A new report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office says changes made by the Trump administration at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have cost Americans at least $19 billion in lost financial protections and relief.
The CFPB was created after the Great Recession to protect consumers from unfair banking and financial practices. But according to the report, once the Trump administration took control of the agency in early 2025, that mission largely stalled.
Since then, enforcement actions have slowed, key rules have been abandoned, and lawsuits against major financial companies have been dropped — moves consumer advocates say directly hurt everyday Americans.
How Americans Were Affected
The report outlines several major protections that were weakened or lost entirely, adding up to billions of dollars in added costs for consumers.
Overdraft fees:
A CFPB rule finalized in 2024 would have limited overdraft fees, saving consumers an estimated $5 billion a year. Congress overturned the rule, and the Trump administration did not push to restore it.
Credit card late fees:
The bureau had proposed a rule to cap late fees on credit cards, which was expected to save Americans about $10 billion. When the rule was challenged in court, the Trump-led CFPB chose not to defend it, allowing higher fees to remain in place.
Critics note that credit card companies — which donated heavily to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and supported his second-term agenda — stood to benefit directly from the decision, according to an Associated Press report.
Dropped lawsuits:
Roughly $4 billion in potential consumer relief was lost when the bureau dismissed enforcement cases. Those included a $2 billion lawsuit against Capital One over allegedly misleading savings account interest rates and an $870 million lawsuit against the company behind Zelle, accused of failing to adequately protect consumers from fraud.
Fewer resolved complaints:
The CFPB also scaled back its consumer complaint system. Under the Biden administration, about half of complaints resulted in relief for consumers. Under Trump’s leadership, that number fell to less than 5%, according to the report.
What Changed Under Trump’s Control
The shift began in February 2025, after CFPB Director Rohit Chopra resigned and Russell Vought, President Trump’s budget director, was named acting director.
According to the report, the bureau opened very few new investigations, halted work by many employees, pulled back from defending consumer protection rules in court, and dismissed multiple enforcement actions.
At the same time, the White House proposed cutting the CFPB’s workforce from nearly 1,700 employees to just over 200. While courts have blocked the most severe cuts, Congress still reduced the bureau’s budget by roughly half, making future layoffs likely once litigation is resolved.
Consumer advocates say the result is an agency that still exists — but barely functions.
Oversight Concerns
A separate report from the Government Accountability Office found it could not fully track the CFPB’s restructuring because the agency and the White House refused to cooperate. Even so, the GAO confirmed widespread rollbacks of enforcement actions and consumer protections.
Sen. Warren summed up the impact this way: while the CFPB remains in place, its weakened capacity has shifted costs onto American families — costs that show up in higher fees, fewer refunds, and less protection from fraud.