The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
The CFPB has told a federal court that it expects to exhaust its available funds in early 2026, saying that it may face a lapse in appropriations unless Congress intervenes.
In a filing submitted Nov. 10 to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and transmitted to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department said the CFPB “anticipates exhausting its currently available funds in early 2026.” The filing cited a new opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that “the Federal Reserve currently lacks combined earnings from which the CFPB can draw” under its existing statutory funding structure. Acting Director Russell Vought plans to notify the President and congressional appropriations committees of the Bureau’s “funding needs” as required by law.
The CFPB, which has long relied on Federal Reserve transfers rather than congressional appropriations, now faces the prospect of a budget gap that would trigger restrictions under the Antideficiency Act. The law prohibits agencies from spending or obligating funds without appropriations, except in emergencies involving human life or property.
According to the filing, the Bureau expects to have enough resources to maintain operations through at least Dec. 31, 2025. After that, its future depends on whether Congress authorizes new funding.
The disclosure comes as the CFPB has rolled back several regulatory programs and procedural changes introduced in recent years, part of a broader recalibration under Vought and the Trump administration that has emphasized cost reduction, narrower rulemaking and a return to “procedural fairness.”
If Congress declines to act, the Bureau could face its first-ever operational shutdown, a development that would reshape how consumer protection and financial oversight are carried out across the credit union and banking sectors.
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