The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has deleted at least 2,200 webpages from its website, according to an analysis by the Guardian. The removed content, published before Donald Trump's second term, includes press releases, consumer advisories, congressional testimonies, speeches, and blogposts dating back to 2010.
Advocates say the deletions are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency. Tom Feltner, associate director of consumer policy at Americans for Financial Reform, said: 'This is a desire to delete the story of the CFPB up until now and to start telling a new story, that the CFPB is in the way of innovation and that the CFPB is hurting, rather than helping, consumers.'
The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to enforce consumer financial law and protect people from predatory products. Since its inception, it has returned over $21bn to consumers. However, the Trump administration has sought to shut it down, appointing Russell Vought as acting director. Vought has ordered staff to stop work, dropped enforcement cases, and attempted to reduce headcount from 1,174 to 556.
The deletions are the latest step in a plan to 'undermine an agency that’s helped people', said Adam Rust of the Consumer Federation of America. The CFPB did not respond to questions about why the pages were removed. The Guardian identified the deletions by comparing the current website with archived versions.
