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CFPB Implements Sweeping Layoffs and Shifts Focus Under Trump Administration

The U.S. consumer watchdog is cutting 1,500 jobs and deprioritizing oversight of student loans, medical debt, and digital payments to reallocate resources toward military families and tangible consumer harms.

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Supporters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rally after Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought told all of the agency's staff to stay away from the office and do no work, outside the CFPB in Washington, U.S., February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo
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Overview

  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued layoff notices to approximately 1,500 employees, reducing its workforce to around 200 staff members.
  • An internal memo outlines a shift in enforcement priorities, focusing on protecting service members, veterans, and addressing tangible consumer harms, while scaling back supervision of nonbank financial services companies by 50%.
  • The agency will deprioritize oversight of areas such as student loans, medical debt, digital payments, and consumer data, ceding some responsibilities to state regulators.
  • This restructuring follows an appeals court ruling allowing selective layoffs after individual assessments, partially reversing a previous injunction against such actions.
  • Critics argue the changes undermine the CFPB's original mission to protect consumers from predatory financial practices, with some alleging the moves are aimed at dismantling the agency entirely.