CFPB official tells judge he’s still not sure if agency will shut down
âBig timeâ confusion has wracked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) staff since last month, the agencyâs chief operating officer, Adam Martinez, testified before a federal judge in Washington, DC, on Monday.
Martinez’s testimony â which will continue on Tuesday afternoon â is meant to address questions around what’s happening at the financial regulation agency, before a judge decides whether to grant a preliminary injunction to preserve agency data, funds, and staff. It clarified points of disagreement between Martinez and other CFPB staffers, who said in sworn declarations to the court that the agency has become far less operational than Martinez has portrayed, particularly since the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got involved â with some functions effectively grinding to a halt.
Martinez described the last several weeks as typical for a presidential transition. He says the agency was in flux during DOGE’s first few weeks at the agency, and in a way, that’s not uncommon during a new administration. âDOGE came in with a very hard fist,” Martinez said, but there was “a change in posture” when acting CFPB director Russell Vought, who leads t …
