The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was temporarily unable to perform some of its statutory duties because of Trump administration stop-work orders, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Office of Inspector General. The office also concluded that the administration’s attempts to reduce the bureau’s staff size have had only limited effect on its operations because court orders have paused those efforts.
The Fed OIG prepared the report after receiving multiple requests from lawmakers to review the effects of the administration’s action on the CFPB’s operations. The CFPB is an independent agency, but it is unique in that its funds come from the Fed following a request by the bureau director. The office interviewed bureau officials and staff but was unable to interview its leadership.
The OIG reached three conclusions:
- CFPB stop-work orders resulted in bureau personnel temporarily not performing work on enforcement, supervision and other functions.
- The effects of proposed staff reductions on CFPB operations have been limited as the courts have paused those efforts. For example, the administration sought to eliminate more than 1,400 positions, or roughly 87% of the bureau’s workforce. A federal court has temporarily halted those terminations.
- The decisions to cancel or allow contracts to expire temporarily affected the bureau’s consumer complaint database and other operations. The CFPB announced it would take steps to improve the database after receiving a draft version of the OIG report earlier this year.
