For Immediate Release:
February 19, 2026
Contact:
Isabelle Dienstag | isabelle@sgstrategies.com | (224) 619-9001
Robert Mayo | hello@woodstockinst.org
Trump’s Latest Effort to Dismantle Consumer Protections Is Sloppy Policy That Values Profits Over Everyday Americans
CFPB has returned over $21 billion to consumers; White House says agency is too expensive
CHICAGO – In response to the White House Council of Economic Advisors’ newly released report where they estimate that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cost taxpayers $13 billion since its inception, Horacio Méndez – economist, former bank executive and federal regulatory official, and current President and CEO of the Woodstock Institute – has released the following statement:
“Bad math justifying economic harm to everyday Americans seems to have found fertile ground with this Administration.
“This report tries to justify this Administration’s ultimate aim which is to give money owed to Americans who were robbed by financial predators found guilty by a court back to those same predators. From $2 billion in interest payments on misleading savings accounts, $300 million in illegal junk fees charged in charity race registrations, $100 million stolen from financially struggling families through a debt-relief scam, $80 million for charging illegal overdraft fees to active service military members, veterans and their families and dozens more, the shamelessness by this Administration to not only deny victims their due compensation, but then to turn around and blame law enforcement for making it too expensive to rob consumers is without precedent and is morally bankrupt.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was born out of the 2008 financial crisis and has returned $21 billion to consumers since it was created. When Wall Street fell, the ensuing recession resulted in a $20 trillion cost to the US economy. The cost of running an agency that prevents greater loss and human suffering is worth the investment. As an economist myself, I know that it is a better use of taxpayer dollars to be proactive and prevent a crisis than it is to lay the foundation for the next taxpayer-funded bailout. By any sensible measure, the cost-benefit analysis comes out favorably for the CFPB.
“The President wants to be known for making America affordable again, but his Administration’s relentless (and legally dubious) efforts to disband the CFPB and demolish the guardrails it established would directly empower bad actors that seek to extract profit from the lowest-earning Americans. Our government is supposed to protect us, not throw our most vulnerable to the wolves, which is exactly what the authors of this report are suggesting we do. Rather than entertaining this ruse they call “cutting government waste,” we should call it what it is: another effort to put the interests of financial predators ahead of the interest of everyday Americans.”
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Woodstock Institute is a leading policy and research nonprofit that advocates for consumer financial protection and community economic development. Our work seeks to combat structural inequities and improve the quality of life in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Among our areas of focus are predatory lending, access to banking, debt collection, and municipal fines and fees.
