The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Washington, DC headquarters will be closed this week, and employees are being told to work remotely unless instructed otherwise by the Acting Director or his designee. The sudden closure was announced in an email obtained by CNN.
The move comes after Elon Musk tweeted “CFPB RIP” with a tombstone emoji on Friday night, which led to officials from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency deleting the CFPB’s X account. DOGE officials have been granted administrative access to the agency’s systems, including its website and personnel directory.
Employees at the bureau filed two lawsuits against Acting Director Russell Vought, seeking to save the agency and protect employees’ data. The lawsuits were filed in the US District Court in DC and challenge Vought’s decision to stop all work, including fighting financial abuse.
Vought had sent an email Saturday night ordering employees to stop virtually all work, effective immediately unless approved by him or required by law. This means that the nation’s top consumer financial watchdog is effectively off the street, preventing it from providing oversight over big banks and other financial institutions.
The CFPB was shut down under President Donald Trump in 2018, but it was reinstated by Congress after a court ruling. The current uncertainty over funding has sparked concerns about the impact on consumers and the financial industry.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/09/business/cfpb-vought-stop-activity/index.html