On February 8, Russ Vought, a major contributor to Project 2025, was appointed as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
After Elon Musk publicly stated his intention to eliminate the CFPB on Friday, Vought sent an email Saturday night ordering that all employees and contractors cease activities.
What is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?
The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 to protect “consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and [takes] action against companies that break the law.”
The CFPB has provided over $21 billion in monetary compensation, principal reductions, and canceled debts for over 205 million consumers. In just the last four years, the agency returned over $6 billion to consumers.
For example, in January the CFPB filed a federal lawsuit against Capital One for allegedly cheating their customers out of an estimated $2 billion by misleading them about their savings account interest rates.
How can you use the CFPB?
CFPB provides many informational resources to consumers about financial topics including retirement planning, saving/planning for college, financial aid for education, credit reports, auto loans, Social Security benefits, debt collection, financial scams, mortgages, and more.
You can also file complaints with the CFPB whenever you experience issues with a financial product or service.
How might the elimination of the CFPB affect you?
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Less favorable consumer protections—the CFPB can issue rules that protect consumers, such as reducing overdraft and late fees and preventing medical debt from appearing on your credit reports.
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Less regulation of how and why data brokers can sell your data—including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and phone numbers.
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Less accountability and repercussions for financial institutions that take advantage of consumers and cheat us out of money.
