The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has allowed some of the agency's offices to return to operation while the Trump administration faces a lawsuit over the closing of the consumer watchdog group, the Hill reported Thursday.
CFPB chief legal officer Mark Paoletta sent employees an email on Sunday, saying they should perform statutorily required work, according to emails filed in court Tuesday.
"These measures were intended to ensure that new leadership could establish operational control over the agency while ensuring that it would continue to fulfill its statutory duties," Paoletta wrote. "Many of you understood this and continued to perform functions required by law and sought approval from me to perform work, which I have promptly granted.
"It has come to my attention, however, that some employees have not been performing statutorily required work. Let me be clear: Employees should be performing work that is required by law and do not need to seek prior approval to do so."
Paoletta was responding to the confusion caused last month when CFPB Acting Director Russ Vought filed a motion clarifying the abrupt closure of the agency. Confusion then reined as to whether employees could respond to emails, attend meetings, and perform other functions.
An email from the associate director of the Office of Fair Lending inquired if employees were able to still do their statutory functions like supporting fair lending examinations and enforcement activity and completing a report for Congress.
Vought's motion was in response to the CFPB's union which has sued the administration after Vought closed the agency's Washington headquarters earlier in February, telling employees not to come into the office and to "not perform any work tasks."
After the lawsuit, employees protested outside of the D.C. headquarters claiming Vought's action were part of "a coordinated campaign by the new administration to eliminate the CFPB." In court filings last week employees said officials told them the administration plans to "wind down" the agency and eliminate all but five employees.
The CFPB was first conceived by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., after the financial crisis of 2008. It was established in 2010 as part of the Federal Reserve System. While advocates say it plays an important role in protecting consumers, critics argue it has overstepped its authority.
The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday approved Jonathan McKernan's nomination to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. McKernan was confirmed along party lines 13-11 with all Democrats voting against him.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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