"Thirty-six hours after taking over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Russell Vought suspended the agency's operations." The New York Times published a report with this title on the 9th. Watt was appointed by US President Trump as the acting director of the CFPB on the 7th. On the 8th, he ordered the agency's 1,700 employees to stop almost all work. He also posted on social platforms that he "notified the Federal Reserve that the CFPB will not withdraw the next unappropriated funds."
Immediately afterwards, an internal email showed that the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., would be closed for a week starting on February 10. Employees at the agency revealed that some employees who tried to retrieve their laptops from the office were turned away.
As the top financial regulator in the United States, the CFPB has the authority to issue regulations on mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and other financial activities that affect Americans, and to punish companies that violate the regulations. A former official with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told CNN that (the current situation) means that there is now effectively no one overseeing $18 trillion in consumer debt.
Vought's move comes as no surprise. He is one of the authors of Plan 2025, which calls for major reforms to the federal government, including repealing the CFPB. Since its establishment, the CFPB has been the target of criticism from Republicans and some business interest groups. They believe the agency restricts business operations. The Wall Street Journal stated that weakening the status of financial regulators is a long-term goal of Republicans and a recent goal of Trump and Musk. On the 7th, Musk posted the message "CFPB Rest in Peace" on social media platforms, accompanied by a tombstone symbol.
Levitin, a professor at Georgetown University Law School, said Vought's order may be illegal. The agency is required by law to provide oversight of specific entities, a job that is not “discretionary” to administrators.