The Trump administration's effort to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is facing a new lawsuit by advocacy groups.
President Trump and his officials have illegally taken steps to eliminate the CFPB without the permission of Congress that is harming Americans, including shutting off funding for the agency, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit Public Citizen Litigation Group, law firm Gupta Wessler LLP and the National Treasury Employees Union.
"Their actions have caused mass confusion and imposed significant and irreparable harm on consumers across the country," advocacy groups said in a statement.
The CFPB didn't respond to ConsumerAffairs's request for comment.
One case involves plaintiff Eva Steege, an 83-year-old retired Lutheran pastor currently in hospice, who advocates said had been working with the CFPB staff to resolve issues with a Public Service Loan Forgiveness application that could provide her with more than $15,000 in refunds from previous payments.
Her follow-up meetings with the CFPB were cancelled after the Trump administration limited the agency's operations.
Trump's allies have said the CFPB has overreached in its authority and manipulates competition in the market.
The CFPB, founded in 2011 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, has said it has returned more than $21 billion to people who were unfairly treated by financial institutions.
The CFPB had a budget cap of $785.4 million in the fiscal year of 2024.
Email Dieter Holger at dholger@consumeraffairs.com.