Consumer Protection Agency Must Remain Lawfully Funded
BALTIMORE, MD — Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, holding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Mark Paoletta must request necessary funding from the Federal Reserve so the CFPB can operate as Congress intended — lawfully funded and able to work so consumers have access to fair, transparent, and competitive markets for consumer financial products. The court held that former Acting Director Russell Vought’s insistence not to request funds for the CFPB were unlawful and violated the Separation of Powers Clause in the U.S. Constitution. The order resolves in large part the lawsuit filed last year by Attorney General Brown and a coalition of 22 attorneys general, pending appeal.
“By trying to defund the CFPB, the Trump Administration ignored Congress’ directives, threatened a watchdog that protects Maryland consumers, and jeopardized resources our Office relies on to defend Marylanders from scams and fraud,” said Attorney General Brown. “This order means the CFPB remains funded and on the side of the people it serves, not the companies that exploit them.”
The CFPB was created to protect consumers in the financial marketplace, and it performs critical functions necessary to the functioning of the financial system. For 14 years, the CFPB has served as an invaluable partner to state attorneys general and state banking regulators, as an enforcer, regulator, and resource for consumers. Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration launched a campaign of destruction and systemic shuttering of the CFPB, threatening catastrophic harm to hardworking families and consumer financial markets nationwide.
The Trump administration has taken a series of actions intended to debilitate the CFPB, including issuing a suspension of work across the agency, terminating probationary employees, attempting to issue reduction in force notices to 90% of the CFPB’s workforce — a move that was swiftly blocked by the courts.
In November 2025, the CFPB gave notice that it would not request funding from the Federal Reserve to continue its operations based on a specious legal analysis it had received from U.S. DOJ advising that it could not lawfully draw funds from the Federal Reserve to maintain its operations because the Federal Reserve is “unprofitable.” In December 2025, Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the CFPB Acting Director’s unlawful decision not to fund the agency’s operations, preventing it from performing lawfully mandated functions.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argued that the CFPB’s failure to seek funding for continued operations, including operations of its consumer complaints database, would harm consumers and result in statutorily mandated functions not being performed. The attorneys general asked the court to declare this action unlawful and ensure the CFPB is properly funded, and today, it has.
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