Russell Vought, the Project 2025 architect who President Donald Trump tapped to be his budget chief, has also taken the helm at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to two people familiar with the move.
Aligning Agendas: Vought and Musk
Vought told staff on Friday that he is the acting director of the CFPB, an independent agency that polices financial institutions and nonbank entities, according to the people. Vought wrote a chapter of Project 2025, the controversial road map for Trump’s second term laid out by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, calling for a fundamental overhaul of the federal government.
Chris Young, an ally of Trump adviser Elon Musk who was recently embedded at the CFPB, forwarded to some of the agency’s staff a message from Vought stating that he was the acting director. In the email, which was viewed by POLITICO, Young said employees at Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency were authorized to “begin work on all unclassified CFPB systems.”
Challenges and Criticisms
Republicans and financial institutions have been sharply critical of the CFPB since it was formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, believing that it has been too aggressive in its enforcement and has too broad a reach.
Vought’s takeover of the CFPB comes as Musk’s allies entered CFPB’s headquarters on Friday and sought access to information technology systems there, people familiar with the matter said. Vought’s and Musk’s goals are closely aligned, and Vought allies believe the two are likely to work together in their efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy.
Reshaping Government Dynamics
The White House and Office of Management and Budget did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A DOGE spokesperson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position that wields immense power over the federal government’s purse strings. Just last week, Trump tapped Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to serve as acting director of the CFPB after firing its former director, Rohit Chopra.
Vought, who was also budget chief during the first Trump administration, has a sweeping plan to upend the federal bureaucracy. But that plan was well set in motion before he was officially confirmed, with Trump issuing a series of executive orders freezing federal hiring and making it easier to fire career federal employees.
Vought isn’t the only member of Trump’s Cabinet to take on expanded roles in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was tapped not only as acting director of the United States Agency for International Development amid its dismantling by Musk and his allies but as acting director of the U.S. Archives.
