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Tag: CFPB

  • ‘Try and save face’: Top CFPB officials dismissed despite telling media they resigned, agency says

    ‘Try and save face’: Top CFPB officials dismissed despite telling media they resigned, agency says

    Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

    The Office of Management and Budget’s Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency’s deputy director, on administrative leave, a CFPB spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

    The resignations come after acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, told employees of CFPB on Monday to not report to work and to “get approval in writing before performing any work tasks.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefly served as acting CFPB director before Vought earlier in February, and had also told staffers to halt their work “unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law.”

    The CFPB spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Halperin defied Bessent’s order and resigned in response to being placed on leave Tuesday. Halperin was made aware of his leave via an email and responded six minutes later that he was resigning, the New York Post reported earlier Tuesday. 

    RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB’S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS

    A view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters building in Washington, DC, on Feb. 10, 2025.   (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

    “I write to provide notice of my resignation… Since the building is closed, please provide instructions on how to return my equipment,” Halperin reportedly responded to the email. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It was an honor.”

    Salas also “sent out an email blast” in response to the notification she also was placed on leave, but did not officially file her resignation, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

    RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST

    The pair is claiming to reporters that they resigned, as opposed to being placed on leave, to “try and save face,” the spox added. 

    When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Salas told Fox Digital that the Trump administration was working to “sideline” government employees. 

    “As we’ve seen many times already, Trump and Musk are trying to sideline dedicated public servants who won’t go along with their plans to break the law,” the spokesperson said. “CFPB staff have a responsibility to protect consumers, and that includes upholding longstanding laws on the books.” 

    Fox News Digital attempted to reach Halperin via social media on Tuesday evening for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

    CFPB office

    Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed.  (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

    Both Halperin and Salas have ties to left-wing billionaire George Soros’ nonprofit, the Open Society Foundation, a CFPB press release from 2021 shows. Halperin served as a senior advisor to Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Program, his biography in a CFPB press release states, while Salas received a government fellowship from the Open Society Foundations. 

    FEDERAL WORKERS’ UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

    The CFPB is an independent government agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created in 2010 under the Obama administration following the financial crash in 2008. 

    Elon Musk at Congress

    Elon Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has been investigating various federal agencies in February in search of finding and eliminating government overspending, fraud and corruption.

    On Friday, Musk posted a message on X, reading, “CFPB RIP,” building anticipation that the agency was the next to face investigation. 

    Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, “We are here to fight back.”

    Sen. Warren outside CFPB

    Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, “We are here to fight back.” (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

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    “This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarm just before he strolls into the lobby,” Warren told the crowd on Monday. 

    “The financial cops, the CFPB, are there to make sure that Elon’s new project can’t scam you or steal your sensitive personal data,” Warren said. “So Elon’s solution, get rid of the cops, kill the CFPB.”

  • Federal workers’ union sues to stop DOGE activity at CFPB

    Federal workers’ union sues to stop DOGE activity at CFPB

    Jack Otter and the ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists discuss how DOGE is shaking up Washington, D.C.

    A union representing federal workers filed a pair of lawsuits against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting Director Russell Vought, asking a court to declare recent actions by him unlawful and to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to employee information. 

    The filings by the National Treasury Employees Union come after Vought told staff at the CFPB not to issue any new rules and to stop any new investigations, among other directives. He also sent a letter to the Federal Reserve requesting no money for the CFPB’s third quarter of fiscal year 2025. 

    “It is substantially likely that these initial directives are a precursor to a purge of CFPB’s workforce, which is now prohibited from fulfilling the agency’s statutory mission,” read one of the lawsuits filed in federal court.

    The other alleges that the CFPB has “granted access, and by extension, disclosed employee records to individuals associated with DOGE without employee consent to such disclosure.” 

    FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEYS GENERAL FILE LAWSUIT 

    Russell Vought, left, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Andrew Harnik/Kenny Holston / Getty Images)

    “These employees face irreparable harm to their privacy interests if their employee information is improperly accessed and/or disseminated by individuals associated with DOGE,” that lawsuit adds. “Once an employee’s personnel information is improperly disclosed, the harm to the employee cannot be undone.” 

    The lawsuit also cites a union chapter president as saying that members are “concerned that their personnel information will be used to stop, lower, or otherwise modify their salaries and other benefits; to blackmail, threaten, or intimidate them; to prevent them from obtaining future employment; to deny them goods and services such as loans and childcare; in identity theft and social engineering attempts against them; in advertising and marketing directed at them.”

    The CFPB did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from FOX Business. 

    On its website, the CFPB says it aims to “make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole.” 

    “We protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law,” it says.

    ELON MUSK ALLEGES $50 BILLION IN FRAUD AT TREASURY AFTER JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE AUDIT 

    Protest against Elon Musk

    Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Elon Musk outside the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 4. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

    Vought, who is the head of the Office of Management and Budget, was named acting director of the agency on Friday. 

    “As Acting Director, I am committed to implementing the President’s policies, consistent with the law, and acting as a faithful steward of the Bureau’s resources,” Vought said in an email to colleagues obtained by RealClearPolitics. 

    However, the lawsuit asks the court to declare that “Defendant Vought’s directive to the CFPB’s employees to stop their supervision and enforcement work is unlawful” and to prevent him from “further attempts to halt the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement work.” 

    The union also notes that Elon Musk wrote “RIP CFPB” on his X account, and that three members of DOGE have “been added to the Bureau’s staff and email directory as ‘senior advisers,’” despite not being CFPB employees. 

    “The same day he assumed the role of Acting Director, on February 7, Mr. Vought instructed CFPB staff to grant the DOGE team access to all non-classified CFPB systems,” it said. 

    Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Florida

    Elon Musk is seen with President Donald Trump. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

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    The second lawsuit asks the court to block “CFPB from granting access and, by extension, disclosing employee records and information to members of the Department of Government Efficiency, except as required by law.” 

  • Trump names Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting CFPB director

    Trump names Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting CFPB director

    Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., weighs in on Trumps tax cuts amid Scott Bessents confirmation hearing and Congress grappling with a strategy for the reconciliation bill.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency announced on Monday.

    “I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth,” Bessent said.

    The CFPB’s announcement noted that President Donald Trump designated Bessent as the agency’s acting director on Friday. Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra wrote in a letter published Saturday that he was no longer serving as the agency’s director.

    This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.