Elizabeth Warren calls Elon Musk ’bank robber’ for dismantling CFPB

US Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing back against Elon Musk and Donald Trump over efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency she helped create in 2007.The CFPB — the US government agency focused on consumer protection — faced another wave of layoffs on Feb. 13, receiving termination notices for up to 100 employees, NPR reported.The layoffs came shortly after Russell Vought, the new CFPB head appointed by US President Donald Trump, cut off the agency from new funding in line with the agenda of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative (DOGE).“The CFPB was created by Congress, and Congress — not Elon Musk, not Donald Trump — is the only one that can shut it down,” Warren said in an interview with Mother Jones on Feb. 12.CFPB uncovered $21 billion in big bank scamsSenator Warren defended her consumer protection agency, stating that the CFPB has uncovered at least $21 billion in “scams that big banks and other lenders have used to cheat American families.”“Giant banks hated this agency from the first time I ever talked about it, and the reason is pretty straightforward: it bites into the profits they would make from cheating people,” Warren said.Among Musk and Trump’s possible reasons for dismantling the CFPB, the Senator mentioned their willingness to distract Americans from rising inflation as well as Musk’s plans to turn X into the “everything app.”“Musk has lost money hand over fist on X. So he has this idea of X becoming a big money platform where he would get everyone’s personal financial data,” Warren said, adding that the CFPB would essentially be an obstacle for that venture:“He is moving to get the CFPB out of the way just before he launches his money platform. It’s a little like a bank robber managing to fire the cops just before he strolls into the lobby of the institution.”Warren’s CFPB: Attacking crypto or protecting consumers?Warren is often seen in the community as a major cryptocurrency skeptic, urging that the crypto industry should follow the same rules as banks and stockbrokers.In January 2025, CFPB proposed a rule requiring crypto firms to refund users for funds lost to hacks, offering protections similar to those for US bank accounts.Warren is also known for pushing concerns over illegal uses of Tether’s USDt (USDT) to evade US sanctions. In January 2025, she pressed Trump’s Commerce Secretary pick, Howard Lutnick, over his connection with Tether.While Warren keeps fighting for her consumer protection agency, some American consumers might use some protection amid investors losing $2 billion on Trump’s plummeting memecoin launched in January 2025.According to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force head, Hester Peirce, memecoin regulation doesn’t fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction but is rather subject to considerations by Congress.