Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) says President Donald Trump’s attempts to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency that protects consumers from abusive financial practices, have directly cost American families billions of dollars.
CFPB Under Attack By Trump
On Wednesday, on X, Warren shared a video and post highlighting the financial impact of Trump’s actions.
“When you’re counting the ways that costs have gone up for Americans over the last year, be sure to include the cost of getting cheated,” she wrote.
She added, “Donald Trump has cost families $19 billion over the last year just by trying to take the financial cops off the beat.”
In the clip, Warren detailed how Trump and his allies attempted to undermine the agency.
“They tried to cut the budget of the CFPB to zero. And they tried to shut down the complaint hotline. The whole idea was to fire the cops on the financial beat,” she said, referring to the agency.
She added, “The cops who make sure just you get a fair shake. The cops that make sure that giant banks and student loan servicers and payday lendersat least follow the law.”
She also referenced Elon Musk’s involvement, saying, “Just about a year ago, right now,co-president Elon Musk came in with his chainsaw, tried to fire everybody at the CFPB. Got stopped on it, but tried to fire it. And then worked overtime to try to shut down the work of the CFPB.”
Lawmakers Warn Trump’s CFPB Attacks Hurt Consumers
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) criticized Trump on X, saying his attacks on the CFPB threaten working families by targeting the agency that protects borrowers and their money.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) joined Warren to condemn the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the CFPB, highlighting its $21 billion in consumer savings and urging Congress to protect borrowers over billionaires.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that the CFPB has returned billions to Americans, criticized Trump for targeting the agency, and urged protecting it from wealthy interests.
Warren Criticizes Trump For CFPB Cuts And Consumer Harm
On Monday, Warren accused the Trump administration of weakening consumer protections through multiple actions at the CFPB.
She said the administration censored a student loan report, deleting 15 pages that revealed rising defaults, thousands of complaints, and lenders refusing to cancel debt for defrauded borrowers.
Last month, Warren also criticized acting CFPB Director Russell Vought for removing credit card late fee limits, siding with lenders in deception cases, and pausing enforcement.
She called for the $8 cap to be restored and urged stronger oversight of deceptive practices.
Last year, the administration cut nearly 90% of the CFPB workforce, reducing enforcement and supervisory roles and narrowing the agency’s focus to traditional banks.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com
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