EXCLUSIVE: Trump Official Blasts ‘Politicized’ Agency For Questioning Its Authority To Rein In Spending

The Trump administration is torching a congressional watchdog for questioning its authority to slash government bloat.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under the leadership of Acting Director Russ Vought, sharply criticized the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Thursday for challenging the Bureau’s power to not request additional funds for the remainder of the fiscal year, in a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Bureau argues that GAO’s inquiry about the entity’s budget authority is the latest attempt by the congressional watchdog “undermine” the Trump administration’s commitment to cut federal spending. (RELATED: ‘Government Overreach’: Liz Warren’s Favorite Agency Just Granted Itself New Powers To Regulate Checking Accounts)

“The conclusion GAO apparently seeks — that the Acting Director’s decision to decline to draw down unneeded funds constituted an illegal impoundment under the Impoundment Control Act [ICA] — is diametrically opposed to the purpose of the ICA itself and would compel the Acting Director to draw down funds that CFPB has no need for and no intention to spend,” CFPB chief legal officer Mark Paoletta wrote in a response to a letter from GAO questioning the Bureau’s budget authority.

The Trump administration has sought to rein in the CFPB — formed in 2011 under the auspices of Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — arguing the Bureau is a prime example of government overreach and lacks accountability for imposing burdensome regulations on businesses and consumers.

Vought — who also serves as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — has consistently argued that the CFPB does not need additional funding to carry out its duties and can utilize unspent funding in future fiscal years.

Pursuant to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, I have notified the Federal Reserve that CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not “reasonably necessary” to carry out its duties. The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact…

— Russ Vought (@russvought) February 9, 2025

“The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment,” Vought wrote in a post on the social media platform X in February. “This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off.”

Congress has also taken recent steps to rein in the Bureau’s budget, which is funded via the Federal Reserve instead of congressional appropriations.

The CFPB came under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers during the drafting of the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law significantly lowered the Bureau’s funding limit to a 6.5% cap, down from 12% of the Federal Reserve System’s operating expenses, which reduced the agency’s available budget by several hundred million dollars.

Paoletta also criticized GAO for allegedly suggesting that Vought’s decision to not ask for additional money constitutes an illegal action, arguing the agency’s inquiry not only spurns the president’s commitment to root out wasteful spending, but also congressional Republicans’ efforts to slim the Bureau’s operating expenses.

“Your letter therefore is in not only in opposition to Acting Director Vought’s laudable attempts to implement President Trump’s historic reform efforts, but also in opposition to Congress’s attempt to scale down an out-of-control agency,” Paoletta wrote.

“GAO disagrees with CFPB’s mischaracterization of GAO’s work and purpose of our inquiries. As explained in our response today to CFPB, GAO carries out its statutory responsibilities under the Impoundment Control Act to support Congress in its exercise of its constitutional power of the purse,” GAO spokesperson Sarah Kaczmarek told the DCNF. “GAO routinely seeks agency information and views to analyze them based on the legal criteria and framework and issue nonpartisan, objective decisions to Congress.”

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