Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter

Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general complaining about efforts by the Trump administration and Elon Musk to defund and disband Senator Elizabeth Warren's pet project, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The coalition argues in an amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that dismantling the CFPB would significantly harm consumers and hamper enforcement of federal consumer protection laws.

“The CFPB was created to stop big banks and lenders from ripping off American families in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. Rent and home prices are unaffordable and skyrocketing, the cost of college is at an all-time high. Junk fees are out of control. This is the worst possible moment to gut the watchdog protecting American pocketbooks,” said Attorney General Tong.

On February 9, the Trump administration directed the CFPB to stop all its ongoing work and to not begin any new investigations, arguing that the CFPB "has long functioned as another woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy that leverages its power against certain industries and individuals disfavored by so-called 'elites'."

Per the White House, here are some examples of what was going on at CFPB:

• CFPB granted itself broad new powers in the waning hours of the lame duck Biden administration. Described as classic “government overreach,” the agency gave itself the authority to regulate Americans’ checking accounts by dictating government price controls and unilaterally buried $50 billion in medical debt.
• CFPB used its slush fund — collected from targeting financial institutions — to support radical advocacy groups. One such group is the Soros-backed Mississippi Center for Justice, which advocates for “racial and economic justice,” targets religious liberty, and assists illegal immigrants seeking to skirt our nation’s laws. Another is The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, whose board features senior left-wing officials and has lobbied hundreds of times for more welfare spending.
• CFBP threatened banks for refusing to lend to illegal immigrants.
• CFPB targeted a Chicago small business after it complained about the city’s rampant crime.
• CFPB was accused of mining American citizens’ personal financial information — with a 2017 inspector general’s report raising significant concerns about its data security.

Of course none of that was mentioned by the coalition Tong joined.

The coalition said CFPB "has worked with state attorneys general to address consumer issues related to banking, student loan servicers, mortgage servicers, auto lending, and other consumer financial matters, and that it has partnered with attorneys general to stop deceptive, unfair, and abusive conduct by companies."

"As a result of the Trump administration's actions, the nation's largest banks are no longer being closely watched for compliance with key consumer protections by any federal regulator," charged the coalition.

In their brief, the coalition argues that the administration’s efforts to destroy the CFPB "could prevent consumers from reporting issues of fraud or deception." The coalition also writes that efforts to shut down the CFPB would "significantly reduce oversight of very large banks, further harming consumers." The attorneys general also warned that this "may lead to financial institutions loosening their regulatory compliance, as was seen in the years leading up to the financial crisis."

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing today’s brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

CFPB RIP 🪦

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025

‘NO AD’ subscription for CDM!  Sign up here and support real investigative journalism and help save the republic!‘