Russell Vought Named Acting Head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought has taken on the role of acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to an OMB spokesperson and a source familiar with the situation.
Vought, who was confirmed as OMB director Thursday despite strong opposition from Senate Democrats, replaces Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting head. Bessent had been named to the role Monday, and shortly after, Democrats accused him of implementing "what appears to be an illegal stop work order."
Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump's OMB director during his first term, took over CFPB at the president's behest in 2017 and diluted the bureau's regulatory powers.
In his second term, Trump is seeking to more broadly consolidate agencies.
Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body led by Elon Musk, has zeroed in on some agencies as part of its efforts to slash the size of government. The CFPB was the latest to come into Musk's crosshairs following DOGE's efforts to fire staff and stop work at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Musk on Friday posted on X a warning to the bureau, writing, "CFPB RIP" with a tombstone emoji. The agency's X account shortly disappeared after, with X telling users that "this account does not exist." The CFPB website also went dark, displaying an error message.
As part of the ongoing efforts to curtail USAID, Trump said he "could see" Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking charge of the agency. Rubio, who said earlier this week he had taken over as the acting head of USAID, last month ordered a halt to almost all foreign aid.
USAID froze its work providing humanitarian aid abroad, and a federal judge on Friday paused the Trump administration's effort to strip down the agency's workforce of nearly 5,000 to a few hundred workers.
Trump and Republicans have long taken aim at the CFPB, seeking to reign in its regulatory powers. The bureau was established in 2011 as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The agency has said its purpose is to increase protections for consumers and accountability for corporations.
