(Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The US Senate on Wednesday voted to nullify a Biden-era rule that allowed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to monitor digital payment platforms.
As The Verge reports, the resolution is pending House approval, but the Republicans who introduced it say it's necessary to reduce the CFPB’s authority. "Our legislation eliminates barriers to innovation, cuts red tape, and supports our job creators," said Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
The vote comes just over a month after Elon Musk’s X announced plans to launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment system in partnership with Visa, dubbed X Money. Given Musk's involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has included access to sensitive government payment systems, two Democrats wrote to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) "requesting clarification regarding Mr. Musk’s compliance with federal conflicts of interest, ethics, and reporting requirements."
"The CFPB has taken steps in recent years to protect consumers from fraud on digital payment apps and collects proprietary information from the digital payment industry," Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California wrote in their letter.
Recommended by Our Editors
The senators also pointed to Tesla, where Musk serves as CEO. The EV maker "offers customers the option of working with Tesla to finance their auto purchases. The CFPB plays a critical role in supervising the auto lending industry and protecting consumers from corporate malfeasance and scams. Therefore, actions by Mr. Musk and DOGE at the CFPB have the potential to directly benefit X, Visa, and Tesla—and by extension, Mr. Musk,” they said.
Musk has tangled with the CFPB (as well as Warren and Schiff) multiple times. According to Musk, the CFPB is a "duplicative regulatory” agency that has done “above zero good things.” However, as of Jan. 30, 2025, the agency had claimed $19.7 billion in consumer relief and imposed $5 billion in civil money penalties.
The Trump administration is currently trying to dismantle the CFPB. Last month, a union representing the agency sued, claiming the administration unlawfully asked employees to stop working. Some reportedly submitted sworn statements saying Trump wanted the CFPB to exist in name only. Earlier this week, the mass firing was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
Also this week, the CFPB dropped its lawsuit against Zelle, a service co-owned by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and four other banks.