SAINT PAUL, Minn. – In recent days, the Trump administration ordered work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to stop, halting all investigations, public communications, and oversight at the independent agency designed to protect consumers from fraud, scams, and other financial abuse.
Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Chair Matt Klein (DFL – Mendota Heights) released the following statement:
“These moves by the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are a direct attack on any Minnesotan who has so much as a bank account. Already, consumers access to public information at consumerfinance.gov is in jeopardy, and with a direction to stop work, the Trump administration has blocked American’s ability to submit a complaint about problems with banks, debt collectors, mortgage lenders, and other financial services.
If you have a bank account, a student loan, a mortgage, a credit card, or any other basic service of our financial sector, this shutdown makes you and your pocketbook less secure. The CFPB provides guidance and enforcement on a long list of pro-consumer protection laws in Minnesota. This includes addressing unlawful student loan debt collection practices, protecting seniors from fraud and financial exploitation, removing medical bills from credit reports, capping predatory pay day interest rates, and prohibiting junk fees. These consumer protection laws prevent fraud and abuse and keeps money in Minnesotans’ pockets.
Minnesota consumers deserve a fair and safe marketplace where they are not being cheated and swindled by corporate monopolies, big banks, and fraudsters. Over 10,000 consumer complaints are submitted to the CFPB each year by people in Minnesota, ranging from checking account problems to mortgage issues to debt collection. Shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all its ongoing investigations, is a handout to scammers who want to take advantage of hardworking people.
In the coming weeks I will hold a hearing in the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on the closure of the CFPB to understand the extent of federal interactions on Minnesota programs and impacts on our strong consumer protection laws.”
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