Message to Musk: CFPB Needs Fixing, Not Deleting: Editorial

It’s been a rough start to the year for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Its director was fired on Feb. 1. His temporary replacement immediately shut the agency’s headquarters, halted its operations, tried to cut off its funding and summarily dismissed dozens of staffers, prompting lawsuits and intervention by a federal judge. “CFPB RIP,” wrote a gleeful Elon Musk.

So it goes with this administration. But look past the tweets and the turmoil, and the watchdog’s future might not be so dire after all — in fact, there’s hope that a better, more resilient agency can emerge from the chaos.

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