Agency Employees Told To Stay Home And Halt All Work

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) employees received a memo instructing them to stay home and “stand down from performing any work task.”

According to the New York Post, the agency employs nearly 1,700 people.

“Good morning CFPB staff, As you have been informed by the Chief Operating Officer in an email yesterday, the Bureau’s DC headquarters building is closed this week. Employees should not come into the office,” Russ Vought, the newly confirmed director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and acting director of the CFPB, told agency staff, according to the New York Post.

Vought told employees they would need clearance from chief legal officer Mark Paoletta to perform any task related to CFPB business.

“Otherwise, employees should stand down from performing any work task,” Vought wrote.

NEW: CFPB employees were just abruptly informed that the watchdog agency’s DC headquarters will be closed this week.

The email, obtained by @CNN, did not explain a reason for the sudden closure.

This comes days after Elon Musk tweeted out: “CFPB RIP” with a tombstone emoji.

— Matt Egan (@MattEganCNN) February 9, 2025

From the New York Post:

Vought last week requested a $0 quarterly allocation from the Federal Reserve, which funds the CFPB, for its operations.

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“I have learned that the Bureau has a balance of $711,586,678.00 in the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Fund,” Vought wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

“By law, I must take account of this sum when determining the amount ‘reasonably necessary’ for the Bureau to fulfill its statutory authorities. I have determined that no additional funds are necessary.”

CNBC reports that only a few hundred positions are mandated to exist at the agency by the legislation that created it — making steep cuts possible.

Mick Mulvaney, who in Trump’s first administration also served as both OMB director and acting CFPB director, said similar actions were contemplated, but not pursued, in the past.

Pursuant to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, I have notified the Federal Reserve that CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not “reasonably necessary” to carry out its duties. The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact…

— Russ Vought (@russvought) February 9, 2025

“The CFPB is NOT funded by Congress but by the Federal Reserve, an intentional gambit by Democrats that allows CFPB to evade Congressional oversight. But that’s a double-edged sword: if it isn’t funded by Congress, that means a President doesn’t need Congress to defund it either,” Vivek Ramaswamy commented.

The CFPB is NOT funded by Congress but by the Federal Reserve, an intentional gambit by Democrats that allows CFPB to evade Congressional oversight. But that’s a double-edged sword: if it isn’t funded by Congress, that means a President doesn’t need Congress to defund it either.

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 8, 2025

Per CNBC:

The developments come amid concern about the fate of the CFPB and its staff after operatives from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency arrived at the regulator late last week. The DOGE employees have been given access to CFPB data sources, including staff performance reviews, said people with knowledge of the situation who have asked for anonymity out of fear of reprisal.

Musk, who last year called for the deletion of the CFPB, on Friday posted “CFPB RIP” on his X social media platform.

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Besides putting a freeze on nearly all CFPB activity with his inaugural memo, Vought on Saturday posted on X that he was halting the flow of fresh funding to the agency. “This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off,” Vought wrote.

Vought, who was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s head of the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday, is one of the authors of Project 2025, the master plan to reshape the federal government.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.