Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Status of Reorganization Efforts

What GAO Found

Since February 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken actions to reduce the size and scope of its activities and staffing. These actions included issuing stop-work orders; closing supervisory examinations; and terminating employees, contracts, and enforcement cases. Some of these actions, such as employee termination, are the subject of ongoing litigation and have not been finalized. On August 15, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the district court's injunction that prevented CFPB from taking various personnel actions, terminating certain contracts, and other actions related to downsizing the agency. The circuit court delayed the effective date of its order to allow the plaintiffs time to request a rehearing.

Why GAO Did This Study

CFPB's statutory duties include enforcing compliance with federal consumer financial laws, handling consumer complaints, promoting financial education, and monitoring financial products markets to identify risks to consumers. According to CFPB's acting leadership, in response to executive orders, the agency has been assessing ways to fulfill its statutory duties as a smaller, more efficient operation.

GAO was asked to review the effect of recent stop-work orders, workforce reductions, contract terminations, and other related actions on CFPB's ability to fulfill its statutorily mandated functions. This report describes the status of CFPB's significant reorganization efforts as of August 2025. GAO will examine the effects of these actions as the subject of a future report. GAO reviewed publicly available information on CFPB's reorganization efforts, including court filings involving CFPB, Federal Register notices, press releases, executive orders, memorandums from the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget, and nonpublic CFPB documents regarding detailees to the agency. CFPB's statutory duties include enforcing compliance with federal consumer financial laws, handling consumer complaints, promoting financial education, and monitoring financial products markets to identify risks to consumers. According to CFPB's acting leadership, in response to executive orders, the agency has been assessing ways to fulfill its statutory duties as a smaller, more efficient operation. GAO was asked to review the effect of recent stop-work orders, workforce reductions, contract terminations, and other related actions on CFPB's ability to fulfill its statutorily mandated functions. This report describes the status of CFPB's significant reorganization efforts as of August 2025. GAO will examine the effects of these actions as the subject of a future report. GAO reviewed publicly available information on CFPB's reorganization efforts, including court filings involving CFPB, Federal Register notices, press releases, executive orders, memorandums from the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget, and nonpublic CFPB documents regarding detailees to the agency.

CFPB expressed concerns with the accuracy of this report. GAO stands by the accuracy of the facts presented, as discussed in the report.

For more information, contact Alicia Puente Cackley at [email protected].