Democratic lawmakers, led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, held a forum addressing concerns over actions taken by the Trump administration and Elon Musk to neutralize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The event featured testimonials from a retired military veteran, a mortgage broker, and the bureau’s former head of supervision. The focus was on Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency. Despite being invited, Musk did not attend. Lawmakers questioned potential conflicts in Musk’s efforts to dismantle the CFPB, especially with his plans to launch a digital payments service within X, the social media network he owns. Warren highlighted Musk’s access to confidential CFPB data through DOGE. A representative for Musk and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Earlier this month, DOGE operatives accessed CFPB systems before the new leadership shut down the headquarters, froze activities, and laid off about 200 employees. A CFPB union lawsuit claims acting Director Russell Vought plans to fire over 95% of the staff. Former CFPB supervision director Lorelei Salas noted the agency holds sensitive trade secret information from companies like PayPal, CashApp, and Zelle. Late last year, the CFPB took steps to supervise tech giants and payments firms, including Apple and PayPal, and sued the operator of the Zelle network. Salas added that the CFPB also holds sensitive consumer data. A federal judge has temporarily halted efforts to fire employees or purge data. Warren asserted that only Congress can shut down the bureau, and advocates are seeking judicial enforcement of the law. — news from CNBC
