Institute Index: The assault on consumer protection

By Chris Kromm / August 28, 2025

CFPB Complaints Map By State

A map from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that residents in Southern states have filed a disproportionate share of complaints asking the Bureau for help with consumer finance problems such as fraud, excessive fees, and other issues. (Map: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)

Year that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was formed to protect consumers from fraud and abuse: 2011

Number of complaints the Bureau has received from consumers about problems with financial services companies since December 2011: 10.7 million

Percent of those complaints that have come from residents in Southern states: 49%

Amount of money the Bureau has returned to consumers through monetary compensation, debt cancellation, and other relief: $21 billion

Percent of the Bureau workforce the Trump administration has sought to cut: 90%

Date that Elon Musk, the billionaire then leading the Trump administration’s DOGE office, posted “CFPB RIP” next to a grave stone emoji on his X platform: 2/7/25

Date that the Trump-appointed acting director of the Bureau announced the agency would stop regulating non-bank consumer finance companies: 2/3/25

Year that Musk’s X platform plans to roll out X Money Account, a non-bank payment system which will now be exempt from CFPB regulation: 2025

Number of cases against companies accused of financial wrongdoing that the Bureau has dropped under the Trump administration: 22

Amount of money that the Bureau had negotiated to pay consumers due to illegal activity but now won't because the Trump administration has rescinded Bureau settlements with the offending companies: $360 million

Amount the Bureau had previously sought to have returned to delivery drivers for Walmart and workforce company Branch Messenger for high fees and deceptive marketing: $10 million

Date that the Bureau under the Trump administration dropped the case against Walmart and Branch: 5/13/25

Date on which the Bureau closed its investigation into Credova Financial, a financing company on which Donald Trump, Jr., is a board member and investor: 8/19/25

Number of complaints the Bureau had received about the company: 51

Percent by which the tax and spending bill President Trump signed in July reduced the funding available to the Bureau: 46%

Percent of U.S. House members in Southern states who voted for the bill: 72

Percent of Southern U.S. Senate members who voted for it: 77

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