On January 23, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the ranking Democratic member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, delivered a letter to the acting director of the CFPB, Russell Vought, criticizing the Bureau’s recent supervision, enforcement, and regulatory posture on credit card markets. The senator asserted that while Congress considers legislation to address excessive credit card interest rates, the CFPB’s current approach directly undermined the president’s stated goals. The letter stated that, “[e]ither President Trump is not serious about making credit cards more affordable or you are insubordinately disregarding his direction.”

The letter urged the Bureau to reinstate its rule capping credit card late fees at $8, stop surprise interest charges through rulemaking, resume TILA and CARD Act compliance examinations, end rewards bait-and-switch tactics, and resume investigation of consumer complaints. Senator Warren contended that, rather than addressing rising credit card costs and related consumer harm, the CFPB has prioritized dismantling its own authority, including efforts to terminate hundreds of employees, instructing staff to cease supervision and examination activity, suspending ongoing enforcement actions, and dismissing enforcement cases.