of Rohit Chopra, CFPB director in the Biden Administration.
Elon Musk, the head of the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, went so far as to post on X Friday night “RIP CFPB.”
On Sunday, CFPB officials announced that the agency’s offices will be closed between February 10 and February 14. They also said they will not take the next payment from the Federal Reserve for the agency’s work. The CFPB is not funded through the federal appropriations process; instead, it draws its funding from the Fed.
In a social media post, Vought said the CFPB’s current reserve fund of $711.6 million is “excessive.”
Vought also has ordered the agency to:
- Stop work on proposed rules.
- Suspend the effective dates on proposed rules that are not yet effective.
- Not initiate new investigations
- Cease work on open investigations.
In addition, the agency’s home page has been deleted. Visitors to the home page are greeted with an unplugged electrical cord and a message, “404: Page Not Found.” However, other sections of the agency’s website appear to be working.
Reaction to the Trump Administration’s moves were swift.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents many CFPB employees, filed suit Sunday against Vought.
“CFPB employees have been placed in questionable status as they have been directed not to work but they have also not been formally placed on any authorized type of leave,” the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia states.
“Because of Defendant Vought’s directive and his shuttering of the Bureau’s headquarters for at least a week, CFPB employees are apprehensive about their employment and their futures,” the employees’ union continued.
In the suit, they ask that Vought be enjoined from further attempts to halt the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement work.
And, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is credited with designing the CFPB as part of the Dodd-Frank Act., said that Musk and Vought are overstepping their powers.
“Congress built the CFPB, and no one other than Congress — not the President, not Musk, not Vought – can shut it down,” Warren said, in a statement.
It had been widely speculated that Vought would become acting director of the CFPB, but until Friday, he had not been confirmed as OMB director. Bessent had been confirmed as Treasury Secretary.
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act authorizes the President to appoint as an acting director of a federal agency someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate for a position in another agency. Therefore, until Friday, Bessent was eligible to serve as acting CFPB director, but Vought was not.
Vought’s appointment follows a pattern from the first Trump Administration, when OMB Director Mick Mulvaney served as CFPB Director until Kathy Kraninger was nominated and confirmed.
Trump has not yet nominated anyone as CFPB director; that person would require Senate confirmation.