Federal employee union sues Vought over CFPB order to stop working

The ​National Treasury Employees Union has filed ‌two lawsuits against Russell Vought,the Acting⁣ Director of⁢ the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ‌(CFPB),in response to his directive requiring employees‌ to work remotely and halting​ various agency operations. The lawsuits challenge Vought’s⁣ order, arguing that it unlawfully ​restricts the CFPB staff from performing their supervisory and enforcement‌ duties, and also raise ‍concerns ⁤about potential violations of employee privacy due‍ to ​access granted to ⁢Department of Justice employees.

Vought’s directive, which came as the Trump⁣ management‌ seeks to address perceived inefficiencies in​ federal operations, prevents CFPB employees from ⁢issuing new regulations ⁣or conducting investigations. The union claims that Vought’s refusal to provide funding to the agency is an attempt to undermine its mission to protect ‍consumers.Considering these developments, signs of meaningful changes at the CFPB are⁤ emerging, ⁣such as ‍issues with the CFPB’s website and‍ questions surrounding the future of the agency under ⁢Vought’s leadership.


Federal employee union sues Vought over CFPB order to stop working

A union representing thousands of federal employees filed two lawsuits against Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought for his shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Vought is the acting director of the CFPB. He ordered employees to work remotely for this week on Saturday while the Trump administration’s DOGE works on correcting inefficiencies across the federal government.

One of the two suits filed aims to block DOGE employee access to the agency, while the other takes aim at Vought’s order to halt work at the agency and refuse funding for the moment. Under his directive, employees are not allowed to issue new rules, end or begin investigations, or order public communications, among other things. The union filing the lawsuits is the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees in the CFPB.

The DOGE lawsuit is aimed at its potential ability to access employees’ personal information.

“These employees face irreparable harm to their privacy interests if their employee information is improperly accessed and/or disseminated by individuals associated with DOGE,” the lawsuit says. “Once an employee’s personnel information is improperly disclosed, the harm to the employee cannot be undone.”

Three DOGE employees were reportedly onboarded into the bureau’s communications system. The union said Vought told the bureau to give them “access to all non-classified CFPB systems.”

The other lawsuit tells a judge “that Defendant Vought’s directive to the CFPB’s employees to stop their supervision and enforcement work is unlawful” and that they should stop Vought from additional attempts to pause work. It also says that his refusal of funding “reflects an unlawful attempt to thwart Congress’s decision to create the CFPB to protect American consumers.”

In a potential sign of changes for the agency, the CFPB’s homepage on its website displays a “404: Page not found” error, and its X account no longer exists. Vought said on Saturday night that he informed the Federal Reserve that the “CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not ‘reasonably necessary’ to carry out its duties.”

On Sunday morning, he reposted a Washington Examiner op-ed titled, “Trump must cancel CFPB censorship.” Vought commented, “The CFPB has been a woke & weaponized agency against disfavored industries and individuals for a long time. This must end.”

The Senate confirmed Vought on Thursday night. He drew some controversy from Democrats for authoring a section of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. “With their confirmation vote, Senate Republicans have not only endorsed Mr. Vought—they have also endorsed the dystopian and authoritarian Project 2025 agenda Mr. Vought will inflict on the American people as head of OMB,” Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said in a statement.

The Trump administration has already removed former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who was slammed in the article for leading an agency that “weaponized enforcement against specific industries and viewpoints.”

The White House sent out a memo on Monday titled, “CFPB Isn’t a Wall Street Regulator, It’s a Main Street Regulator.” The memo says the CFPB is “the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)” and “has long functioned as another woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy that leverages its power against certain industries and individuals disfavored by so-called ‘elites.’”

It cites examples of the agency’s alleged overreaches, including a warning from the Biden administration to banks in 2023 to avoid over-relying on a person’s immigration status to determine whether to lend to them.

“Under the administration of President Donald J. Trump, the weaponization ends right now,” the memo ends.

It’s unclear whether the Trump administration is shutting down the CFPB entirely or whether the bureau is just set for significant change.



" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Sponsored Content
Back to top button
Available for Amazon Prime
Close

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker