Let’s be clear. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being dismantled before our eyes. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Bureau’s ability to protect consumers has been deliberately weakened, its enforcement power stripped, and its independence attacked. The people who stand to lose the most are not lobbyists or banks. They are everyday borrowers, especially those trying to buy their first home, build credit, or simply trust that the system is fair.
Trump Administration’s Actions
Since returning to office, President Trump and his administration have taken direct aim at the CFPB. Acting Director Russell Vought, who also serves in the White House budget office, ordered internal freezes on investigations and public communications, effectively shutting down the Bureau’s ability to hold financial institutions accountable. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed by suspending the Bureau’s enforcement activity entirely. At the same time, President Trump’s allies in Congress, including Senator Pete Ricketts and Representative Mike Flood of Nebraska, used the Congressional Review Act to repeal critical CFPB rules. Those rules would have limited excessive overdraft fees and brought large digital payment platforms such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo under CFPB supervision. These decisions were celebrated by industry lobbyists who claim they protect innovation. In reality, they remove the few protections consumers have in a financial system that is already stacked against them.
The Real Impact to Borrowers
To understand what this means in real life, picture this. I am sitting across the table from a first time homebuyer. She has worked hard to save for her down payment, her credit is improving, and this is her dream. But she is nervous. This is likely the largest purchase in her life. If she asks what protects her as a consumer, how should I answer? In the past, I could confidently tell her that the CFPB was built for that very purpose, to keep the system fair and transparent. But today, that answer feels less certain. When enforcement is paused and oversight is stripped away, the very people the CFPB was designed to protect are left exposed.
The CFPB has returned billions of dollars to consumers wronged by big banks and credit card companies. It has made disclosures clearer, cracked down on junk fees, and improved mortgage servicing standards. It helps create a level playing field so that borrowers can trust what they are signing and lenders like us can compete on service and integrity, not deception. It exists to make sure the rules apply to everyone equally. That is the kind of accountability any honest business should welcome.
Needed Reform
Now to be fair, the CFPB is not without fault. There are many reasons to want to see reform at the CFPB, many of which I agree with. If I can get a little in the weeds here (and speak directly to my industry colleagues), I think most professionals would agree that while TRID’s original goal was well intentioned, the designers of the various disclosures that have come to replace the HUD-1 really screwed the pooch. And don’t get me started on “regulation by enforcement”. That’s like not knowing the speed limit and finding out when a cop pulls you over and gives you a ticket. All that said, common sense reform is needed but to dismantle the organization entirely is to undue years of progress making lending more transparent and fair for borrowers.
President Trump’s approach is clear. Weaken the referee so powerful players can do as they please. That may serve certain industries in the short term, but it will harm consumers and honest lenders in the long run. We saw this movie before the 2008 financial crisis, when unchecked greed and a lack of oversight led to millions of foreclosures and financial devastation across the country. We should not be so quick to forget those lessons.
States Regulators Still Help, But Their Strength Varies
Even with the CFPB’s enforcement power being scaled back, it is important to remember that individual State regulators and other oversight bodies have not disappeared. Every state has its own financial regulatory agency that continues to license, examine and exercise enforcement as needed, the mortgage companies, lenders and servicers that operate within their State. These state agencies, along with organizations, such as the National Association of Attorneys General and the Federal Trade Commission, still investigate misconduct, enforce state consumer protection laws and can coordinate multistate actions.
However, the effectiveness of this system depends heavily on the state. Funding levels, staffing and enforcement priorities differ dramatically from one state to another. Some states have strong consumer protection divisions with the authority to pursue lenders aggressively, while others operate with limited budgets and political resistance to regulation. The patchwork can provide valuable support, but without consistent national oversight, the strength of consumer protection often depends on where a borrower happens to live.
What We Are Doing
At Pride Lending, we will continue to lead with integrity and transparency. We will advocate for our clients and operate as if the CFPB’s mission still matters, because it does. Borrowers deserve a fair system, not one that only protects the powerful. A strong CFPB means fewer traps, fewer abuses, and more trust in the financial system. Weakening it is not reform. It is regression.
President Trump may think dismantling the CFPB is a victory for business, but for borrowers it is a loss for fairness. For families pursuing homeownership it is a loss for opportunity. And for those of us who believe in doing what is right, it is a call to speak up.
