This week, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the Ranking Member on the Senate Banking Committee, led 184 current and former Members of Congress in filing their fifth amicus brief in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit prepares to rehear the appeal in the case National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), et al. v. CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, et al. The brief responds to efforts by the Trump Administration to block the CFPB’s funding and limit its operations. The D.C. Circuit agreed to a request made by the plaintiffs and Congressional Democrats to rehear the case after vacating a three-judge panel decision that would have allowed the Administration to significantly weaken the Bureau.

In the amicus brief, the current and former Members of Congress reiterate that Congress has the sole authority to eliminate federal agencies and underscore that the CFPB was created in response to the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers and safeguard the financial system. Despite this explicit legislative authority vested by the Constitution in Congress, actions taken by the Trump Administration have consistently and deliberately tried to circumvent Congress in violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers in an attempt to undermine the CFPB.

The same day the brief was filed, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their first report responding to a February 2025 letter from Ranking Member Maxine Waters, Congressman Al Green (D-TX), the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations; and Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, requesting an investigation into the unlawful efforts by the Trump Administration to dismantle the CFPB. This initial report affirms the Members’ concerns and the need to keep defending the CFPB in court, as it details how the Trump Administration has indeed significantly scaled down the CFPB’s ability to carry out its mission, including through sweeping stop work orders, funding cuts, mass staff firings, closing CFPB’s headquarters, rolling back regulations and guidance, and dropping enforcement actions that could have returned billions of dollars to millions of consumers harmed by a variety of financial firms.

“For more than a decade, the CFPB has stood up for American families and held powerful financial institutions accountable. It has returned billions of dollars to consumers, enforced the law, and earned bipartisan support on Main Street because its mission is clear and its results are real. While Donald Trump pretends to care about affordability, his actions speak louder than his words, given his relentless effort to sabotage this agency that has curbed junk fees, including excessive credit card late fees,” said Ranking Member Waters.

“Let me be clear: Congressional Democrats and I will not stand by while Trump tries to strip consumers of their rights and protections and hand the financial system back to the same reckless bad actors that cost millions of families their jobs, homes, and life savings in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

“The CFPB was created out of that crisis, and as a lead author and staunch defender of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, I know exactly why this Bureau exists. I commend GAO for confirming what we have long warned: this Administration has indeed deliberately weakened the CFPB by attempting to fire nearly 90 percent of its staff, scaling back supervision, dropping dozens of enforcement cases, and rolling back regulations and guidance that help ensure compliance with the law.

At a time when the American Dream has become unaffordable for most families on Donald Trump’s watch, my colleagues and I will continue to defend the CFPB in the streets, in the halls of Congress, and in the courts to protect American consumers.”

See the full amicus brief HERE.

Current List of Signers (186), including the following 133 Representatives: Maxine Waters, Gabe Amo, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Wesley Bell, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Suzanne Bonamici, Brendan F. Boyle, Shontel M. Brown, Julia Brownley, Nikki Budzinski, Janelle S. Bynum, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Judy Chu, Yvette D. Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Herb Conaway, Luis Correa, Joe Courtney, Angie Craig, Danny K. Davis, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Rosa L. DeLauro, Suzan K. DelBene, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Dexter, Lloyd Doggett, Sarah Elfreth, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Cleo Fields, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Jesús "Chuy" García, Robert Garcia, Sylvia R. Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Maggie Goodlander, Al Green, Adelita S. Grijalva, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes, Steven A. Horsford, Chrissy Houlahan, Steny H. Hoyer, Jared Huffman, Glenn F. Ivey, Jonathan L. Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Hank Johnson, Julie E. Johnson, Marcy Kaptur, William R. Keating, Robin L. Kelly, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, John B. Larson, George Latimer, Summer L. Lee, Susie Lee, Mike Levin, Sam T. Liccardo, Ted W. Lieu, Stephen F. Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Doris Matsui, Sarah McBride, April McClain Delaney, Jennifer L. McClellan, Betty McCollum, Gregory W. Meeks, Rob Menendez, Grace Meng, Dave Min, Gwen S. Moore, Joseph D. Morelle, Kelly Morrison, Seth Moulton, Frank J. Mrvan, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Johnny Olszewski, Ilhan Omar, Frank Pallone, Jimmy Panetta, Chris Pappas, Nancy Pelosi, Brittany Pettersen, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Mike Quigley, Delia C. Ramirez, Emily Randall, Jamie Raskin, Luz M. Rivas, Deborah K. Ross, Andrea Salinas, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, David Scott, Brad Sherman, Lateefah Simon, Suhas Subramanyam, Adam Smith, Melanie Stansbury, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Bennie G. Thompson, Mike Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Paul D. Tonko, Ritchie Torres, Derek T. Tran, Lauren Underwood, Juan Vargas, Nydia M. Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nikema Williams.

Senators (47): Warren (MA), Schumer (NY), Alsobrooks (MD), Baldwin (WI), Bennet (CO), Blumenthal (CT), Blunt Rochester (DE), Booker (NJ), Cantwell (WA), Coons (DE), Cortez Masto (NV), Duckworth (IL), Durbin (IL), Fetterman (PA), Gallego (AZ), Gillibrand (NY), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Hickenlooper (CO), Hirono (HI), Kaine (VA), Kelly (AZ), Kim (NJ), King (ME), Klobuchar (MN, Luján (NM), Markey (MA), Merkley (OR), Murray (WA), Murphy (CT), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Peters (MI), Reed (RI), Rosen (NV), Sanders (VT), Schatz (HI), Schiff (CA), Shaheen (NH), Slotkin (MI), Smith (MN), Van Hollen (MD), Warner (VA), Warnock (GA), Welch (VT), Whitehouse (RI), and Wyden (OR).

Former Members and Senators (6): Former Sen. Chris Dodd, and former Reps. Barney Frank, Paul E. Kanjorski, Carolyn Maloney, Mel Watt. And Brad Miller.

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