U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have demanded that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency be removed from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, citing Musk’s conflict of interests.
Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Schiff sent a letter to Acting Director of the CFPB Russ Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to demand DOGE staff currently embedded in the agency be removed. Musk’s involvement in DOGE threatens to undermine consumer protections, the Senators said, particularly when it comes to the digital payments sector where Musk’s new digital wallet and payment platform. DOGE’s involvement in weakening the CFPB’s oversight would directly benefit Musk’s new platform, they said.
“Americans deserve a CFPB that will continue to stand up against corporate greed—not an agency shut down by officials looking out for themselves,” the senators wrote. “With that in mind, we once again ask that you remove Mr. Musk’s operatives from the CFPB, restore all internal and external systems and operations, and allow the CFPB to continue to do its job of protecting American consumers.”
The senators said Musk, as head of DOGE, has been involved in efforts to undermine the CFPB’s authority and regulatory power. Additionally, as his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has moved to introduce digital payments, his involvement in DOGE puts him in a position where his actions may directly benefit his financial interests. The CFPB has increasingly focused on regulating digital wallets and payment systems to protect consumers from fraud and exploitation, they said, and the agency’s ability to enforce those protections for consumers is now in jeopardy with reports indicating Musk’s operatives have accessed sensitive CFPB data and systems.
Additionally, the senators said, Musk’s involvement at Tesla could be a conflict of interest, as the CFPB oversees the auto lending industry as well.
“Americans deserve a CFPB that will continue to stand up against corporate greed—not an agency shut down by officials looking out for themselves,” the senators wrote. “The CFPB plays a critical role in supervising the auto lending industry and protecting consumers from corporate malfeasance and scams. Therefore, actions by Mr. Musk and DOGE at the CFPB also have the potential to directly benefit Tesla—and by extension, Mr. Musk.”
Warren and Schiff called for the removal of Musk’s operatives from CFPB and transparency for Musk’s involvement with the CFPB, as well as clarification on how Musk’s actions comply with federal conflict-of-interest rules.