Berliner Tageszeitung - Union sues over US consumer protection agency work pause

CFPB staff were told that the agency's Washington headquarters would be shuttered and that they should not show up for work.

The National Treasury Employees Union brought two court cases against acting CFPB director Russell Vought, accusing him of trying to shut down the agency -- which was created by Congress -- and of giving the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to employees' personal information.

Vought's actions reflected "an unlawful attempt to thwart Congress's decision to create the CFPB to protect American consumers," they argued in one of the suits.

The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, and serves as a watchdog over a variety of US consumer issues ranging from mortgages to credit cards to debt collection.

Republicans have long accused the independent agency of overreach, with some of Trump's most ardent supporters -- including tech billionaire Musk -- calling for its closure.

In an email to staff on Monday, a copy of which was shared with AFP, Vought said the agency's Washington office would be closed this week, and told employees not to show up.

"Please do not perform any work tasks," said Vought, the new director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and a key architect of the conservative plan known as Project 2025 to reform the federal government.

Vought added that staff would need to seek written permission from him before doing any urgent work going forward, and should otherwise "stand down from performing any work task."

- 'Weaponization' -

The CFPB says it has saved consumers more than $21 billion, with its enforcement actions against businesses bringing in most of that money.

The White House, however, accused it of unfair conduct.

The CFPB "has long functioned as another woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy that leverages its power against certain industries and individuals disfavored by so-called 'elites,'" the White House said in a statement published Monday.

"Under the administration of President Donald J. Trump, the weaponization ends right now," it added.

The decision to pause all work at CFPB and close down its offices appears to be an attempt to curtail its oversight powers without shuttering it entirely -- something that would require congressional approval.

"Congress built the CFPB, and no one other than Congress -- not the president, not Musk, not Vought -- can shut it down," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who helped create the agency, said in a video message.

In a separate statement, Democrats including Warren announced plans for a protest outside the CFPB's Washington offices for Monday, to "sound the alarm" against Musk and Vought's "attempt to kill" the agency.

A. Bogdanow--BTZ