Ari Weitzman (3:02)

Thanks, Ari, and welcome everybody. Here, your quick hits for today. First up, Mark Fogel was freed from Russian prison after President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, negotiated his release. Fogle, an American schoolteacher, had been arrested in 2021 for cannabis possession and sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug trafficking charges. The Biden administration classified him as wrongfully detained in 2024. Number two President Trump signed an executive order instructing the heads of federal agencies to work with the Department of Government efficienc reduce the federal workforce. Number three Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would pursue retaliatory measures if President Trump's 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum products entering the United States goes into effect next month. Number four President Trump hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, where the two discussed Trump's proposal to resettle Gazans in surrounding Arab countries. Abdullah told Trump that Jordan would take in 2,000 Palestinian children with severe illnesses, but reiterated his opposition to resettling Gazans en masse. At number five more than 90 million Americans are under winter weather advisories or warnings this Wednesday, with snow and ice storms forecast for large swaths of the Midwest and East Coast. A national Treasury Employees Union has filed.

Ryan Reynolds (4:32)

A new lawsuit trying to prevent the Trump administration from shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

John Law (4:38)

CBS Natalie Brand reports.

Ryan Reynolds (4:40)

This is the latest federal agency that Trump's trying to close in an effort to slash the size of the federal government.

Ari Weitzman (4:47)

On Friday, Office of Management and Bureau Director Russell Vaught took over as acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and ordered the agency to grant officials from the Department of Government Efficiency access to its non classified systems. Over the weekend, Vought directed CFPB employees to stand down from performing any work task and then announced the CFPB CFPB's Washington, D.C. office would be closed through February 14th. For context. In the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, Congress passed the 2010 Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection act, establishing the CFPB to review the activity of financial services firms and protect consumers from predatory practices. Before her election to the Senate, then Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren proposed the creation of the agency and then served as a special advisor to the Treasury Secretary to launch Oper 2011. The agency's core functions include creating rules to protect consumers from deceptive financial practices, enforcing customer financial protection laws, and investigating consumer complaints about financial companies. Unlike other federal agencies, the CFPB is funded through money transfers from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors rather than congressional appropriations. Some lawmakers have objected to this funding mechanism for lacking accountability to Congress, and in 2024, the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the system structure ruling 7:2 that the CFPB's structure is constitutional. In his weekend email to CFPB staff, Vaught instructed agency staff to pause any pending investigations, new rule proposals and stakeholder engagements, then posted on X that he had 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. Furthermore, agency employees are reportedly preparing for significant headcount reductions, as only a few hundred of its roughly 1700 employees have positions that are required by law to exist. Many Democrats have criticized the moves by Vought and Musk, and Senator Warren vowed to fight any effort to shutter the agency's operations. CFPB is there to make sure Elon Musk's new project cannot scam you and steal your personal data. We will fight it out in Congress, in courts and across the country, warren said. Republican lawmakers mostly support the moves, with Representative Byron Donalds calling the CFPB a highly partisan and unaccountable agency that should be eliminated. On Tuesday, Two of the CFPB's top officials resigned, stating that they could not continue their work amid the upheaval at the agency. Separately, a union representing employees across dozens of federal agencies filed lawsuits to challenge Vought's apparent shutdown of the CFPB and block Doge staffers from accessing the agency's records. Today we'll share perspectives from the left and the right about the recent moves at the cfpb, and then Managing editor Ari Weitzman will give his take. We'll be right back after this quick break.

Ryan Reynolds (7:58)

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John Law (8:26)

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Ari Weitzman (9:06)

Alright, first up, let's start with what the Left is saying. The left criticizes the impending shutdown, suggesting it's plainly illegal. Some say the CFPB is a vital defense against predatory financial practices. Others argue the agency is a prime example of government working effectively. In the American Prospect, David Dayan called Vought's actions illegal. No federal agency has had a bigger target on its back in the last 15 years than the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Pro business conservatives are simply offended by an agency with a mission to protect ordinary people, the lowest rung on America's totem pole, from financial scams, and they have yearned to litigate, legislate and intimidate it out of existence, dahn wrote. Frustrated in Congress and the courts, MAGA has turned to snuffing out the CFPB by executive fiat. Litigation is likely to get some aspects of CFPB working again, and some unlikely participants may support that litigation. Back in 2023, when right wing advocates tried to render the CFPB's funding mechanism unconstitutional, mortgage bankers freaked out because they realized that the rules that the bureau administrates, updates and modifies are actually critical to smooth functioning of consumer financial markets, dan said. For now, the zealots who welcome this kind of chaos are winning out temporarily. And the agency that has returned over $21 billion to victims of financial fraud, abuse and deception since its creation in 2010 is on ice. In MSNBC, Helene Olin said closing the CFPB will help Elon Musk, but hurt the rest of us. Musk and his lackeys aren't trying to shut down the CFPB because of such stated reasons as attacking the deficit or combating overbearing bureaucracy. Instead, the attempted shutdown of the CFPB is an overt power grab by Big Tech, and their gain could result in the rest of us losing much more than almost anyone realizes, olin wrote. Wall street and now Big Tech don't hate the CFPB because it's an ineffective waste of money. They hate it because this relatively small agency punches way above its weight. Since the CFPB opened its doors in 2012 with a budget well under a billion dollars a year. It's returned more than $21 billion to Americans, protecting them from big banks abuses, fintech scams and multitudes of junk fees. Under Director Rohit Chopra, who ran the agency for most of Joe Biden's presidency, the CFPB not only aggressively protected Americans against the big banks in traditional non bank financial services, pushing back on excessive check overdraft charges, credit card abuses and the like, olin said. No one in this White House appears interested in better or more efficient consumer financial regulation. Instead, the tech titans are seeking to expand their monopolies into financial services, preferably without the CFPB referees standing in their way. In Slate, an anonymous attorney at the CFPB wrote about the upheaval at the agency. My colleagues and I work tirelessly to protect the American public from predatory, unfair and illegal practices by bad actors in the market for consumer financial products like credit cards, mortgages and student loans. We are a relatively small group of government employees who enforce federal financial laws, including by bringing cases against those who violate them, the author said. However, since the Doge takeover and in the past 72 hours, Vought and Musk have worked hand in hand with unnerving speed to strip the CFPB for parts and bring its work to a screeching halt. The CFPB now stands as an ineffective watchdog, chained, muzzled and left to starve in its kennel so that it can no longer guard the public. This is profoundly sad for the employees like me who have worked zealously to protect the American public from frauds and scams day in and day out, the author wrote. I remember the misery that the Great Recession inflicted on American consumers. I'm worried for what may happen now that the CFPB can no longer guard against the next crisis thanks to Vought, Musk and their unaccountable wrecking crew. Foreign that is for what the left is saying. Which brings us to what the right is saying. The right mostly supports shutting down the cfpb, with many saying that the agency no longer fulfills the mission it was created for. Some worry that dismantling the CFPB would strip protections for conservatives who are targeted by financial firms for their political views. Others say Trump and Congress should work in concert to eliminate the agency in reason. Veronik Darughi wrote Abolish the cfpb, a government agency that operates with little accountability, spends taxpayers money without congressional oversight, and enforces regulations based on flimsy theories about consumer behavior. That's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an institution so misguided in both mission and execution that it does not deserve mere reform. It should be abolished outright, duraghi said. Heralded as the savior of consumers after the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB has instead become a regulatory monster that stifles innovation and drives up costs for the very people it claims to protect. What was the CFPB given all this power to do? In theory, it is to protect and empower consumers, promote fair and competitive markets and stabilize the financial system. In practice, it has reduced access to credit cards for lower income consumers and jacked up bank fees and mortgage costs. CFPB bureaucrats love price controls and excessive regulations, and they despise financial arrangements that they view as unconventional, duraghi wrote. At the heart of the CFPB's misguided decisions is its leader's apparent belief that consumers are helpless, irrational beings incapable of making good financial decisions without bureaucratic intervention. In unherd Sohrab, Amari said Musk's efforts to eliminate the CFPB are a danger to Trumpism. Last month, then CFPB Director Rohit Chopra proposed to restrict financial institutions from dropping customers based on their political or religious views. If adopted, the rule would have been the most politically significant of Chopra's many reforms. After all, right wing activists have been the most frequent victims of debanking, Amari wrote. Yet in the weeks leading up to the president's inauguration, powerful tech barons vented rage at Chopra's agency. Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency is dramatically remaking the federal government, gloated about the agency's apparent demise with a tombstone emoji adding, cfpb rip. Unless Team Trump changes course, the plutocratic self dealing policy choices will become impossible to ignore, and the Trumpians will end up betraying the millions of working class and union households who pulled for them in last year's election, seeking immigration, sanity and economic protection. Not to make it easier for big finance to surveil and debank them, Amari said trashing the CFPB would do nothing to address the structural power imbalances which bedeviled Trumpian America and which compelled it to vote for him in the first place. On the contrary, it would exacerbate the imbalances. In Fox News, Patrick Brenner argued Trump should delete Elizabeth Warren's failed experiment once and for all. The CFPB was initially sold as a watchdog for consumer interests. In reality, it's evolved into an unchecked behemoth that stifles competition, raises consumer costs and meddles in industries far beyond its intended scope, Brenner said the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling upholding the CFPB's funding structure emboldened Chopra to escalate the agency's crusade against financial institutions and fintech companies. But the ruling didn't endorse the agency's wisdom or legitimacy. Congress created the cfpb, and Congress, or better yet, a motivated Trump administration, can dismantle it. The CFPB's recent attempt to expand oversight of Big Tech's payment platforms, including Musk's X Payments, was a glaring example of its mission creep. While initially designed to oversee financial products, the agency under Chopra increasingly sought to police non financial businesses, threatening to strangle competition and restrict consumer access to innovative financial tools. Brenner said the CFPB is not a long standing pillar of American governance, but a failed experiment of Senator Elizabeth Warren's progressive regulatory vision. Its unchecked authority, lack of congressional oversight and hostility towards financial markets make it a danger to businesses and consumers. All right, let's head over to Ari for his take.

Ryan Reynolds (17:50)

All right, that's it for what the left and the right are saying. Which brings us to my take. Just to put my cards on the table to start here, I entered the workforce during the Great Recession, so I've always been partial towards more regulation in the financial sector than less. Accordingly, I've regarded the CFPB somewhat optimistically. But if I ask myself one simple question, I'm not so sure of the answer. If you wanted the government to do what the CFPB does today, is this the best way to do it? To answer, let's go back to the beginning. After the 08 financial crisis, the electorate was hungry for reform. In 2011, 83% of adults said that Wall street needed stricter regulation and 67% said bankers would break the law without robust controls. Into this arena stepped a first time president who had won a sweeping electoral victory on the message of hope and changed to supply the clamored for financial reform. He took up an idea from a Harvard bankruptcy and commercial law professor named Elizabeth Warren to authorize a new agency that would provide financial oversight, one that could centralize regulatory enforcement into one bureau with funding draws insulated from annual congressional appropriations under the neutral oversight of the Federal reserve. Then in 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd Frank act into law, bringing now Senator Elizabeth Warren's idea to life, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB. In its 15 years of life, the agency has taken on payday lenders, junk fees and late charges at the same time, it has withstood legal challenges to its constitutionality from Republicans, who see the agency as overzealous and bereft of adequate oversight. In short, the CFPB has been one of the biggest wins Democrats have achieved in the last 20 years, delivering reform at a time when voters wanted it the 08 financial crisis fixing its sight on a villain most voters still despise Wall street and cleverly designing it, a mark of ingenuity rarely seen from Congress to withstand the entirety of President Donald Trump's first term. So of course it would be a target for Republicans. And to be fair, they have good reason to complain. The regulations the CFPB has passed have resulted in some serious unintended consequences. After the CFPB limited junk fees, bank increase, credit card interest rates to recoup their losses when it imposed rules on mortgage providers, the availability of mortgage credit regressed. It has also created solutions to problems that didn't need to be solved, like recently when it regulated financial comparison tools. The CFPB has certainly benefited consumers to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. But Republicans are right to question whether the cost of the downstream effect of its work are greater than its benefits. Not only does the CFPB advance a model of economic regulation that conservatives generally decry, but the ingenious funding structure Warren proposed for it is also undeniably dubious. The president is allowed to fire the head of the agency but cannot remove or restructure the agency itself. The executive branch can install a new head who asks for no funding, but it can't eliminate its funding mechanism entirely. Congress can control the agency's funds, but not through the normal appropriations process. The CFPB is simply an outlier among the executive agencies. Not only that, but the agency's purview could be amply covered by existing departments that regulate financial institutions, like the Federal Trade Commission, the securities and Exchange Commission, or the Financial Crimes enforcement network, or FinCEN. While its structure is undeniably unusual, it is not unconstitutional. Its funding is authorized by pre existing legislation, meaning the same process that makes its funding stand out among executive departments makes its spending fit right in with two thirds of the federal budget. As Justice Brett Kavanaugh said about the CFPB during last year's Supreme Court challenge, congress could change it tomorrow, and there's nothing perpetual or permanent about this. Furthermore, it's simply not the shadowy agency many critics paint it to be. It publishes semi annual reports that are accessible and transparent, and Congress has held multiple hearings to examine its work. Still, being technically legal is a pretty low bar to clear to justify its structure. I doubt Democrats would be very happy if this Congress enshrined a deportation task force funded by a set proportion of the Department of Homeland Security's budget that's untouchable by the normal appropriations process. This all leads me back to my initial question. If you wanted the government to do what the CFPB does today, is this the best way to do is a duplicative agency. Its operational scope is disconcertingly broad, and even though I personally have no problem with its funding mechanism, I mean, if Congress wants to change the way it's funded, it can pass a piece of meaningful legislation that isn't an omnibus appropriations bill, you know, for a change. But still it is an outlier among federal agencies. Merging the CFPB with FinCEN, giving it a healthy operating budget subject to congressional appropriations, and retaining the smooth public interface that the CFPB currently presents strikes me as a pretty good path forward. But that isn't the path forward that Musk, Vought and Trump are following. Vought is within his rights to request $0 to operate the agency, something that is not a coup, or even that novel Mick Mulvaney did the same thing in 20. I'm less certain that abruptly downsizing the non essential staff is legal, but the courts are working that part out now. Musk's role, however, and again is unhelpful at best and downright corrupt at worst. Remember, the CFPB is investigating and regulating companies Musk runs, and his involvement with the Bureau is as clear an ethical breach as I can imagine. So now what happens to the CFPB's ongoing investigations? Who's going to be responsible for enforcing regulation of the consumer financial market in the meantime? All told, the ongoing saga with the CFPB reminds me of another ongoing saga over an Obama era reform, the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare since it was enacted and for just as long haven't articulated a replacement plan. Republicans have not suggested how they'll cover CFPB's bases while downsizing the Bureau to oblivion. And at the same time, Democrats who support the Bureau have to reckon with the fact that the ingenious defenses in Warren's design are prompting equally ingenious attacks. As National Review's Noah Rothman put it, Democrats and Republicans talk past one another, with the latter emphasizing the outfit's legal impropriety and the former focusing on all the noble works enabled by that unseemliness. For me, perhaps my question of whether the current CFPB is the best tool for the job it's tasked with. Isn't the most important one to ask? Rather, are Vought and Musk the right people to fix it? That's an emphatic no. Unless Congressional Republicans can proffer their own tools to complement Vought's acts, then tying the CFPB's hands is going to do a lot more harm than good.

Ari Weitzman (25:24)

We'll be right back after this quick break.

John Law (25:30)

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Ryan Reynolds (26:39)

All right, that's it for my take. Which brings us to your questions answered. Today's question comes from Dak from Providence, Rhode Island. Dak asks, I've been noticing that the comments section over the past few months has become increasingly volatile toward you, tangle and even other tangliers. This is very evident when you report on Trump, where it seems no matter what position you take, you will receive a significant backlash and tangliers will attack each other over differing views. I do sometimes get caught up in it as well. It's disheartening. How has this affected your reporting on Trump and other contentious topics? If you agree, what are your feelings towards this trend? Do you feel that Tango's current format is adequate for such hot topics? I'm answering this question myself today, so thanks for the question Dak. And first of all, Tang Lears is awesome. I fully support that term. I love that there's a name for Active Tango community members. Second of all, I think I know what you mean. As we transition from campaign coverage to administration coverage, we're writing about Trump the elected official for the first time. For most of our readers, Trump the candidate has theoretical policies, and those are impossible to discuss dispassionately with Trump the elected officials actual policies. It's impossible. At the same time as Trump has taken office, we've also been blessed by a huge influx of readers and listeners. Not only did we increase our membership by over 100,000 subscribers in one month after we were featured on this American Life, but since Executive Editor Isaac Saul left for paternity leave, we've added another 20,000. Everyone that's here is drawn to the same promise of Tangle that we've had since before I started working here as a lowly contract editor for Isaac's one Man show. That is to engage with differing perspectives and provide a source of news that everyone can trust, regardless of their politics. To do that, we pursue a model that is very different from most normal news outlets. We cover one big story a day, including a broad range of opinions, in as much depth depth as we can muster. Then we read your feedback and respond to as much as we can. And I've seen firsthand that new readers are surprised that when they shout at us, they're shouting at us and not into a nameless void. In a media climate that typically plays to a base and ignores criticisms, it takes time for readers to adapt to the Tangle culture we're trying to grow one of direct but civil disagreement. If you're newer to Tangle and you disagree with something we write or topic selection or anything else, here is my one Ask. Instead of passionately voicing your disagreement in the comments, which you can go to eadtango.com if you want, I just ask that you ask a question instead. Ask yourself, what if there's something I might be missing? Why would someone disagree with me? And then politely ask a question. Dak this question asker is in the comments every day. I'm sure he and other Tangliers would be happy to engage.

Ari Weitzman (29:45)

Thanks, Ari. Here's your under the radar story for today, folks. The Trump administration has decided not to release White House visitor logs during the president's second term, continuing the policy of his first administration. Presidents are not required to make this information public, as visitor logs are subject to the Presidential Records act and do not need to be released until five years after a president has left office. Furthermore, past administrations have historically kept them private. However, Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden released visitor logs during their terms in response to requests from groups on the right and the left, though some of Biden's records were incomplete. Now Trump has opted to discontinue the practice during his term. The Washington examiner has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description alright, next up is our Numbers section. The CFPB's funding request from the Federal Reserve for its budget in fiscal year 2011 was $161 million. The CFPB's funding request from the Federal Reserve for its budget in the fiscal year 2023 was $721 million. The annualized growth in spending by the CFPB between 2011 and 2014 was 76.9%. The annualized growth in spending bythe CFPB between 2020 and 2023 was 10.2%. The approximate amount of monetary compensation, principal reductions, canceled debts, and other consumer relief stemming from CFPB enforcement actions and supervisory work is $21 billion. As of December 3, 2024, the estimated number of consumers or consumer accounts eligible to receive relief from the CFPB's enforcement and supervisory work is 205 million, and the approximate number of consumer complaints sent to companies for response by The CFPB is 6.8 million. And last but not least, our have a nice day story. Adam Simmons and Michael Brown are co founders of Home Kitchen, the first fine dining restaurant run entirely by homeless people. As part of its effort to change the public's perception of what it means to be homeless and combat economic barriers of homelessness. The restaurant provides each staff member with a prepaid travel card for transportation, funds for a catering qualification, and of course, a wage that covers their basic needs. We're here to do a job, build ourselves up. An employee named Jeremy shared Good Good Good has this story and there's a link in today's episode description alright, that is it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, Please go to readtangle.com where you can sign up for a newsletter membership, podcast membership, or both. We we are currently on the last day of our bundled package subscription where you can receive 20% off for the life of your membership. But again, today's the last day, so if you haven't yet already, this is the best opportunity to get the best pricing that we offer. We'll be right back here tomorrow. For Ari and the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a great day y'all. Peace.

Ryan Reynolds (32:48)

Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Duke Thomas. Our script is edited by Ari Weitzman, Will K Back Daily, Saul and Sean Brady.

Ari Weitzman (32:58)

The logo for our podcast was made.

Ryan Reynolds (32:59)

By Magdalena Bova, who is also our social media manager. The music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. And if you are looking for more from Tangle, please go check out our website@readtangle.com that's readtangle.com if you're a maintenance supervisor for a commercial property, you've had to deal with everything from leaky faucets to flickering light bulbs. But nothing's worse than that ancient boiler that's lived in the building since the day it was built 50 years ago. It's enough to make anyone lose their cool. That's where Grainger comes in. With industrial grade products and dependable, fast, fast delivery, Grainger can help with any challenge from worn out components to everyday necessities. Call click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

John Law (33:56)

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