Is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in its last days? Its director, Rohit Chopra, was dismissed earlier this week and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was named to head the bureau temporarily. The staff has been told not to enact any new regulations.
Press reports say members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have moved into the agency's headquarters to begin rifling through its records.
Musk limited himself to one word on his X site:
CFPB RIP 🪦
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025
Musk, the world's richest person, has been tasked by President Trump to take on a massive downsizing of the federal government and the prime targets appear to be the agencies that have most annoyed conservatives over the years.
That would certainly include the CFPB, which has been reviled by banks and other financial services institutions. Under Chopra, the bureau has passed regulations calling for lower interest rates, more accurate credit reports, fewer "junk fees" and better disclosure of the terms of financial transactions large and small.
Musk has been calling for the CFPB's elimination since November and three Musk aides are now listed as "senior advisor" in the CFPB's directory, Reuters reported.
Musk has also called for the elimination of USAID and on Friday, workers began removing signs from the agency's building. A judge temporarily block the Trump team's efforts to close the agency and place its 2,200 employees on leave.