In a dramatic shift, Russell Vought, the newly appointed acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), issued a directive on Saturday night halting nearly all operations of the agency, including efforts to combat financial abuse. The order, which affects employees, contractors, and other personnel, instructs them to immediately cease all supervision and examination activities unless explicitly approved by Vought or mandated by law.
This move means that the agency tasked with overseeing financial institutions such as big banks and payday lenders, and protecting consumers from harmful practices, will no longer monitor over $18 trillion in consumer debt. This raises concerns that millions of Americans could be vulnerable to financial exploitation without any oversight.
Vought, who was appointed as acting director by President Donald Trump, also announced that the CFPB would not request its next draw of unappropriated funding, citing an “excessive” balance of $711.6 million in the bureau’s account. On X, he explained that the decision was made in accordance with the President’s policies and aimed to preserve the Bureau’s resources.
This order follows a similar directive by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on February 3, which suspended rulemaking activities, public communications, and court filings. Vought’s email added to Bessent’s directives by freezing all supervisory functions of the CFPB.
The drastic actions have sparked backlash, with House Democrats calling for the rescindment of what they believe may be an illegal stop-work order. Vought’s leadership also saw the deletion of the CFPB’s official X account, and officials from the Department of Government Efficiency, linked to Elon Musk, were granted administrative access to the CFPB’s internal systems, including its content management system and personnel directory.
The CFPB has not yet commented on the situation.
