The NAACP has sued the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the agency’s decision to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was unlawful.
The civil rights group contends that the action exposes poor, elderly, and Black customers to financial abuse by undermining their protections. Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, denounced the administration’s actions as a careless attack on consumer rights.
- Advertisement -
Johnson noted, “Once again, we are witnessing the dangerous impacts of an overreaching executive office. The Trump Administration’s decision to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens the floodgates for unethical and predatory practices to run rampant.”
Johnson further explains, “We refuse to stand idly by as our most vulnerable communities are left unprotected due to irresponsible leaders. From seniors and retirees, disabled people, and victims of disaster to so many more, our nation stands to face immense financial hardship and adversity as a result of the elimination of the CFPB. If our President refuses to put people over profit, the NAACP will use every tool possible to put Americans first.”
The complaint follows a slew of extreme measures after CFPB Director Rohit Chopra was fired. President Trump replaced Chopra with Russell Vought, who promptly ordered the agency’s offices to be closed and took action to terminate its lease, telling employees not to do any work. Additionally, Vought halted all regulatory, enforcement, public relations, and investigation activities. The NAACP remains committed to reestablishing the bureau’s vital role in consumer protection, according to Keisha D. Bross, Director of Opportunity, Race, and Justice.
Bross stated, “The CFPB is an agency of the people. From the protection from junk fees to fighting excessive overdraft fees, providing assistance to impacted victims of natural disasters, and holding predatory practices accountable, the NAACP stands firm in bringing back the CFPB.” While adding, “The NAACP will fight to hold financial entities responsible for the years of inequitable practices from big banks and lenders.”
The complaint contends that the administration’s actions are unconstitutional and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. It was filed in conjunction with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the National Consumer Law Center, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, and the CFPB Employee Association.
The lawsuit describes the harm already caused by the agency’s closure, including the abrupt cancellation of an 83-year-old pastor’s meeting with CFPB staff when she was seeking student loan forgiveness through a CFPB-facilitated program, leaving her without a way to settle her debt before she passed away. The plaintiffs allege that the Trump administration has taken intentional actions to dismantle the CFPB, including firing 70 employees via form email, terminating over $100 million in vendor contracts, and shutting down the agency’s consumer complaint system, which handles hundreds of thousands of cases each month.
Along with other plaintiffs, the NAACP is requesting an urgent injunction to stop the administration’s actions and bring the CFPB back to normal functioning. The legal challenge contends that Vought’s appointment as acting director was illegal and that the President has the unilateral power to abolish an agency established by Congress.
Recently President Trump confirmed that his administration was attempting to “totally eliminate” the CFPB, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to do so. Elon Musk, a tech mogul and a major figure in Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” praised the decision on social media with the message, “CFPB RIP.”
Should the case be successful, the government may be compelled to restore the agency and carry out its enforcement efforts against financial firms that are said to have engaged in predatory behavior. “Neither the President nor the head of the CFPB has the power to dismantle an agency that Congress established,” the plaintiffs contend.
While further noting, “With each day the agency remains shut down, financial institutions that seek to prey on consumers are emboldened—harming their law-abiding competitors and the consumers who fall victim to them.”
