U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs minority staff says CFPB pullbacks have cost families more than USD 26 billion

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs published a hearing exchange in which Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren pressed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director nominee Brian Johnson over CFPB enforcement and staffing, alongside a minority staff report that said recent moves to scale back the agency have already cost families more than USD 26 billion. In the exchange, Johnson declined to commit to notifying Congress and the Inspector General if the White House contacted the CFPB about an enforcement action involving a Trump family company or a major donor. The accompanying report tied the claimed consumer harm to what it described as Trump-Vought efforts to gut the CFPB, including the withdrawal of enforcement actions. Warren said the CFPB had dropped 42 enforcement actions and investigations against large companies since President Donald Trump took office, and pointed to the January 2025 case against Capital One, Johnson's current employer, which she said alleged more than USD 2 billion in lost savings-account interest for customers before the case was later dropped. She also challenged proposed staffing cuts at the CFPB, saying a plan under litigation would reduce examiner headcount from 350 to 77, while Johnson responded that the effect would depend on the agency's examination strategy and noted the staffing plan remains subject to litigation.