The agencies handle safety recalls and police financial issues
May 22, 2025
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House passes bill slashing Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus budget by 70%, threatening its ability to protect consumers.
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President Trump fires three Consumer Product Safety Commission members, triggering legal challenge and free speech concerns.
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Critics warn the moves represent a coordinated attack on independent agencies meant to safeguard the public from financial and product-related harm.
In a sweeping power shift with deep implications for consumer protection, the House of Representatives has passed a sprawling budget reconciliation bill that includes a 70% cut to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)just as the White House moves to tighten control over the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) by firing three commissioners who resisted political influence.
Tucked into the more than 1,000-page budget bill, the CFPB provision reduces the agencys funding from 12% to just 5% of the Federal Reserves operating expenses. The move comes as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration and allies in Congress to weaken independent oversight agencies and consolidate control over regulatory enforcement.
Slashing the CFPBs budget would essentially muzzle the consumer watchdog, said Chuck Bell, advocacy director at Consumer Reports, in an email to ConsumerAffairs. This is a dangerous abandonment of working families who rely on the Bureau to protect them from predatory lenders, abusive credit card companies, and discriminatory banking practices.
Since its creation in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, the CFPB has returned over $21 billion in relief to more than 205 million consumers. Critics warn that the proposed cutsalongside recent efforts to halt investigations, drop lawsuits, and fire staffwill render the agency effectively powerless.
CPSC firings spark legal and free speech fight
Just days before the House vote, President Donald Trump removed three Democratic-appointed commissioners from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including Richard Trumka Jr., a Biden appointee who took to Elon Musks platform X to denounce what he called an attempted takeover of the agency by political operatives.
I said no to DOGE political operatives trying to take over the agency from within. Thats when they came for me, Trumka posted after his dismissal on May 9.
This week, Trumkas X account was abruptly deleted, leading him to accuse Musk and the administration of politically motivated censorship. He has since launched a new account to continue speaking out.
They are trying to silence me, Trumka wrote. This isnt just censorship. This is un-American.
Trumka and the other ousted commissioners filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the legality of their removal, citing statutory protections under the Consumer Product Safety Act that prohibit arbitrary dismissal.
Eroding safeguards, mounting concerns
The firings have left the five-member commission with just two active members and triggered a rollback of recent safety initiatives. One of the first actions by the remaining commissioners was to cancel a proposed rule aimed at reducing fires caused by lithium-ion battery failuresa rising concern in consumer electronics.
We had 333 recalls last year covering over 150 million products, Trumka told reporters. Youre going to start seeing fewer of those. People can get hurt in the interim.
The Biden-appointed commissioners had built bipartisanor, as Trumka emphasized, non-partisansupport for consumer safety rules protecting children and vulnerable populations. Their removal, critics argue, is another signal that the administration aims to reshape independent agencies into extensions of executive power.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the firings, saying the Constitution allows the president to remove officials performing executive functions and predicted legal victory in the case. Meanwhile, X has not commented on the account removals.
Whats at stake
Both the CFPB and CPSC were created to insulate public protections from industry and political influence. The former was born from the 2008 housing crash; the latter from consumer product tragedies spanning decades. Now, both face historic threats to their independence and mission.
At a time when economic fraud and product hazards are risingalongside record inflation and global supply chain volatilityconsumer advocates say these moves leave Americans more vulnerable than ever.
This is an orchestrated dismantling of the agencies that stand between working families and corporate abuse, Bell said. The Senate must act to reverse these cuts and defend the rule of law.
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