“I think everyone assumes this is the USAID playbook, and I think everyone’s operating off of the assumption that we’re about to get annihilated, the way that they were annihilated,” a CFPB employee told The Hill, referring to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The moves at the CFPB have drawn parallels with USAID, where staff were also told to stay out of headquarters and cease work before the Trump administration attempted to place thousands of employees on administrative leave.
The Trump administration launched its blitz attack on the consumer watchdog over the weekend, not long after newly confirmed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought was appointed acting CFPB director on Friday.
“The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment,” Vought wrote in a post on the social platform X. “This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off.”
Vought, co-author behind the controversial conservative policy blueprint known as Project 2025, had already become a frequent target of Democratic attacks in recent weeks as senators considered his nomination to head up the OMB.
His position on the Impoundment Control Act, which sets limits on the president’s powers to restrict funding approved by Congress, has also drawn attention. While Vought has vowed the administration will uphold the law, he has reiterated his position in hearings that the measure is unconstitutional.
The Hill’s Julia Shapero has more here.
