A coalition of 21 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Monday to prevent the closure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is responsible for protecting clients in the U.S. financial market and has been in the crosshairs of the White House. The lawsuit names CFPP Acting Director Russell Vought, who also serves as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, for his repeated attempts to dismantle the agency. The attorneys general, led by those from New York and California, are seeking to challenge Vought's refusal to request funds from the Federal Reserve to keep the CFPB afloat. Since Trump's return to the White House, the administration has sought to dismantle the agency created in response to the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers in the financial market through the regulation and supervision of banks and other entities. The administration attempted to fire 90% of the CFPB staff last February, but the efforts were halted by a court that is weighing another lawsuit in which Vought has argued that it would be illegal to request funds from the Federal Reserve, the CFPB's primary source of funding, given that the U.S. central bank is not generating profits. The bureau is expected to run out of funds on December 31, after which it would cease operations. 'The Trump administration continues to evade its responsibility to protect and defend American consumers who are exploited by large corporations,' California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. The Democrat emphasized that if the CFPB disappears, 'hundreds of thousands of consumer complaints' will fall through the cracks. 'If you've ever had a problem with your auto loan, mortgage, or bank fees, if you've ever disputed an error in your credit score and hoped to have the federal government on your side, this affects you,' the attorney general said, calling on the public to join the legal fight. Attorneys general from Colorado, Oregon, New Jersey, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia are joining California and New York in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
