Latest news with #CaraPetersen
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
CFPB enforcement lead resigns, slams ‘attack' on core mission in departure email
Cara Petersen, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting enforcement director, resigned from the agency on Tuesday. In an email to colleagues announcing her decision, Petersen slammed the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency, which was established as a banking watchdog following the 2008 global financial crisis. 'I have served under every Director and Acting Director in the Bureau's history and never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack,' Petersen wrote in an email seen by CNN. 'It is clear that the Bureau's current leadership has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way.' The CFPB, which is tasked with ensuring banks, lenders and other financial companies play fair with consumers, has been thrown into chaos since President Donald Trump took office this year. The agency has faced several mass layoff attempts and abruptly decided to dismiss cases against several companies. The CFPB was an early target of the Trump administration's downsizing efforts, but its undoing has largely been blocked in federal court. Republicans have long wanted to close down the agency, whose creation was spearheaded by Elizabeth Warren, now a Democratic senator from Massachusetts. The agency was established as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 federal law enacted to address the financial vulnerabilities that contributed to the global financial crisis. As of January 2025, the CFPB has delivered $19.7 billion in consumer relief since its creation, with 195 million people eligible for that relief, according to the agency. This year, the CFPB abruptly dropped cases against multiple companies that had previously been accused of hurting consumers, like Capital One, Rocket Homes and a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, according to court filings. The decision to abandon the cases reflects the Trump administration's hands-off approach to regulation. Less than two weeks into Trump's second term, he fired Rohit Chopra, the CFPB director appointed by then-President Joe Biden in 2021. The agency's new leadership has been reviewing the agency's activities and staffing since February, Mark Paoletta, the agency's chief legal officer, said in a court filing in April. Paoletta argued that, under previous administrations, the CFPB's activities have 'pushed well beyond the limits of the law' and the agency has 'engaged in intrusive and wasteful fishing expeditions.' In February, the Trump administration made its first attempt to gut the CFPB, ordering the agency's employees to cease operations. That directive was challenged by a federal judge the following month. In April, the CFPB sent layoff notices to nearly 1,500 of its 1,700 staffers soon after an appellate court said the agency could lay off some staffers but not so many that it could not carry out its statutory functions. A federal judge also halted the mass layoffs. The case is now being considered by an appellate court. Although courts have so far halted mass layoffs at the agency, one CFPB staffer on the enforcement team said they've worked maybe a total of three days since being brought back in March. Many of their colleagues are in the same situation. 'It's been very frustrating to have active investigations and litigations dropped, as well as negotiated settlements,' said the staffer, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. 'We have to be 'work-ready,' but there is very little work. I've maxed out the work I can do.' Petersen became the agency's acting head of enforcement after Eric Halperin, who previously led the agency's enforcement arm, resigned in February. 'It has been devastating to see the Bureau's enforcement function being dismantled through thoughtless reductions in staff, inexplicable dismissals of cases, and terminations of negotiated settlement that let wrongdoers off the hook,' Petersen wrote.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
CFPB enforcement lead resigns, slams ‘attack' on core mission in departure email
Cara Petersen, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting enforcement director, resigned from the agency on Tuesday. In an email to colleagues announcing her decision, Petersen slammed the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency, which was established as a banking watchdog following the 2008 global financial crisis. 'I have served under every Director and Acting Director in the Bureau's history and never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack,' Petersen wrote in an email seen by CNN. 'It is clear that the Bureau's current leadership has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way.' The CFPB, which is tasked with ensuring banks, lenders and other financial companies play fair with consumers, has been thrown into chaos since President Donald Trump took office this year. The agency has faced several mass layoff attempts and abruptly decided to dismiss cases against several companies. The CFPB was an early target of the Trump administration's downsizing efforts, but its undoing has largely been blocked in federal court. Republicans have long wanted to close down the agency, whose creation was spearheaded by Elizabeth Warren, now a Democratic senator from Massachusetts. The agency was established as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 federal law enacted to address the financial vulnerabilities that contributed to the global financial crisis. As of January 2025, the CFPB has delivered $19.7 billion in consumer relief since its creation, with 195 million people eligible for that relief, according to the agency. This year, the CFPB abruptly dropped cases against multiple companies that had previously been accused of hurting consumers, like Capital One, Rocket Homes and a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, according to court filings. The decision to abandon the cases reflects the Trump administration's hands-off approach to regulation. Less than two weeks into Trump's second term, he fired Rohit Chopra, the CFPB director appointed by then-President Joe Biden in 2021. The agency's new leadership has been reviewing the agency's activities and staffing since February, Mark Paoletta, the agency's chief legal officer, said in a court filing in April. Paoletta argued that, under previous administrations, the CFPB's activities have 'pushed well beyond the limits of the law' and the agency has 'engaged in intrusive and wasteful fishing expeditions.' In February, the Trump administration made its first attempt to gut the CFPB, ordering the agency's employees to cease operations. That directive was challenged by a federal judge the following month. In April, the CFPB sent layoff notices to nearly 1,500 of its 1,700 staffers soon after an appellate court said the agency could lay off some staffers but not so many that it could not carry out its statutory functions. A federal judge also halted the mass layoffs. The case is now being considered by an appellate court. Although courts have so far halted mass layoffs at the agency, one CFPB staffer on the enforcement team said they've worked maybe a total of three days since being brought back in March. Many of their colleagues are in the same situation. 'It's been very frustrating to have active investigations and litigations dropped, as well as negotiated settlements,' said the staffer, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. 'We have to be 'work-ready,' but there is very little work. I've maxed out the work I can do.' Petersen became the agency's acting head of enforcement after Eric Halperin, who previously led the agency's enforcement arm, resigned in February. 'It has been devastating to see the Bureau's enforcement function being dismantled through thoughtless reductions in staff, inexplicable dismissals of cases, and terminations of negotiated settlement that let wrongdoers off the hook,' Petersen wrote.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Top CFPB enforcement official to resign amid policy shifts under Trump
The top remaining enforcement official at the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has tendered her resignation, saying the White House's overhaul of the agency has made her position untenable. Acting Enforcement Director Cara Petersen, who has served at the agency since its creation nearly 15 years ago, said that current leadership under US President Donald Trump 'has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way', according to an email first obtained by the Reuters news agency. 'I have served under every director and acting director in the bureau's history and never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack,' Petersen wrote in an email. 'It has been devastating to see the bureau's enforcement function being dismantled through thoughtless reductions in staff, inexplicable dismissals of cases, and terminations of negotiated settlements that let wrongdoers off the hook.' Petersen's departure comes four months after the agency's enforcement and supervision chiefs also resigned amid efforts by President Donald Trump to dismantle the CFPB. An agency spokesperson and Petersen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In addition to seeking to cut the CFPB's workforce by about 90 percent, acting Director Russell Vought and chief legal officer Mark Paoletta have said they will slash agency enforcement and supervision and have dropped major CFPB enforcement cases en masse, including against Capital One and Walmart. The agency has even revised some cases already settled under the prior administration. The dramatic changes come as Republicans have complained for years that the CFPB, created in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, is too powerful and lacks oversight. Democrats and agency backers contend it plays a critical role in policing financial markets on behalf of consumers. 'While I wish you all the best, I worry for American consumers,' said Petersen in her email. A federal appeals court in Washington has yet to decide on the Trump administration's effort to undo a court injunction blocking the agency from firing most agency staff.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Top CFPB enforcement official to resign, citing 'devastating' shifts under Trump
June 10 (Reuters) - The top remaining enforcement official at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has tendered her resignation, saying the White House's overhaul of the agency had made her position untenable, according to an email seen by Reuters. Acting Enforcement Director Cara Petersen, who has served at the agency since its creation nearly 15 years ago, said that current leadership under President Donald Trump "has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way." "I have served under every director and acting director in the bureau's history and never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack," Petersen wrote in an email. "It has been devastating to see the bureau's enforcement function being dismantled through thoughtless reductions in staff, inexplicable dismissals of cases, and terminations of negotiated settlements that let wrongdoers off the hook." Petersen's departure comes four months after the agency's enforcement and supervision chiefs also resigned amid efforts by President Donald Trump to dismantle the CFPB. An agency spokesperson and Petersen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In addition to seeking to cut the CFPB's workforce by about 90 percent, acting Director Russell Vought and chief legal officer Mark Paoletta have said they will slash agency enforcement and supervision and have dropped major CFPB enforcement cases en masse, including against Capital One (COF.N), opens new tab and Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab. The agency has even revised some cases already settled under the prior administration. The dramatic changes come as Republicans have complained for years the CFPB, created in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, is too powerful and lacks oversight. Democrats and agency backers contend it plays a critical role policing financial markets on behalf of consumers. "While I wish you all the best, I worry for American consumers," said Petersen in her email. A federal appeals court in Washington has yet to decide on the Trump administration's effort to undo a court injunction blocking the agency from firing most agency staff.
