The Daily Populous Saturday March 1st, 2025 morning edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by AbductedAlien01

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Trump-appointed leadership plans to fire nearly all its 1,700 employees while “winding down” the agency, according to testimony from employees.

In a trove of statements released late Thursday, federal employees said that the mass layoff was discussed in meetings they attended this month with senior CFPB leaders and members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

“My team was directed to assist with terminating the vast majority of CFPB employees as quickly as possible,” said an employee identified as Alex Doe, a pseudonym used out of fear of retaliation.

Doe said the plan from CFPB leaders and DOGE was to cut the bureau’s workforce in three phases. It would first eliminate probationary and term employees, then carry out a wave of about 1,200 layoffs, leaving a skeleton crew of a few hundred workers.

“Finally, the Bureau would ‘reduce altogether’ within 60-90 days by terminating most of its remaining staff,” Doe said.

The workers’ testimony comes at a crucial time for the CFPB, the agency created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis was caused, in part, by irresponsible lending. Since DOGE operatives first arrived at the CFPB this month, the bureau has closed its Washington headquarters, initiated the first round of layoffs, and told those who remain to stop nearly all work.

The filings were made in the case started by a CFPB union that suspended acting Director Russell Vought’s moves to shutter the bureau. After the CFPB fired about 200 probationary and term employees, the agency’s actions were put on hold until a hearing scheduled for Monday.

The documents show an apparent disconnect between some of the external messaging from Vought and the behind-the-scenes activity at the bureau.

“CFPB leadership has also been apparently lying to us that it will allow us to follow the law and our statutory obligations to protect consumers," said a current CFPB employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions. "Those of us employed at the CFPB will not stop fighting for our right to get back to the work of protecting consumers that Congress has required of us.”

In a motion filed Monday, Vought pushed back against the idea that he planned to eliminate the CFPB.

“The predicate to running a ‘more streamlined and efficient bureau’ is that there will continue to be a CFPB,” he wrote.

But the Trump administration’s plan was to take the CFPB down to the barest minimum staffing required under law: Just five CFPB employees would remain, either in a standalone office or folded into another regulatory body, the workers testified.

In meetings from Feb. 18 to Feb. 25, “staff were told by Senior Executives that the CFPB would be eliminated except for the five statutorily mandated positions,” said another current CFPB employee, this one identified as Drew Doe.

“One Senior Executive said that CFPB will become a ‘room at Treasury, White House, or Federal Reserve with five men and a phone in it,’” Doe said.

The employees said that, if directed to by the court, they would provide their names and titles under seal.

DemIce on February 28th, 2025 at 23:57 UTC »

The effects of this could be readily seen starting yesterday as the CFPB dismissed several on-going lawsuits (with prejudice).

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) v. Capital One, National Association, 1:25-cv-00061, (E.D. Va.). This was an active case regarding a data breach at Capital One, that was recently scheduled for proposed consolidation with another case. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 27th, 2025.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., 3:25-cv-00004, (E.D. Tenn.) [corrected label/link in edit]. This was an active case regarding alleged deceptive and abusive practices surrounding loans, and not crediting consumers causing harm to their credit score. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 27th, 2025.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, 1:24-cv-00896, (M.D. Penn.). This was an active case regarding the mishandling of repayments of student loans. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 27th, 2025.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. JMG Holding Partners LLC, 2:24-cv-13442, (E.D. Mich.). This was an active case regarding alleged unlawful debt collection practices. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 27th, 2025.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Heights Finance Holding Co, 6:23-cv-04177, (D.S.C.). This was a recently-stayed case regarding alleged deceptive practices surrounding loans. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 27th, 2025.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. TransUnion, 1:22-cv-01880, (N.D. Ill.). This was an active case regarding alleged deceptive practices around credit scoring and credit scores. Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 28th, 2025.

If you're thinking "Big deal, they probably dismiss cases all the time". No, that's just the thing. They rarely do, and certainly not with such timing. Which is why at least some of these are even making the news:

CFPB moves to drop suit accusing Capital One of cheating customers out of $2 billion [NBCnews.com]

> The move is the latest sign that the agency under Trump plans to scale back Biden-era actions, while the future of the CFPB's existence continues to be debated.

Consumer watchdog quits cases against firms accused of ripping off Americans [CNN.com]

> The decision to abandon the cases demonstrates the hands-off approach to regulation from the Trump administration, which has scrambled to sideline the CFPB in recent weeks in an effort led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

CFPB Drops TransUnion Suit In Enforcement Retreat [law360.com]

> The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice, its deceptive marketing practices lawsuit against TransUnion and one of its former executives, the latest in a string of enforcement actions the Trump administration has dropped without explanation

burnthatburner1 on February 28th, 2025 at 23:18 UTC »

This is illegal, right? CFPB was created and is funded by Congress...

Pundamonium97 on February 28th, 2025 at 23:04 UTC »

A group of grifters want to shut down the consumer financial protection bureau huh

I am shocked, appalled even, downright flabbergasted