Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has made the move on its next target: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). On Friday, three DOGE operatives—Christopher Young, Nikhil Rajpal, and Gavin Kliger—arrived at the CFPB’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, according to a statement from the CFPB employees union, NTEU 335.
This follows Elon’s February 4 post on X, where he declared “We’re gonna delete CFPB.” Later that same day, he doubled down, posting “CFPB RIP” with a gravestone emoji.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who took over as CFPB’s acting director last week after former Director Rohit Chopra was fired by President Trump, had already shut down external communications at the agency. He also halted key operations ahead of the DOGE team’s arrival.
According to an internal email sent by CFPB Chief Operating Officer Adam Martinez late Friday, the DOGE agents were given full access to the agency as if they were official employees or detailees. “They came in like they already owned the place,” said Martinez.
CFPB under siege as DOGE shuts down USAID operations
DOGE had already brought USAID to its knees. Funding for USAID projects was cut off, and the majority of the agency’s staff were furloughed. The plan was to put 2,200 employees on administrative leave by Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET. According to the US Department of Justice, 500 workers had already been placed on leave.
Unions have not taken this quietly. The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees filed lawsuits, saying that the administration had no authority to dismantle USAID without congressional approval. In a court filing, they described the situation as an “onslaught of unconstitutional and illegal attacks.”
On Friday, Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, temporarily paused the administration’s plan. He heard arguments from both sides in a D.C. federal court. Despite the judge’s ruling, USAID employees remain on edge, fearing permanent layoffs as Elon and his team continue their dismantling spree. USAID headquarters have also officially been shut down.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Elon wrote on X. Trump, too, posted on Truth Social: “THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!”
Elon’s efficiency officers have been surgiccal
For the past week, DOGE has been axing contracts and programs across federal agencies. On its official X account today, DOGE boasted that:
“Great coordination across 35 agencies over the last two days to terminate 199 wasteful contracts saving approximately $250 million.”
Examples included a canceled climate change coordinator position in Sri Lanka and a workshop on “intercultural communication diversity dialogue.” The Department of Education had three DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training grants—worth $15 million—cut off by DOGE. One institution had been hosting workshops titled “Decolonizing the Curriculum,” which Elon’s team apparently found unnecessary.
Within the CFPB, fears are growing. DOGE requested access to sensitive internal records, including data on employees and contractors. Some staff worry that their personal information—and potentially that of their families—could be compromised.
So far, according to Martinez’s email, DOGE hasn’t sought access to confidential financial data collected from the companies the CFPB regulates.
The CFPB holds massive amounts of sensitive data. This includes information from banks, credit unions, fintechs, debt collectors, and credit reporting agencies. The agency anonymizes some of this data for research, but details such as Social Security numbers, bank accounts, and company trade secrets remain highly confidential.
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