The Government Accountability Office today released the first of two reports on the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, providing a timeline of bureau layoffs and office closures.
President Trump and CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought – who is director of the Office of Management and Budget – have both stated they want to close the bureau, which was created by an act of Congress. Vought has laid off most of the bureau’s staff, closed bureau offices and declined to request funds for the agency from the Federal Reserve. Those efforts have hit legal roadblocks, with courts pausing the layoffs and directing the Trump administration to continue funding the CFPB.
Several Democratic lawmakers asked the GAO to study the effects of the rollbacks. The report released today provides a timeline of events, providing dates for staff reductions and contract terminations since Trump took office. The GAO said it will examine the effects of those actions in its future report.
The GAO added that the CFPB expressed concerns with the accuracy of this report, but that it stands by the facts as presented.
