Trump could dismantle new guardrails on your wallet, advocates warn

Consumer advocates say they’re bracing for a sharp reversal at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after four of the most aggressive years in the agency’s brief history.

Consumer advocates say they’re preparing for sweeping changes at one of Washington’s newest financial watchdogs under President-elect Donald Trump, whose allies have promised broad deregulation of companies that handle Americans’ money.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing which proposed rules on its agenda to finalize before Republicans resume control of the House, the Senate and the White House in less than two months, sources told NBC News.

During Trump’s first term, the CFPB — a brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., set up under the Federal Reserve after the 2008 financial crisis — unwound banking regulations while also securing some wins for consumers. They included a $1 billion settlement with Wells Fargo after a fraudulent account-opening scandal, as well as crackdowns on data breaches.

But more recently, Republicans have signaled plans to defang the agency, and Trump has named authors of Project 2025 — which calls for eliminating the CFPB — to influential posts. On Wednesday, multibillionaire Trump donor Elon Musk, who is slated for a high-level cost-cutting role, posted on his social platform X: “Delete CFPB.”

“I would expect a deregulatory approach on rules and also efforts to dismantle the agency itself,” said Adam Rust, the director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America, a network of advocacy groups.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/cfpb-biden-trump-consumer-protection-rcna180342

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