This
move
is
the
latest
in
the

Trump
administration‘s

latest
action
in
cleaning
house
when
it
comes
to
government
agencies
and
their
respective
employees.

The
layoffs
come
after
an
email
was
sent
to
CFPB
staff
on
Wednesday,
which
Wall
Street
Journal’s
White
House
Economic
Policy
Reporter
Brian
Schwartz
posted
on
the
social
media
platform

X.
In
the
email,
CFPB
chief
legal
officer
Mark
Paoletta
outlined
the
agency’s
new
focus,
noting
that
it
would
be
shifting
its
attention
away
from
supervisory
roles
and
toward
“tangible
harm
to
consumers.”

The
document
lists
medical
debt,
student
loans,
consumer
data,
and
digital
payments
as
topics
the
CFPB
will
“deprioritize.”
Problems
with
mortgages
will
be
the
agency’s
top
priority.

Per
the

Associated
Press,
employees’
access
to
agency
systems,
including
email,
ends
on
Friday
evening.

“The
Consumer
Financial
Protection
Bureau
identified
your
position
being
eliminated
and
your
employment
is
subject
to
termination
in
accordance
with
reduction-in-force
(RIF)
procedures,”
the
emails
said.

The
CFPB,
established
after
the
2008
financial
crisis
and
the
brainchild
of
Senator
Elizabeth
Warren,
has
faced

criticism
from
the
Trump
administration,
as
well
as
from
some
in
Silicon
Valley
and
on
Wall
Street,
who
argue
that
it
exceeds
its
regulatory
authority.

The
layoffs
follow
a
contentious
period
at
the
agency.
In
February,
acting
CFPB
Director
Russell
Vought

instructed
agency
staff
to
stop
all
work
“unless
expressly
approved
by
the
Acting
Director
or
required
by
law.”
In
early
March,
CFPB
employees
were
told
to

continue
working
on
“statutorily
required
work.”

The
CFPB
did
not
respond
to
HousingWire’s
request
for
comment
at
the
time
of
publication.