President Donald Trump (left) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said Thursday that the Trump administration’s overhaul of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cost Americans up to $26.5 billion so far, marking the latest Democratic criticism of sweeping changes to the agency.
In a report first shared with CNBC, Warren said the numbers were largely due to moves the CFPB took under Acting Director Russell Vought to roll back rules capping credit card fees and overdraft fees.
The report was released as Vought faces a Senate oversight hearing Thursday regarding these and other actions, including the denial of enforcement actions and consent orders and allegations that the agency recently removed 15 years of consumer data from the CFPB’s website.
Since taking office last year, the Trump administration has cut staff, dropped or scaled back dozens of enforcement cases and rolled back Biden-era rules to refocus what officials call its core mission.
Republicans have defended the move as a necessary one to rein in what they see as overreach. Democrats led by Warren, who initiated and supported the agency’s creation after the 2008 financial crisis, argued that the Trump administration has crippled the main consumer financial watchdog and exposed Americans to unfair or deceptive industry practices.
The clash comes as the Senate considers the nomination of Brian Johnson, a former CFPB deputy director turned Capital One executive whom President Donald Trump has selected to lead the agency permanently.
Warren’s report says the CFPB’s decision to eliminate a rule that capped most credit card late fees at $8 resulted in up to $15 billion in consumer costs. The agency previously estimated that the rule would save consumers about $10 billion a year.
Another $7.5 billion comes from the repeal of the agency’s overdraft fee rules, which had capped overdraft fees at $5 for many banks.
The remaining estimate comes from the CFPB’s decision to withdraw more than 30 enforcement actions and settlements that would have resulted in direct payments to consumers. The total value is about $4 billion, according to the report.
The White House and CFPB did not respond to requests for comment.
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Warren also sent a letter to Vought listing requests for congressional oversight that went unanswered during his tenure as director of the agency.
