Democratic Senators led by Senator Raphael Warnock and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren wrote to Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Russell Vought urging him to rescind the CFPB’s proposed rule to end the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) disparate impact test, arguing it would weaken civil rights protections in consumer lending. The letter contends that removing disparate impact enforcement would prevent the CFPB from blocking lending policies that disproportionately harm historically discriminated-against groups, across products including mortgages, credit cards and car loans. It also argues the change would undermine lenders’ ability to establish Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) intended to expand access to homeownership in marginalized communities, and warns of higher housing and other borrowing costs during an affordability crisis; additional signers include Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Andy Kim, Edward J. Markey, Jack Reed and Chris Van Hollen. The Senators requested that Vought provide a briefing on the agency’s efforts to rescind the proposal by February 10, 2026.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2026-02-04
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Democrats urge CFPB to rescind proposal ending ECOA disparate impact enforcement
Democratic Senators, led by Raphael Warnock and Elizabeth Warren, urged Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought to rescind the proposed rule ending the Equal Credit Opportunity Act disparate impact test, arguing it would weaken civil rights protections in consumer lending and hinder Special Purpose Credit Programs. They requested a briefing on rescinding efforts by February 10, 2026.