‘We are here to fight back’: hundreds protest suspension of US financial watchdog

Chants of “let us work!” rang out across the courtyard of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) blocks away from the White House on Monday, as hundreds of angry protesters rallied against the Trump administration’s decision to suspend all operations at the US’s top financial watchdog – an agency that has clawed back more than $21bn from Wall Street for defrauded consumers.

The demonstration came after Russell Vought, Trump’s newly installed acting director of the agency, ordered all CFPB staff to stand down and stay away from the office in what critics are calling a brazen attempt to defang financial industry oversight.

“This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarm just before he strolls into the lobby,” Senator Elizabeth Warren told the crowd. “We are here to fight back.”

The shutdown order has thrown the agency into chaos, with employees reporting confusion over basic questions such as whether they can check their work email or complete routine training. The agency’s staff union filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Vought’s stop-work order.

Hundreds of demonstrators await Senator Elizabeth Warren at a protest against the Trump administration’s planned closure of the CFPB in Washington DC, on Monday. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Those critics also point to the influence of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who reportedly placed several members of his Doge team inside the agency with access to its computer systems. Warren accused Musk of orchestrating the shutdown to benefit his planned financial services platform, X Money, part of X’s eventual evolution to be an app for everything.

“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.”

The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from predatory financial practices. It’s since taken action against major banks including JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America for violations of consumer protection laws.

A shutdown would then threaten oversight of everything from credit card late fees to paycheck advance schemes. Without the CFPB’s supervision, companies could potentially charge excessive overdraft fees, while debt collectors and payday lenders would face seriously reduced oversight.

The agency’s enforcement actions have secured billions in consumer relief, including a $120m settlement with student loan servicer Navient announced last September over illegal loan servicing practices, and a $175m penalty against Block’s Cash App in January for inadequate fraud protection. In one of its largest actions, the CFPB ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.7bn in December 2022 for widespread mismanagement of auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts.

But in November, Musk posted that they should “delete” the CFPB for being too duplicative of other regulatory bodies, and on Friday posted: “They did above zero good things, but still need to go.”

“We have worked too hard. We have fought too hard for this democracy, and we ain’t turning it over to Elon Musk,” Representative Maxine Waters said to the crowd. “We’re going to win.”

Maxine Waters at a protest in front of the CFPB headquarters in Washington, on Monday. Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Senator Chris Van Hollen called the situation “the most corrupt bargain in American history”, referring to Musk’s $288m investment in Trump’s campaign. “Elon Musk spent over $280m to elect Donald Trump, and Donald Trump has given Elon Musk the keys to the United States government,” he said.

Christine Chen Zinner, senior policy counsel for consumer financial justice at Americans for Financial Reform, was also at the rally, and warned that shutting the CFPB would eliminate crucial consumer protections.

“Director Vought ordering all the CFPB staff to stop their work essentially is giving financial companies a green light to defraud and gouge their customers,” she said.

The move comes despite broad public support for the agency. A September poll from Americans for Financial Reform showed that 91% of voters believe it is important to regulate financial services to ensure they are fair for consumers, including 95% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 88% of independents.

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a really popular agency,” Chen Zinner said. “So to do anything to hamper this work would be a risky political move, because right now, the CFPB is held with the same high regard as programs like Social Security and Medicare.”