Democrats in the U.S. Senate have accused President Donald Trump of permitting private companies to defraud and scam customers through the closing down of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Earlier this month, Trump hinted at his plan to scrap CFBP, alleging “waste fraud and abuse” in the agency. But a federal judge on February 14 ordered the Trump administration to temporarily shelf its plan to sack CFPB’s employees.
In an analysis released by a Democratic high-ranking member in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the lawmakers alleged that thousands of complaints submitted by Americans to CFPB have been left unattended.
Efforts to dismantle the agency come as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has worked aggressively to cut government spending and reduce the federal workforce.
The CFPB, established in 2010, enables consumers to submit complaints online via phone or email about financial products and services. The agency then screens the complaints and moves to protect the affected customers.
Since its founding, the CFPB has returned more than $21bn to consumers who were victims of fraud or scams.
Data on the agency’s website revealed an average of 10,609 complaints received daily within the final three months of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
During the same period, the CFPB said it submitted an average of 10,596 complaints to the companies that were named for response.
According to the report submitted by the Senators, the CFPB has uploaded just 2234 complaints a day since February 13, when it was reported that there were going to be mass firings at the bureau.
The report also states that between February 3 and February 13, the CFPB submitted a daily average of 7,519 complaints to companies. However, that number has dropped to 2,067 since February 13, marking an 80% decline from the pre-Trump rate.
“Consumers in need of help are seeing their complaints go unanswered,” the report says.
“With work at the agency effectively halted, it is unclear whether the CFPB still has the staff, financial, technological, and other resources necessary to keep its Consumer Complaint Program operational,” Warren said in the letter co-signed by Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who also sits on the baking committee.
“We are deeply concerned about the implications of your efforts to gut the CFPB on our constituents, who rely on the CFPB and its partner agencies to advocate on their behalf,” the letter says.
In additional comments posted on X, Warren said, “Since the Trump-Musk attack on the CFPB, every day thousands of Americans aren’t getting the help they need when they’re cheated by big banks or giant corporations and want their money back.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are allowing Americans to get scammed,” she alleged.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Trump administration’s lawyers have denied that the White House intends to dismantle the CFBP.
The lawyers, in court filings, said the administration only seeks a more “streamlined” agency.
They, however, did not explain the extent of changes to take place.