Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been at the center of significant developments in recent days regarding his leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Vought has been serving as acting director of the CFPB since February of this year. The Trump administration has now nominated Stuart Levenbach, a close aide to Vought at the OMB, to serve as the permanent director of the agency. According to multiple sources, this nomination is a technical maneuver designed to extend Vought's time as acting director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Typically, someone can serve in an acting role for only 210 days, but nominating another person for the position resets that clock, allowing Vought to potentially remain as acting director for over 420 days total.
Vought has been vocal about his intentions for the CFPB. On a podcast last month, he stated that he believes the agency will be closed by year end and that the administration wants to shut it down within the next two to three months. He has already terminated roughly 90 percent of agency staff and suspended much of the agency's work since assuming his OMB role in February.
A major legal obstacle has emerged regarding the agency's funding. The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion stating that the CFPB cannot legally request funds from the Federal Reserve under the Dodd Frank Act, which is where the agency typically receives its money. As a result, Vought has notified Congress that the CFPB has sufficient funds to continue operating only through December 31st, putting the agency's future in serious question.
Democratic senators have strongly criticized these developments. Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee and the architect of the CFPB, stated that the nomination appears to be a front for Vought to remain as acting director indefinitely while attempting to close the agency. She emphasized that without the CFPB, Americans would lose enforcement of federal consumer protection laws and oversight of the nation's 18 trillion dollar consumer debt market.
The CFPB's union has sued Vought, challenging the legality of these actions, with appeals currently ongoing. Consumer advocates argue that Vought is exploiting a loophole in the Vacancy Act to advance his agenda of dismantling the agency.
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