Warren Says Trump and Musk Pushing to Gut CFPB as 'Payoff to the Rich Guys'

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's website went dark and its offices were shuttered on Monday, with the agency's chief operating officer telling staff it would be shut down for the week, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among the progressive leaders calling out the attack on the CFPB as one whose real target is working families across the country.

Chief Operating Officer Adam Martinez's message to staffers followed a weekend directive from Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, which ordered the agency to "cease all supervision and examination activity."

As Common Dreamsreported Saturday, President Donald Trump's billionaire backer, Elon Musk, posted the words "RIP CFPB" on his social media platform X, late last week. Musk has a vested interest in shutting down the agency due to his plan to partner with Visa on a peer-to-peer payment system on X—the kind of financial venture that CFPB would oversee as it fights to ensure Americans aren't overcharged and scammed by big businesses.

In addition to helping ensure the federal government won't hold Musk's new business accountable, said Warren (D-Mass.), Trump is intent on securing "a payoff to the rich guys who invested in his campaign and who want to cheat families and not have anybody around to stop them."

"If you have a bank account or a credit card or a mortgage or student loan, this is code red. I am ringing the alarm bell," said Warren in a video posted to social media. "If they succeed, CEOs and Wall Street will once again be free to trick, trap, and cheat you."

The agency shut down this week as the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents CFPB workers, filed two lawsuits against Vought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over the Trump administration's takeover of the agency.

The union is seeking to block the Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), the advisory body led by Musk, from gaining access to CFPB employee data.

It also alleges that Vought's halting of the agency's operations "reflects an unlawful attempt to thwart Congress' decision to create the CFPB to protect American consumers."

Trump's attempt to shut down the agency is "another scam," said Warren—a former law professor who proposed and then helped build the CFPB before joining Congress.

"For years, Republicans have tried and tried again to repeal it in Congress and they have failed every single time," said the senator. "Congress built the CFPB, and no one other than Congress—not the president, not Musk, not Vought—can shut it down."

Trump, Musk, and other powerful CEOs want the CFPB shut down, Warren said, because "this little agency has forced giant banks and corporations to give back more than $21 billion directly to families they cheated."

In a statement, government watchdog Accountable.US said the attack on the agency is "a direct gut punch to American consumers, and a long-awaited gift to big banks that have been lobbying against the CFPB since before it was established by the landmark law to protect consumers in the wake of the 2007–08 Great Recession. It pauses ongoing investigations into cases of fraud and predatory practices by banks that rip off American consumers."

The group also noted that attempts to shut down a bureau that has directly financially benefited working families and held Wall Street accountable is just the latest evidence that, despite the populist tone he struck during his campaign, Trump is breaking his promises "to lower costs and protect American consumers."

Accountable.US also pointed to the $3,900 more the typical U.S. family would pay in taxes under Trump's tax plan and the executive action the president rescinded that was aimed at lowering prescription drug costs.

"Attacking the CFPB is the latest reminder that Trump's Washington will always put the interests of big banks, corporations, and his billionaire donors ahead of the American people," said Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk. "In its more than a decade as an agency, the CFPB has put billions of dollars back into the pockets of American families and held big banks accountable for predatory practices that scam consumers and raise their costs. Gutting the agency all but confirms that Trump and Musk are reimagining the government to service themselves at the expense of Americans—who will without a doubt see their costs rise as a result of these efforts."

While DOGE has swept through the offices of numerous government agencies in recent weeks, claiming it's cutting costs for American taxpayers and improving efficiency, organizer Leah Greenberg said the attack on CFPB and other agencies "isn't about saving money."

"It's about making it easier for the ultrarich to keep scamming the rest of us, unchecked and unchallenged," said Greenberg, co-founder of the progressive advocacy group Indivisible. "And let's not forget: Musk isn't just any billionaire throwing his weight around—he has clear conflicts of interest with massive financial stakes in industries regulated by the very agencies he's trying to dismantle."

Warren said Democratic lawmakers "will not let up in Congress or the courts until we win this fight."

"There is power in fighting back," said the senator, "so please call your representative and most of all, get the word out. We are here to fight for the little agency that fights for us."