The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is facing a massive workforce reduction and potential shutdown, as revealed in newly released employee testimonies. According to internal statements, Trump-appointed CFPB leaders, along with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), plan to lay off nearly all 1,700 employees and effectively dismantle the agency.
Mass Layoffs and the Plan to Shut Down the CFPB
A trove of testimonies from federal employees, released late Thursday, indicates that the CFPB’s leadership has been working on a three-phase plan to eliminate staff:
🔹 Phase 1: Immediate termination of probationary and temporary employees.
🔹 Phase 2: Mass layoffs of 1,200 employees, leaving only a skeleton crew.
🔹 Phase 3: Complete reduction of the agency within 60-90 days, with most remaining staff terminated.
“My team was directed to assist with terminating the vast majority of CFPB employees as quickly as possible,” said an anonymous employee, identified as Alex Doe in the testimonies.
The Trump administration reportedly wants to strip the CFPB down to just five legally mandated positions, with a plan to either merge the agency into the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, or the White House.
“One Senior Executive said that CFPB will become a ‘room at Treasury, White House, or Federal Reserve with five men and a phone in it,’” said another employee, identified as Drew Doe in the statements.
Union Fights Against CFPB Shutdown
The CFPB union has filed a lawsuit to stop the mass firings, leading to a temporary court-ordered suspension of acting CFPB Director Russell Vought’s plans to shutter the bureau.
🔹 The agency has already fired 200 employees, but further terminations have been put on hold until a March 3 court hearing.
🔹 If the court does not intervene, nearly the entire CFPB workforce could be eliminated within months.
This drastic downsizing plan is part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory oversight and limit the CFPB’s authority.
What’s Next for the CFPB?
As of now, most CFPB operations have been halted, with remaining employees instructed to stop nearly all regulatory activities. The Washington, D.C., headquarters has already been closed.
Consumer advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers are alarmed by these developments, warning that dismantling the CFPB could expose Americans to predatory financial practices with little federal oversight.