Russell Vought’s tenure as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is wrapping up. He tried to shut down the agency, fire its expert staff, freeze its work, and dismantle the watchdog that protects people from Wall Street fraud and abuse.
Vought caused enormous damage. By refusing to enforce consumer protection laws and weakening settlements against corporate wrongdoers, he cost consumers billions of dollars and gave companies accused of cheating the public a free pass.
But Vought failed at his ultimate goal. The CFPB still exists because people like you stood with AFR, our allies, agency workers, and members of Congress who refused to let the Trump administration destroy it without a fight.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has recognized the importance of that work: “Americans for Financial Reform’s leadership is key in our efforts to stop the Trump administration’s attempts to destroy the CFPB. AFR is out there every day, bringing together the efforts of dozens of civil rights, organizing, and economic justice organizations, magnifying their power to make sure everyone’s voice is included.”
Will you donate $5 or more to help AFR defend the CFPB from the next phase of Trump and Wall Street’s attack?
Vought may be on his way out, but the threat remains. Trump will replace him, and Wall Street will keep pushing for an agency that is too weak, understaffed, and intimidated to hold powerful corporations accountable.
Banks, predatory lenders, credit bureaus, and billionaire CEOs have spent years trying to eliminate the CFPB because its enforcement costs them money. They want the freedom to charge abusive fees, discriminate against borrowers, mishandle financial data, and break consumer protection laws without consequences.
AFR will keep organizing nationwide pressure, working with allies, briefing members of Congress and their staff, exposing corporate giveaways, and fighting for the staff and resources the CFPB needs to do its job.
Wall Street banks, billionaire CEOs, and right-wing extremists fund the people attacking the CFPB. They do not fund us. AFR depends on people like you who believe corporations should answer to the public and that consumers deserve someone fighting on their side.
Contribute to Americans for Financial Reform and help us defend the CFPB from Trump, Wall Street, and whoever comes next.
Together, we will defend the CFPB and fight for families and communities for as long as it takes.
- Tom.
Tom Feltner (he/him)
Associate Director of Consumer Policy
Americans for Financial Reform.
