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WASHINGTON – By ordering employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop work, the administration has unlawfully trampled the power of Congress to create a federal agency that it deemed necessary to protecting American consumers, according to a lawsuit filed Sunday by the National Treasury Employees Union. 

NTEU represents over 1,000 frontline employees at CFPB, all of whom were ordered to halt work and not report to the agency’s headquarters in Washington for the remainder of the week. 

“NTEU members at the CFPB are no longer able to do the supervision and enforcement work they came to the CFPB to do for the American people,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendant is Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Acting Director of CFPB.

The work stoppage ordered by the executive branch, which may be a precursor to the full-scale destruction of the agency, is a clear violation of the principles of the separation of powers. Congress, not the president, has the power to create or destroy executive branch agencies and dictate their missions. 

Congress created the CFPB in 2011 in response to the recession and a strong need for consumers to have a strong advocate within the federal government. Frontline employees at CFPB are committed to ensuring financial products Americans use daily—such as credit cards, automotive financing, and home mortgages—are fair, transparent and competitive. The agency also has a special focus on protecting military servicemembers from mistakes in their credit histories and fraudulent practices related to their frequent relocations.  

“The only people celebrating a CFPB shutdown are the ones who make money by ripping off American consumers when they borrow money or buy things on credit,” said Doreen Greenwald, National President of NTEU. “Sidelining the employees of the CFPB is a greenlight for unscrupulous behavior in the financial services industry.” 

As of December, CFPB has distributed more than $21 billion in financial relief to nearly 200 million Americans, including $363 million associated with harm to American military servicemembers and veterans. Since 2011, CFPB has received 6.8 million complaints from consumers, including 4.6 million about credit reporting; 83,000 complaints about medical debt collection; and 96,000 complaints about student loans. 

“CFPB employees are dedicated civil servants who believe in the mission of their agency to force lenders to treat borrowers fairly and stand up for those who fall prey to fraud,” Greenwald said. “What is happening to CFPB should shock all Americans who are wondering what will happen to consumers without the CFPB on the job, and more broadly, what happens when the executive branch ignores the will of Congress.” 

NTEU represents employees in 37 federal agencies and offices.