Overview
- Cara Petersen resigned as the CFPB’s acting enforcement director on June 10, criticizing leadership’s “devastating” staff cuts, case dismissals and settlement terminations.
- Petersen, a 15-year bureau veteran who took charge after Eric Halperin’s February departure, leaves the agency without a current enforcement head.
- Acting Director Russell Vought and Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta have proposed cutting about 90% of staff and dropped major actions against firms like Capital One and Walmart.
- A federal judge halted the mass layoff plan and an appeals court is now considering the administration’s effort to overturn the injunction.
- The National Treasury Employees Union is challenging the restructuring in court, warning that deep cuts would weaken consumer protections.