States sue to block closure of consumer agency

California joins others seeking to prevent defunding of financial protection bureau.

- By LAURENCE DARMIENTO

THE SUIT asserts that the CFPB is crucial for states to carry out their own consumer protection mission.

(JACQUELYN MARTIN Associated Press)

California joined 20 other states and the District of Columbia on Monday in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from being defunded and closed by the Trump administration.

The legal action filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., by the Democratic attorneys general accuses acting Director Russell Vought of trying to illegally withhold funds from the agency by unlawfully interpreting its funding statute. Also named as defendants are the agency itself and the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.

“For California, the CFPB has been an invaluable enforcement partner, working hand in hand with our office to protect pocketbooks and stop unfair business practices. But once again, the Trump administration is trying to weaken and ultimately dismantle the CFPB,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a news conference to announce the 4l-page legal action.

The lawsuit asserts that the agency is crucial for states to carry out their own consumer protection mission and that its closure would deprive them of their statutorily guaranteed access to a database run by the bureau that tracks millions of consumer complaints, as well as to other data.