Russell Vought, the new acting CFPB leader, has issued orders to workers, significantly reducing the bureau’s workload.
In an email to CFPB employees shared by NBC News, Vought stated that he is now the acting head of the bureau and listed twelve new rules that will start right away.
Employees were told to stop all supervision and checks, halt any interaction with stakeholders, pause ongoing investigations, avoid public announcements, and suspend enforcement actions.
Vought also instructed employees not to approve or release any rules or guidance, and to delay the start dates of any final rules that have been released but are not yet in effect, along with other instructions mentioned in the email.
He said in the email that the rules start right away, unless he allows an exception or the law requires something specific.
Vought shared on X Saturday night that he informed the Federal Reserve, responsible for U.S. monetary policy, that the CFPB will not be using its next available funds because it is not “reasonably necessary” for its work.
“The Bureau currently has a balance of $711.6 million, which is too much given the current financial situation,” the post said. “This source of funding, which has kept the CFPB unaccountable, is now being removed.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who helped set up the CFPB after the 2008 financial crisis, criticized Vought’s actions in a post on X. She said that Vought was allowing large banks and companies to take advantage of families.
“Republicans have not been able to undo it in Congress or in the courts,” she said. “They will not succeed again.”
A current CFPB worker said that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency, are putting American families at risk of financial harm.
“They’re taking hundreds of examiners away from their jobs — the people who help protect your grandmother from scams and ensure your child isn’t tricked by unfair student lenders,” the employee said.
NBC News reported that Vought is now the acting head of the CFPB, according to a spokesman from the OMB and someone who knows about the situation.
Vought was approved as the OMB director on Thursday, even though Senate Democrats strongly opposed him. He takes over from Scott Bessent, who was acting head of the Treasury Department. Bessent was appointed to the position on Monday. Soon after, Democrats said he was trying to enforce an order to stop work that seems illegal.
Trump’s DOGE, a group lead by Musk, is focusing on certain agencies to help reduce the size of the government. The CFPB is the latest organization Musk has criticized after DOGE tried to lay off employees and halt operations at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
On Friday, Musk shared a message on X warning the bureau, saying “CFPB RIP” along with a tombstone emoji. The agency’s X account disappeared soon after, and X informed readers that “this account does not exist.” The CFPB website also went dark, showing an error message.
To reduce USAID, Trump mentioned that he could imagine Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the organization. Rubio announced earlier this week that he is now the acting head of USAID. Last month, he decided to stop nearly all foreign help.
USAID stopped its emergency aid work, and a federal judge on Friday halted the Trump administration’s plan to cut the agency’s staff from nearly 5,000 to just a few hundred.
Trump and the Republicans have often tried to limit the powers of the CFPB.
The office was created in 2011 because of the Dodd-Frank Act, which came after the Great Recession. The agency aims to better protect customers and hold companies responsible.