CFPB can't go home again; Trump canceled its lease
The agency returned billions to consumers but has been largely shut down by the Trump White House
Consumer advocates have been trying to force the Trump Administration to revive the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the “cop on the beat,” once the most aggressive federal agency on the consumer protection beat.
But instead, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated the lease on the office six years early, according to government records obtained by Reuters news agency.
President Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought – who is CFPB’s acting director – have both said they want to close the bureau, which was created by Congress.
Since its founding, the CFPB recovered billions of dollars on behalf of consumers — returning funds through direct restitution and the Civil Penalty Fund, also known as the victims relief fund. These efforts served as a pillar of justice for Americans scammed by financial companies ranging from shady payday lenders to mega-banks.
But after the Trump assault, the agency has actually been giving money back to companies, leaving more than $360 million in consumer restitution at risk, according to a joint investigation by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Student Borrower Protection Center — money owed to Americans who were harmed by illegal corporate conduct.
“When Americans got ripped off by big banks and other financial companies, they could count on the CFPB to take action—until now,” said Allison Preiss, senior fellow at SBPC. “Under Trump’s CFPB, Wall Street wrongdoers are being richly rewarded at the expense of Americans who should be getting checks in the mail.”
Reuters, citing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, reported that the OCC terminated the lease in February and transferred the property to the General Services Administration at no cost. The GSA is the government’s general real estate management agency.
The Trump administration’s efforts to shrink and possibly eliminate the CFPB have resulted in at least two lawsuits. Administration attorneys recently asked a federal appeals court for permission to reduce the current workforce by more than half, from 1,174 to 556 employees. The CFPB had 1,758 employees in 2024.