WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the President’s efforts to slim down the workforce and spending, his administration tried to slash about 90- percent of the staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It’s the agency that protects consumers from scams and fraud within banks and financial institutions. This week, federal judges temporarily blocked the measure to layoff workers there, but a Senate Democrat is concerned that staffing cuts at the agency could hurt seniors.
In 2023, the FBI said more than one-hundred thousand older adults aged 60 and over reported financial scams, averaging about 33-thousand loss per victim.
New York’s Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said since the CFPB , it has returned 21-billion dollars to American consumers. Many of them are seniors. The Senator is worried seniors and other Americans can become more vulnerable to financial scams without the agency. She sent a letter to the President demanding answers on how they plan to fulfil the agency’s regulatory and statutory obligations if they are to cut back the workforce.
“We cannot stand idly by as the Trump administration risks the financial safety for our seniors, service members and our larger economy,” said the Senator.
The administration maintains that they believe the agency could function with just ten percent of its staff.
