CFPB effectively shut down, supervision halted, mass firings
Acting Director Russell Vought issued stop work orders in February 2025, halted supervisory examinations and most rulemaking, and attempted to fire the vast majority of CFPB staff. A federal district court preliminarily enjoined the mass layoffs in NTEU v. Vought; a D.C. Circuit panel vacated that injunction, but the full court granted en banc review and heard argument in February 2026, leaving the layoffs blocked while a decision remains pending as of August 2026. The 2025 reconciliation law separately cut the cap on the bureau's Federal Reserve funding. The CFPB has returned billions of dollars to consumers since 2011 through enforcement, and its dismantling removes the primary federal watchdog for mortgages, credit cards, and debt collection.
Sources
✓ Verified against primary sources 2026-08-16