7 hours Ago
Shutting down the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau was one of the first acts of the Trump administration. To understand why this agency was such a target, let’s ask what the CFPB has meant to Mainers. From 2011 to 2023, it took action on behalf of 5,440 Mainers, 653 of them servicemembers, 528 of them senior citizens.
It protected them from being charged for bank accounts they never opened; from predatory credit card rates and misleading credit reports; from hidden fees, unfair modifications of loans and fraudulent debt collection. James Parakilas, a member of the Maine People’s Alliance, lives in Lewiston. Nationwide, the CFPB has returned about $20 billion to American consumers that big banks and credit card companies cheated them out of.
And it has made the big banks guard their holdings — our money — responsibly, so that we don’t endure another bank-induced recession like the one in 2007-2008. It has done all this with a minuscule staff of dedicated federal employees, on a budget paid for out of Federal Reserve funds, not our taxes. There can be only one reason for shutting down an agency that protects the interests of regular people: the Trump administration is doing the bidding of the big banks and credit card companies.
Those companies have tried to eliminate the CFPB since it was created because its mission is to stop them from preying on their customers. Now they have the ear of President Trump, Elon Musk— who has just gone into the credit business himself and stands to profit mightily from ripping people off if there is no CFPB — and Russell Vought, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget. Whatever they say, these three are not eliminating waste and fraud in the federal government.
They are actually giving a green light to fraud by financial corporations that prey on ordinary Americans. Sen. Collins should have stood in their way.
When President Trump nominated Russell Vought to run the Office of Management and Budget, she knew he believed a president could trample on the congressional power of the purse, impounding appropriated funding at will. Sen. Collins’ response to his nomination: “If there are impoundments, I believe it will end up in court, and my hope is the court will rule in favor of the 1974 Impoundment and Budget Control Act.
” Then she voted to confirm Russell Vought. The very next day he took control of the CFPB and shut down its operations, locking its employees out of their offices and freezing its websites and records. Here are three questions for Sen.
Collins: When will she stop believing people who tell her something that contradicts what she knows about them? When will she stop voting to confirm people like Russell Vought (or Tulsi Gabbard or RFK Jr.), saying she’ll keep an eye on them? She said she believed Brett Kavanaugh when he told her that Roe v. Wade was settled law.
How did that turn out? If she thought it was illegal for the Trump administration to impound money that Congress appropriated, why did she put her “hope” in the courts to uphold the power of Congress as an equal branch of our government? Congress can exert its own power by not confirming presidential appointees who don’t recognize the constitutional role of Congress. She should have heeded the words of her colleague, Sen. King, as he urged her and her fellow Republican senators to vote against Russell Vought: “This is about tampering with the structure of our government, which will ultimately undermine its ability to protect the freedom of our citizens .
.. this nominee is a place to say no to the undermining and destruction of our constitutional system.
” And finally, when did she decide that the Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, the credit card companies, the credit agencies and Elon Musk are her constituents, and the Mainers who get ripped off by them are not? We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use .
More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe .
Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors.
.
