In a quick, one-week succession following U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent’s appointment as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Jan. 31, Russell Vought, who was confirmed Friday to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has also been appointed acting director of the CFPB.
Vought is a primary author of the controversial “Project 2025” political initiative, which President Trump distanced himself from during his campaign, but now appears to be embracing through leadership changes.
Vought, for his part, referred to what he called CFPB’s “unaccountability” and referenced a wastefulness of funds.
“I have notified the Federal Reserve that CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not ‘reasonably necessary’ to carry out its duties,” Vought stated in a Feb. 8 post on X. “The Bureau's current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment.”
“This spigot,” he added, “long contributing to CFPB's unaccountability, is now being turned off.”
Trump confidant Elon Musk appears to suggest putting an end to the CFPB, altogether. Feb. 7, Musk simply stated in a post on X, “CFPB RIP,” along with a tombstone emoji.
Democrats and Independents have voiced serious concerns about Vought. “Russell Vought is a creature of the far-right billionaire dark money world,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), during Vought’s OMB confirmation hearings. “He’s the last person who should be put in the heart of the operations of our government,” said Sen. Angus King (I-ME).
Others are more optimistic about Vought’s next actions, and the nature of them. “As Acting Director, Russell Vought is likely to redirect the Bureau’s regulatory and enforcement efforts toward a more common-sense approach that targets direct harm to consumers and away from what many felt was a heavy-handed focus on social policy issues outside the Bureau’s direct mandate,” contended Peter Idziak, senior associate at mortgage law firm Polunsky Beitel Green.
“Although Elon Musk has called for the CFPB to be deleted, that would require an act of Congress,” Idziak told NMP. “However, Acting Director Vought could minimize the Bureau’s activities through reductions in staff, reduced funding requests to the Fed, and continuing Bessent’s ban on continuing existing or opening new enforcement actions.”
Still, “I would be surprised to see Vought totally neuter the Bureau,” Idziak continued. “He will need some staff to, at the very least, oversee the rule-making process for any existing rules he wishes to rescind or revise and any new guidance he wishes to issue.”
Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) commented on Vought's latest announcement to CFPB staff, directing them to not issue any new rules, suspend effective dates of all final rules, and stop any new investigations.
Warren added her input in a post to X, stating "Vought is giving big banks and giant corporations the green light to scam families. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned over $21 billion to families cheated by Wall Street. Republicans have failed to gut it in Congress and in the courts. They will fail again."
