GAO launches investigation into mass firings at CFPB

• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has agreed to investigate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) attempt to fire over 1,400 employees, leaving just 200 remaining.

• The probe, prompted by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim, will examine whether the CFPB can still meet its legal obligations following the staffing cuts and other agency actions.

• The planned Reduction in Force has been temporarily blocked by a federal appeals court, and Senate Democrats are demanding detailed explanations from agency leadership.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has opened an investigation into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s attempt to terminate the majority of its workforce, following concerns that the move could cripple the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission of protecting consumers.

The decision comes in response to a request from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who accused the Trump administration and Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought of orchestrating an “illegal shutdown” of the agency.

“GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,” wrote A. Nicole Clowers, Managing Director for Congressional Relations at GAO, confirming that the investigation will also examine the role of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Mass firings under fire

The CFPB recently attempted to carry out a Reduction in Force that would eliminate more than 1,400 staff positions, leaving only about 200 employees at the agency. That move has been temporarily halted by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In a follow-up letter, Senate Democrats—including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—warned that the firings amount to an unlawful dismantling of the agency. They’ve demanded that Vought deliver a detailed accounting of how the CFPB would continue to perform each of its 80+ statutory functions if the cuts were enacted.

Senators demand transparency

The senators have given Vought a deadline of April 30, 2025, to submit a report detailing:

• The number of employees assigned to each legal function in December 2024

• The number that would remain under the planned cuts

• The legal and operational impacts of those reductions

• Copies of internal analyses of how the cuts would affect CFPB’s mandated work

“These hasty and unjustified mass firings are an illegal shutdown of the CFPB,” the senators wrote, warning that it would leave the agency unable to carry out its consumer protection mandate.

The GAO’s investigation marks a significant escalation in congressional oversight of the CFPB and its leadership, as the agency faces mounting criticism for what opponents say is a deliberate effort to dismantle federal consumer protections.