On February 12, 2025, the NPR reported that dozens of probationary employees at the CFPB had their jobs terminated. CFPB's union has identified approximately 73 "bargaining-unit" employees in their probationary period who were terminated, and believes non-union employees were also fired.
The firings come as President Trump nominated Jonathan McKernan to be the next director of the CFPB. McKernan will replace Russell Vought who was designated acting director on February 7, 2025. Vought announced the next day that he had cut off the agency’s budget and reportedly instructed staff to suspend all activities including the supervision of companies overseen by the agency. It was also reported that the Washington CFPB headquarters will be closed for the week and all employees are to work remotely.
According to the NPR, they’ve received information that the termination letters were sent via email, many with no personalization in what appears to be a mail merge failure. The letters, sent from the acting Chief Human Capital Officer for the agency, reads: "MEMORANDUM FOR [EmployeeFirstName] [EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division]". The termination letters included a note that fired employees can file an appeal if they "believe this action is being taken based on partisan political reasons."
Read the NPR’s report on the closing of the CFPB here.
The report on firing of workers can be found here.