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Two Republican lawmakers from Texas have introduced bills that would end funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the latest in a series of swift moves by the Trump administration that target the embattled regulator.
H.R. 814, sponsored by Rep. Keith Self, and S. 303, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, seek to defund the CFPB. Self and other Republicans in the House of Representatives have urged Speaker Mike Johnson to fast-track the legislation through the budget reconciliation process.
Multiple reports also indicate that GOP leaders will seek to utilize the Byrd Rule, which would keep the proposal from being filibustered once it reaches the Senate. The rule allows budget reconciliation matters to be approved with a simple majority, rather than 60 votes needed through a filibuster. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate.
“The CFPB has long operated as an unaccountable and burdensome agency that has stifled economic growth through regulatory overreach,” Self said in an announcement of the bills.
“By eliminating its funding entirely, we are taking a principled stand for transparency and accountability, while restoring power to the American people and their elected representatives. This bill ensures taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for an agency that operates beyond the scope of constitutional checks and balances.”
The bureau, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, has been gutted since the Trump administration took office last month.
This week, a judge cleared a path for mass layoffs of federal employees, including those at the CFPB and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This came less than two weeks after acting director Russell Vought ordered CFPB staff to stop most of its work while cutting off its funding from the Federal Reserve.
President Donald Trump has nominated Jonathan McKernan to lead the CFPB. But if the bureau’s long-term funding is eliminated, it’s unclear if there will be a need for a full-time director.
Read more about the actions taken by the Trump administration that could impact housing here.
