Timeline: Administration Efforts to Dismantle the CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has faced an unprecedented period of upheaval since the transition from the Biden to the Trump administration in January 2025, culminating with Friday’s move to rescind Rule 1033. Below is a detailed timeline highlighting the key events, regulatory rollbacks, legal battles and the current uncertain status of the agency.

Late 2024 – January 2025: Biden-Era Regulatory Blitz

November 2024–January 2025: In the final months of the Biden administration, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra led a surge of regulatory activity, finalizing rules that:

Banned medical debt from credit reports.

Capped credit card late fees at $8.

Capped overdraft fees at $5 for most banks.

Expanded CFPB supervision to large nonbank digital payment providers (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay).

Launched enforcement actions against major financial and technology firms.

January 2025: President Trump takes office and immediately issues a regulatory freeze, halting the implementation of all pending and recently finalized CFPB rules.

February 2025: Agency Shutdown Orders and Legal Pushback

Feb. 1, 2025: President Trump fires CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is appointed acting director.

Feb. 3–9, 2025: Acting Director Russell Vought orders the CFPB to:

Halt nearly all operations.

Suspend work on proposed and pending regulations.

Cease all investigations and new enforcement actions.

Stop supervision and examination activities.

Return unspent funds to the Federal Reserve, criticizing the agency’s budget as excessive.

Feb. 14, 2025: A federal judge issues a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from:

Deleting CFPB data.

Firing employees (except for cause).

Returning CFPB’s funding to the Fed.

The court schedules a hearing on the agency’s fate for March 3, 2025.

March–April 2025: Mass Layoff Attempts and Court Interventions

March 28, 2025: Judge Amy Berman Jackson grants a preliminary injunction, blocking the Trump administration from dismantling the CFPB and ordering the reinstatement of the Student Loan Ombudsman. The court finds plaintiffs likely to succeed in their challenge against the administration’s efforts to shutter the agency.

April 16–17, 2025: CFPB leadership, under Acting Director Russ Vought, announces plans to lay off nearly 1,500 of the bureau’s 1,700 employees — an 88% reduction in staff. An internal memo signals a dramatic scale-back of supervision, enforcement, and regulatory priorities, with a focus only on depository institutions and a retreat from nonbank oversight.

April 18, 2025: Judge Jackson temporarily bars the agency from cutting off employee access to work systems and suspends the layoffs until further court review, citing concerns that the administration’s actions would “decimate the agency and render it unable to comply with its statutory duties.”

April 28–29, 2025: A federal appeals court panel blocks the Trump administration from proceeding with mass layoffs, partially lifting a previous order but allowing Judge Jackson’s injunction to stand while litigation continues.

March–May 2025: Congressional Rollbacks of Biden-Era Rules

March 5, 2025: House and Senate committees advance Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn two major Biden-era CFPB rules:

The overdraft fee cap for large banks.

The rule expanding CFPB oversight to large digital payment providers.

March 27–April 9, 2025: Both chambers of Congress pass CRA resolutions to repeal these rules, reflecting strong partisan divides.

May 9, 2025: President Trump signs into law the repeal of the CFPB’s overdraft fee cap and the digital payments oversight rule. These actions not only nullify the rules but also bar the CFPB from issuing similar regulations without explicit congressional authorization.

May 25, 2025: CFPB informs court it will rescind Rule 1033.

Spring 2025: Additional Agency Retrenchment and Industry Impact

CFPB drops multiple lawsuits initiated under Biden, including actions against major banks and payment platforms such as JPMorgan Chase and Zelle.

Congress debates further reforms, including:

Restructuring the CFPB from a single-director agency to a bipartisan commission.

Transferring the agency’s funding to the congressional appropriations process for greater oversight.

Limiting the CFPB’s use of civil investigative demands and clarifying standards for unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs).