CFPB Chief Vought Seeks $145M Despite Closure Push
Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Russell T. Vought on Friday submitted his first-ever funding request to the Federal Reserve, seeking $145 million to keep the agency operating through March 2026 after a federal judge ruled its funding cannot lapse. Vought, who is simultaneously the White House budget director and has publicly vowed to shut down the CFPB within months, had previously argued the Fed could no longer lawfully fund the bureau because it had no 'combined earnings,' an interpretation Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected in a recent ruling in a lawsuit brought by the CFPB staff union and other plaintiffs. The request keeps the CFPB minimally functioning while Congress has not acted to dissolve it and the courts have ordered continued financing under the existing statutory framework.
📌 Key Facts
- On January 9, 2026, acting CFPB director Russell T. Vought requested $145 million from the Federal Reserve to fund the bureau for the current quarter ending in March.
- Vought has led an effort since early 2025 to shut down the CFPB, publicly saying he expected to close it within two to three months, but cannot do so without congressional action.
- Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Washington recently rejected Vought’s argument that the Fed could not fund the CFPB because it lacked 'combined earnings,' ordering that funding for the bureau cannot lapse.
- The funding request follows a lawsuit by the CFPB’s staff union and other plaintiffs that forced the bureau to remain operational at least at a minimal level.
📊 Relevant Data
Black mortgage applicants were 2.1 times more likely to be denied than White applicants after adjusting for borrower income and other observable factors in 2024 data.
Racial Gaps In Mortgage Denials Persist Despite Industry Progress — National Mortgage Professional
In 2023, Black borrowers accounted for 8% of U.S. mortgage purchase loans, while comprising approximately 13.6% of the U.S. population.
The State of Black Homeownership in 2025 — iEmergent Blog
Black borrowers were 41% more likely than White borrowers to have incomplete mortgage applications between 2018 and 2024.
Racial Disparities in the Mortgage Application Process — Springer Link
Consumer complaints to the CFPB increased at a greater rate in predominantly minority zip codes from 2019 to 2020.
CFPB Issues Consumer Complaint Bulletin — Compliance Cohort
Opposition to the CFPB includes efforts to reduce enforcement activities and rescind regulatory guidance to deregulate and streamline bureaucracy for financial institutions.
CFPB Rescinds Dozens of Regulatory Guidance Documents in Major Regulatory Shift — Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor
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