In its latest budget bill, the Trump administration and its Republican allies are pushing to gut the top federal consumer protection agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, Republicans are looking to reduce the budget for the CFPB by 70 percent, which has alarmed Americans and advocates across the country.
For more than a decade, the CFPB has returned over $21 billion to Americans who were ripped off by banks, credit card companies, and predatory debt collectors. The crucial agency combats credit card junk fees, overdraft penalties, helps remove medical debt from credit reports, and protects hardworking families and small businesses from financial fraud.
“When the CFPB works to keep medical debt off credit reports, they protect our ability to access business credit. When they cap excessive late fees, they give us breathing room. When they hold big banks accountable, they send a message that no one is above accountability—not even billionaires,” stated Dr. Ashley Gaddy Robbins, Founder of Ashley Gaddy Enterprises, during a press conference.
“If the CFPB is gutted, it won’t be the billionaires who feel it. It’ll be small business owners like me. It’ll be the mom trying to scale her consulting firm from the kitchen table. It’ll be the entrepreneur who got denied a loan for a technicality on a credit report. It’ll be us.”
Last week, local advocates and small business owners called on North Carolina elected officials to prioritize consumer protections amid the Trump administration’s attack on the federal agency.
For North Carolina alone, tens of thousands, including seniors and military service members, have filed complaints against bad actors and harmful financial institutions through the CFPB. Since 2011, over 86,000 North Carolinians have received financial relief from the CFPB.
If Trump and his Republican allies dismantle the CFPB, advocates say that it will mean fewer protections for everyone.
“If the reconciliation bill passes, it will gut the CFPB, wiping away 70 percent of its funding. We saw what excessive risk-taking did during the financial crisis – people lost their homes, their jobs, their small businesses, and their life savings,” stated Adam Rust, Director of Financial Services at the Consumer Federation of America, during the group’s press conference.
“This bill is different than what North Carolinians want. It isn’t in our state’s makeup to deny food to hungry people, or give people who are sick the choice of going without care or going into debt to get the services they need. And people are sick and tired of being taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders, aggressive debt collectors, and invasive data brokers.”
LaCharo Owens, Founder of Clara Bea Essentials, highlighted that the impact will disproportionately affect minority women-owned businesses across the nation. Historically, the CFPB has been a foundation in protecting consumers, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, including women of color, stated Owens.
“The dissolution of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could set a dangerous precedent for minority women-owned businesses. It threatens to widen the financial gaps we already face, which limit our opportunities for success and growth,” Owens added. “Without these protections, the dream of entrepreneurship for many minority women could become even more difficult to achieve.”
Advocates and North Carolinians are calling on representatives, including Senator Thom Tillis, who previously voted to roll back big bank regulations, to center the needs of their constituents over billionaires.
“As a North Carolinian, I’m worried that Senator Tillis is going to sell us out to big business interests, rather than protecting the constituents he promised to serve. I urge Senator Tillis to protect the financial strength and stability of the constituents who elected him, and fight to preserve the essential consumer protections that our most vulnerable depend on,” stated Emma Horst-Martz, a community organizer and consumer protection advocate.
“At a time when there are so many other attacks on our access to healthcare, education, and personal freedoms, we need this agency that is specifically designed to look out for us, hard-working, everyday people – stopping the worst abuses committed by big banks. I urge my Senator to defend the CFPB and vote in his constituents’ best interests.”
