Elon Musk, business magnate and likely appointee to President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, called for the abolition of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a social media post on Wednesdayб reports Payments Dive. Writing on X, the platform he owns, Musk stated: “Delete CFPB. There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies.”
The CFPB, established under the Dodd-Frank Act following the 2008 financial crisis, has faced consistent opposition from Republicans. In December 2022, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, warned CFPB Director Rohit Chopra that under a Republican-controlled Congress, “you’ll wish you tried harder to play by the rules.”
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld the CFPB’s unique funding structure, which relies on the Federal Reserve rather than Congress. Despite challengers arguing this setup violated the Constitution’s separation-of-powers doctrine, the Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the CFPB. Additionally, an attempt by over two dozen Republican attorneys general to join the case against the CFPB was rejected by the Supreme Court without explanation.
McHenry has remained vocal, vowing that Republicans will continue efforts to "rein in the rogue CFPB."
Musk, along with fellow entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has been named to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new federal office under the incoming Trump administration. DOGE, which shares its acronym with a cryptocurrency Musk has frequently promoted, is tasked with reducing government bureaucracy, slashing regulations, and cutting spending.
In a November 12 statement, Trump expressed confidence in the duo: “Musk and Ramaswamy will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Although the new administration lacks unilateral authority to dissolve the CFPB, it could potentially limit its power or redirect its focus, according to John Diamond, director of the Center for Public Finance at Rice University’s Baker Institute. The CFPB declined to comment on the matter.
