Americans for Financial Reform is a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition working to lay the foundation for a strong, stable, and ethical financial system.

In the News: It’s a Model of Government Efficiency, but DOGE Wants It Gone

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last night that seeks to give more power to Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cleave through the supposed “waste, bloat, and insularity” in the federal government. The team is being given broad permission by Trump to disrupt work at key agencies and cut jobs. This expanded power likely means even more chaos within federal agencies, but for a specific preview of what’s to come—and the potential consequences for Americans—look no further than the past week at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In the News: Consumers need the CFPB. Remember the Great Recession?

As Christine Chen Zinner, a senior policy counsel at the nonprofit Americans for Financial Reform, pointed out in an interview, the agency has been politically under siege since its creation. “We have a bad feeling about the direction that it’s going,” she said. “This is an agency that was created after a devastating financial crisis because there were regulatory gaps.”

Letters to Congress: AFR and 17 Allies Urge Senators to Oppose Bill Pulte’s Nomination to Serve as FHFA Director

Americans for Financial Reform along with 17 housing, consumer, civil rights, and labor organizations sent a letter urging the Senate Banking Committee to oppose the nomination of Bill Pulte to serve as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Mr. Pulte’s residential rental real estate investments and private equity background make him uniquely unsuited to lead the FHFA.

Letters to Congress: AFR and 23 Allies Urge Senators to Oppose Jonathan McKernan’s Nomination to Serve as CFPB Director

Americans for Financial Reform along with 23 consumer, civil rights, community, labor, faith-based, small business, farm, and other organizations sent a letter urging the Senate Banking Committee to oppose the nomination of Jonathan McKernan to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB’s Director should preserve the Bureau’s integrity, capacity, and independence and stand up against capricious and unlawful efforts to defund, dismantle, or diminish the agency. Jonathan McKernan fails to meet these standards.

Blog: Trump CFPB Drops Case against Zelle, Siding with Banks Over Defrauded Users

The Trump-appointed CFPB leadership dropped its case against digital payment app Zelle, a joint venture between Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America,  delivering a de facto pardon to the company for failing to protect its users from fraud and identity theft that cost customers more than $870 million over seven years. The move comes only a day before the Republican Senate is expected to vote on legislation to permanently weaken oversight of digital payment apps.