John,

The government agency that protects us from financial scams and fraud is in trouble.

First, a staff memo laid out new priorities for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The agency's acting director called for the CFPB to scale back some of its most important duties, including supervising companies and issuing penalties for breaking the law.1

Then, the mass firings began. The bureau moved to fire 1,500 people, leaving only 200 employees to perform its critical work.2

A federal judge paused the firings -- for now.3 But change is needed fast if the CFPB is going to survive to continue doing its critical work of protecting Americans.

That's why we're calling on acting CFPB director Russell Vought to correct course at the CFPB and use the bureau's available tools and resources to protect consumers.

If the downsizing at the CFPB continues, it will gut nearly all offices, including those for enforcement, supervision, servicemember affairs, and consumer response. Every one of these offices plays a vital role in protecting us when big companies try to cheat us with illegal or dishonest behavior.

The CFPB's enforcement and supervisory work is how the bureau has secured more than $21 billion in relief for consumers like you and me.4

When Wells Fargo was found to have unlawfully misapplied payments, charged surprise fees, and even led to the wrongful loss of vehicles and homes for thousands of customers -- it was the CFPB's enforcement action that held the bank accountable and returned billions of dollars to those affected.5

Scaling back the CFPB is something we can't afford.

Send a message to the acting CFPB director telling him that you want the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to keep working to protect Americans.

Prior to the pause in staff cuts, the CFPB's Office of Consumer Response -- the team responsible for handling consumer complaints -- was reduced from about 135 employees to just eight, leaving it unable to fulfill its legal mandate to process complaints, according to the office's chief of staff.6

That's not a change in priorities. That's destroying the ability of the CFPB to do its important work.

The CFPB protects us -- but right now, we need to defend it. Add your name today.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Douglass Gillison, "Under Trump, consumer watchdog to slash industry supervision," Reuters, April 16, 2025.
2. Michael Kunzelman and Chris Megerian, "Judge pauses Trump administration's plans for mass layoffs at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," AP News, April 18, 2025.
3. Michael Kunzelman and Chris Megerian, "Judge pauses Trump administration's plans for mass layoffs at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," AP News, April 18, 2025.
4. "The CFPB," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, December 3, 2024.
5. "CFPB Orders Wells Fargo to Pay $3.7 Billion for Widespread Mismanagement of Auto Loans, Mortgages, and Deposit Accounts," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, December 20, 2022.
6. Dan Ennis, "Judge again halts CFPB's 1,500 layoffs," Banking Dive, April 18, 2025.

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