The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been instructed to pull back on protecting consumers from predatory practices from student loan lenders, medical debt collectors and digital payment apps.
Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will no longer prioritize protecting consumers with medical debt, student loans or digital payment and peer-to-peer lending platforms, according to an internal memo reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Instead, the bureau has been instructed to shift its focus back to banks and cases of fraud.
"The Bureau will focus on actual fraud against consumers, where there are identifiable victims with material and measurable consumer damages as opposed to matters based on the Bureau's perception that consumers made 'wrong' choices," the memo reportedly says.
The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the Biden administration, the consumer watchdog had unleashed a number of rulings against student loan providers, removed medical debts from credit reports and fined digital payment apps like Zelle for lacking fraud protections.
Since President Donald Trump took office, Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" team has dismantled the CFPB's operations, although courts have recently blocked massive staff cuts. Musk also previously announced that his social media platform X was developing its own payment platform.
"President Trump just gutted almost all CFPB staff, so the agency can't do its job of helping Americans who get scammed by big banks and giant corporations," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who founded the CFPB, in an email response to CNET. "Dismantling the CFPB in the face of a court order blocking an illegal shutdown is yet another assault on consumers and our democracy by this lawless administration."
Some experts warn that without the CFPB, which was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, there could be fewer guardrails to protect you from deceptive and discriminatory practices by those in the financial industry. Some Republicans have said that the agency overstepped its bounds with unnecessary regulations.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.
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