Senate Republicans on Wednesday shot down more than a dozen Democratic-backed measures to undo the Trump administration\u2019s dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats forced votes on multiple resolutions targeting rules and regulatory changes made during President Trump\u2019s second term, including CFPB\u2019s policy on overdraft fees, credit report privacy and mortgage lending, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the proposals failed in roll-call votes, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) crossing party lines to join Democrats on two of the three resolutions. Republicans defeated the remaining resolutions by voice vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collins sided with Democrats on a measure introduced by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) to restore CFBP\u2019s rule restricting medical debt collections. The Biden-era rule allowed medical debt to be wiped from credit reports, but a Trump-appointed federal judge reversed it last July after finding it exceeded the CFBP\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis rule protected Americans from paying for medical services they did not receive or repaying debt they already paid off,\u201d Warnock said ahead of the vote. \u201cMedical debt leaves Americans in serious financial jams. It wrecks lives. Folks go to the doctor one day for a bandage or some minor injury, and end up leaving with a financial burden the size of a mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warnock\u2019s resolution ultimately failed 50-50, with Collins, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) being the only GOP senators to vote in favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since returning to office, Trump has greatly reduced the power of the CFPB, one of the youngest federal agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president fired Rohit Chopra, former President Biden\u2019s appointee to lead the CFPB, in February 2025 and shortly thereafter named Russ Vought, his director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, the acting director of the bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Days after taking over at the consumer protection watchdog, Vought ordered staff and contractors not to perform any tasks. The Department of Government Efficiency, the short-lived venture spearheaded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, targeted the CFPB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), an early proponent of the federal consumer watchdog, kicked off the voting spree by arguing that the administration \u201cis hellbent on destroying\u201d the bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey pretty much have advertised that there is no financial cop on the beat, inviting scammers to do their worst to families that are already struggling to make ends meet in Trump\u2019s economy,\u201d the Massachusetts Democrat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 authorized the CFPB\u2019s creation, after Warren advocated for it during her tenure as a professor at Harvard Law School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of January 2025, the bureau said it recovered $19.7 billion in consumer relief and imposed $5 billion in civil penalties and companies and individuals that violated the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CFPB, which is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve, ordered more than $5.8 billion in consumer relief and civil penalties combined in 2015. That was the highest total in a single year, followed by the $4.4 billion it secured in 2022, the first full year of the Biden administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), however, estimated in February that since its creation, the CFPB has cost consumers and lenders between $237 billion and $369 billion via its rulemaking \u2014 which it said increased borrowing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince its creation in 2011, the CFPB has progressively expanded its reach across all consumer credit markets, including mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards,\u201d the CEA stated in a 16-page report. \u201cThrough a combination of regulation, supervision, and the threat of enforcement actions, the CFPB has raised costs for both borrowers and lenders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day after taking over the bureau, Vought sent Fed Chair Jerome Powell a letter requesting $0 for its operations for the third quarter of 2025. The acting director wrote that the bureau\u2019s \u201ccurrent funds are more than sufficient \u2014 and are, in fact, excessive \u2014 to carry out its authorities in a manner that is consistent with the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vought did not request funding from Powell in the fourth quarter of 2025 nor the first quarter of 2026, but he requested $145 million and $75.8 million from the outgoing Fed chair for the second and third quarters of this year, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A federal judge also ruled in March that the administration unlawfully took the position that it could not request more funding for the CFPB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, an appointee of former President Obama to the Northern District of California, also ordered Vought to continue to request the necessary funds from the Fed to carry out the bureau\u2019s obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n