Two top CFPB officials resign after being ordered to stop all work

The directors of supervision and enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stepped down on Tuesday morning, with both citing the stop work orders issued in recent days by the agency’s acting Director Russell Vought.

The resignations by supervision head Lorelei Salas and enforcement head Eric Halperin were announced to their respective teams via emails that were shared with NPR by current and former employees of CFPB. The two officials were appointed to their roles over three years ago.

Before Halperin and Salas resigned, they were put on leave by Mark Paoletta, general counsel at the White House Office of Management and Budget, according to a CFPB employee familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to comment. NPR could not determine why Halperin and Salas were placed on leave.

“The Bureau has been instructed to stand down. I do not believe it is appropriate, nor lawful, to stop all supervisory activities and examinations, and I cannot longer serve as the Supervision Director,” Salas wrote in her email.

Halperin sent a similar message.

“I don’t believe in these conditions I can effectively serve in my role, which is protecting American consumers,” he wrote. “Since October 2021, we have secured orders for $9.5 Billion in penalties and redress for consumers. It has been an honor to serve with you.”

The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and is part of the Federal Reserve system, from which it receives its funding. The bureau is an enforcement agency, and its supervisors monitor companies across the country to ensure they are following consumer protection rules.

The bureau has been a focus of the Trump administration’s attention and ire, and there have been several dramatic moves to stop the agency’s work in recent days.

A barrage of orders

Late last week, employees of Elon Musk’s DOGE team entered CFPB headquarters and were given access to key systems. The Department of Governmental Efficiency was created through one of Trump’s executive orders.

Then Vought took over as CFPB’s acting head, and on Saturday night announced that he would seek no money at the bureau’s next funding round.

Vought also instructed staff to cease doing the agency’s work, including supervision. On Sunday, agency staff were told that CFPB’s Washington headquarters would be closed for the week and that they would not be permitted to enter. On Monday, staff and contractors were told they couldn’t “perform any work tasks.”

Rohit Chopra, who led the agency until he was fired by President Trump earlier this month, was interviewed Monday on NPR’s Morning Edition, and he described the work that CFPB does on behalf of consumers — work that’s now on hold.

“There’s all sorts of fraud and abuse that targets people in our country,” Chopra said, naming lawsuits it has filed against big banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

“Really, the CFPB is protecting people’s pocketbooks every day, and that future is looking uncertain,” he said.