Nearly two dozen states sue the Trump administration over funding for CFPB
Source: NPR
Updated December 22, 2025 5:35 PM ET
A coalition of 21 states along with the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday to prevent it from defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which says it will run out of money in a few weeks.
The consumer watchdog agency is funded by the Federal Reserve — unlike many other federal agencies — to insulate it from political whims. But under Acting Director Russell Vought, the CFPB is refusing to accept money from the Fed.
The CFPB argues that the law that established the agency says it must get funding from the Fed's "combined earnings," or profits made by the Fed. But the Fed doesn't have those earnings, the Trump administration says, because it's paying out more money than it's taking in, or operating at a loss.
The attorneys general suing the administration — and some Democratic lawmakers — reject that argument. They say the CFPB is narrowly defining "combined earnings" as profits, whereas lawmakers had intended the term to mean the wider funds — or proceeds — coming into the Fed.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5652043/cfpb-trump-russell-vought-lawsuit
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/ny-v-vought-complaint-2025.pdf
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