CFPB Eyeing More Job Cuts as Republican Funding Cap Takes Hold

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing a new bid to slash its workforce due to budget cuts imposed by Republican lawmakers.

The mandated funding reduction under the GOP tax-and-spending package (Public Law 119-21) is forcing the CFPB to “evaluate workforce optimization opportunities,” the agency’s Office of Human Capital said in a Wednesday email to employees obtained by Bloomberg Law.

“This evaluation includes considering a possible reduction in force (RIF) action,” the internal notice said.

The CFPB can’t yet undertake a large-scale reorganization of its workforce while the National Treasury Employees Union considers whether to seek an en banc review of an August decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that cleared the way for job cuts.

The CFPB and the NTEU didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Unlike many federal regulatory agencies funded through Congress, the CFPB gets its money from the Federal Reserve.

The Republican megabill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4 cut the CFPB’s ability to withdraw money from the Fed by nearly half—amounting to $446 million in fiscal 2025 instead of the previous $823 million cap.

The CFPB had previously allocated around $525 million for employee compensation and benefits for the current fiscal year running through Sept. 30.

Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has already attempted to fire up to 90% of the CFPB’s approximately 1,700-member workforce since taking the job in February. Courts put a hold on those attempted RIFs both times.

Hundreds of CFPB staff members have left the agency in the meantime.