Save CFPB

The CFPB is still here and Acting Director Vought is still not allowing its employees to protect consumers.

Wonder what data brokering powers price gouging, dynamic pricing, and seller's inflation? Without the CFPB modernizing the implementation of FCRA, we may never know!

As always, if consumers want to tell the story of how they were helped, make sure you're reaching out to legitimate journalists. @propublica.org (bsky.app/profile/prop...) has been doing great work covering this admin's attempts to throw the CFPB into the woodchipper

The CFPB Union @nteu335.bsky.social has been working hard to get the agency's funding restored, and to get Congress to rein in Vought's unlawful attempt to shut the agency down.

Real life people get helped and real life money gets returned: bsky.app/profile/russ...

*everyone* knows how impactful the CFPB is, Representative @jayapal.house.gov is giving a high level view of the harm that's come to consumers with Vought at the helm of the CFPB (appointed, of course, as Acting Director by Trump)

Eric Michael Garcia tweets "The amount of scams targeted at old people is honestly scary." And user Stephen C. Rea responds, "Can't imagine that gutting the CFPB will help with that."

@ericmgarcia.bsky.social and @stevierea.bsky.social get it:

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We're pulling from here and elsewhere on the internet, of real life people that the CFPB (when it was allowed to do work), helped! bsky.app/profile/amel...

Leading up to the one year anniversary of Trump and Vought's attempt to shut the agency down (which has been thwarted *so far*!)- we want to highlight consumers who were actually (!) helped (!) by a fed gov't agency. 👇

The point being here, Vought is big mad about fair lending. He's big mad about any efforts that in any way address the enduring effects of the racist legacy of this country. And- he's getting sloppier in his rage!

The declaration even concedes that from the investigation "the only new evidence was testimonial admissions by Townstone's owner that one or more of the statements could have or would possibly discourage a prospective black applicant." ONLY? That's... the crux of discouragement.

Notably, the declaration never even addresses the 8th Circuit's finding that Reg B *does* prohibit discouragement! (files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/...)

But even more out of pocket, Vought had a senior advisor file a personal declaration to support the motion, where the declarant (a *part-time* detailee from OMB) essentially called into question CFPB employees' work on the matter and cited what looks like a 1L's memo

The CFPB even tried to RETURN MONEY to Townstone, "After a thorough review, the CFPB is seeking to make Townstone whole by returning the six-figure penalty they were forced to pay."

Vought attempted to collude with Townstone to set aside the judgment bc there were unsubstantiated "significant undisclosed problems with the Bureau’s treatment of the case, resulting in unmerited investigation and litigation and the infringement of the defendants’ First Amendment rights."

In his 2nd month at the helm of the CFPB, Vought entered a joint motion to vacate the stipulated FINAL judgment in a case, Townstone, where Court of Appeals judges held, "it is clear that Congress authorized the imposition of liability for the discouragement of prospective applicants."

Putting aside how humiliating it is that acting dir. of the CFPB (& Senate-confirmed Dir. of OMB) would pen such a semi-literate opinion piece- the CFPB has been baldly stepping out of line w/r/t fair lending issues for the past year. A look back:

One's opinion may vary but a statement of the judicial outcomes of enforcement? Categorically not a matter of opinion.

Russell Vought, Acting Director of the CFPB, has taken a series of particularly egregious steps related to fair lending. This opinion piece is the latest in a highly public and visible demonstration of his failures of understanding of the basic law the CFPB is congressionally mandated to enforce

Opinion | DEI Turns Fair-Lending Laws on Their Head The CFPB is ending Biden-era racial discrimination.

It's almost like Russell Vought, the Acting Director of the CFPB, doesn't know anything about the laws the CFPB enforces. Even industry most critical of fair lending laws and enforcement know this opinion piece is riddled with statements that are factually inaccurate:
www.wsj.com/opinion/dei-...

These failures happened concurrently with Elon Musk's fork email and purges of probationary employees.

And Congress must restore CFPB funding and let its workers get back to work doing what they love: protecting consumers.