More than 200 Democratic lawmakers in the House are submitting an amicus brief to back a lawsuit that aims to prevent the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Democrats contend in the brief, which was filed in the U.S. district court of Washington, that President Trump’s efforts to weaken the CFPB are inflicting “substantial and irreversible” damage on consumers. They further argued that these actions breach the law by disrupting the constitutional separation of powers.
“Defendants’ stop-work order will have severe consequences for the American people. The CFPB has been a resounding success,” the lawmakers said.
The Democrats further said in the brief that the president may disagree with laws enacted by Congress. “When that happens, the remedy is to participate in the political process and make a policy proposal to Congress, as Congress is the only branch of government empowered to make laws and, as relevant here, enact legislation that would dismantle a statutorily created agency,” the brief says.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who is the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, is leading the effort in collaboration with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
So far, more than 175 House Democrats have backed the brief.
As tech billionaire Elon Musk tries to cut the size of the federal workforce, acting CFPB Director Russell Vought issued several directives this month that suspended many of the agency’s operations.
The National Treasury Employees Union, representing around 155,000 federal workers, subsequently filed a lawsuit against Vought, saying his actions were unlawful.
This amicus brief has come from a task force recently created by House Democrats to respond to the “harm” inflicted by the Trump administration.
In a letter issued on Feb. 10, Jeffries announced the formation of a Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group to strengthen the Democratic Party’s “ongoing effort to push back against the far-right extremism that is being relentlessly unleashed on the American people.”
Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused the Trump administration of trying to shut down the CFPB to benefit Musk’s payment platform “X Money.”
“CFPB is there to make sure Elon Musk’s new project cannot scam you and steal your personal data,” she said, adding that this is why Musk is going after the agency.
