Did DOGE Kill The CFPB?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s tenure as acting chief of the CFPB came to a quick end after just one week on the job. Last Friday night, President Trump replaced him with a new acting director, Russell Vought, who also leads the Office of Management and Budget. Director Vought will be heading OMB and be the acting director of the CFPB.

As of Sunday afternoon, the CFPB’s home page was taken off-line, though the CFPB’s complaint portal and other pages are available. On Sunday, this is what you would find when accessing the Bureau’s home page.

Shutting down the CFPB, acting Director Vought sent an email to Bureau staff on Saturday night stating: “Effective immediately, unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law, all employees, contractors and other personnel of the bureau shall…cease all supervision and examination activity.” This instruction builds on former Director Bessent’s earlier announcement instructing most of the CFPB staff to stand down in all oversight functions, but this directive also adds supervisory staff into the scope of the furlough.  In sum, at least temporarily, the CFPB has gone out of business.

At the same time that Russell Vought was assuming the CFPB leadership, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was setting its sights on the Bureau, as DOGE officials were given access to the CFPB’s administrative systems, including human resources, procurement, and the content management system.  At the same time, DOGE chief Elon Musk sent a tweet: “CFPB RIP

.” The CFPB’s Twitter account has also been deleted.

Wondering about the Bureau’s future?  We’re here to help!