WASHINGTON — In a development that is either cheered or jeered depending on one’s viewpoint, staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are expected to begin returning to the office more than a year after the Trump administration shuttered the agency’s Washington headquarters and sought to dramatically reduce its workforce, according to multiple reports and people familiar with the matter.
Reuters reported that CFPB leadership is preparing a return-to-office plan, although the timing has not yet been finalized and employees have not formally been notified.
Uncertainty Over Where Employees Will Go
According to the report, the CFPB’s downtown Washington headquarters is now partially occupied by the Office of Management and Budget, whose director, Russell Vought, also serves as acting head of the CFPB. Sources told Reuters it remains unclear whether employees would return to the agency’s former headquarters or whether the mandate would extend to CFPB employees based outside Washington.
As the CU Daily has reported, Vought has been an outspoken critic of the CFPB, calling it “unaccountable” and overturning prior rulings, including those that would have returned more than $120 million to consumers, one of which involved a $95-million penalty for Navy FCU.
The CFPB was created following the 2008 financial crisis under the Dodd-Frank Act. At the time of its creation, what was then CUNA supported the new agency, while what was then NAFCU opposed it. The two groups have since merge to create America’s Credit Unions.
The Trump administration in February canceled the CFPB headquarters lease and transferred the property to the General Services Administration.
Court Rules Against Administration
Administration officials have since scaled back plans to slash the Bureau’s workforce after a federal court blocked broader efforts to dismantle the agency. Court filings cited by Reuters showed CFPB staffing has declined by roughly 30% since Trump returned to office.
The CFPB, which was created following the 2008 financial crisis under the Dodd-Frank Act, oversees consumer protection issues involving banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, credit reporting agencies and other financial firms.
The agency has faced continued legal and political battles over its future. Reuters reported last month that the administration proposed reducing CFPB staffing by roughly two-thirds, a less aggressive reduction than earlier plans that contemplated eliminating nearly 90% of the workforce.
Divided Opinion
Supporters of the CFPB argue the bureau plays a critical role in protecting consumers from abusive financial practices, while critics within the Trump administration and among congressional Republicans have long argued the agency wields excessive regulatory authority.
Senate Rejects Plan to Restore CFPB Final Rules
Separately, the Senate rejected a series of Congressional Review Act resolutions that would have restored CFPB final rules issued under the previous administration dealing with overdraft programs, medical debt and the Military Lending Act. Ahead of the Senate action, according to America’s Credit Unions.
The trade group noted it had earlier expressed concerns over the “increased uncertainty” returning to these rules would create and urged the Senate to reject them.
A Better Way
Instead, America’s Credit Unions had suggested that a “better way” to ensure continuity of rulemakings would be a statutory change to create a bipartisan five-person commission established by law to lead the bureau that would offer “distinct consumer benefits over a single director who can change” with a new administration.
“Credit unions have already seen this regulatory whiplash as Bureau directors have flipped back and forth, changing policies between Administrations of different parties since the Bureau’s inception,” the ACU letter reads. “Regardless of how qualified one person may be, a commission would ideally allow multiple perspectives and robust discussion of consumer protection issues throughout the decision-making process. Additionally, a bipartisan commission helps ensure some continuity of expertise and bipartisan input in rulemaking.”
