February 19, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former top officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are available for media interviews to discuss why it’s urgent for the agency to be able to get back to work protecting consumers from financial fraud and crimes.
The Trump Administration muzzled the consumer protection agency tasked with ensuring that financial services providers follow the law in early February, ordering a halt to all supervisory and investigative activities; all law enforcement work, including new investigations as well as lawsuits related to enforcement actions already initiated by the agency; and all communication with the public. New CFPB leadership is also refusing to comply with nearly 90 congressional mandates designed to protect consumers. Last week, dozens of staff—including the student loan ombudsman—were illegally fired by CFPB leadership, and this week, agency headquarters remain closed for the second week in a row.
CFPB experts available for interviews to discuss why the CFPB must be allowed to get back to work include:
- Seth Frotman, former general counsel at the CFPB; co-founder, SBPC. As the CFPB’s top lawyer, Frotman led a successful effort to defend the constitutionality of the agency at the Supreme Court, resulting in a resounding 7-2 decision in favor of the CFPB. Frotman also worked to guide the CFPB’s strong pro-consumer agenda. Before returning to the CFPB in 2021, Frotman co-founded the Student Borrower Protection Center, with current SBPC executive director Mike Pierce. Previously, he spent more than seven years at the CFPB in a series of roles: as Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman, leading the agency’s work on student loan origination, servicing, debt collection, and oversight of for-profit institutions of higher education; and as senior advisor to Holly Petraeus, Assistant Director for Servicemember Affairs at the CFPB, where he helped lead the Bureau’s work to protect servicemembers, veterans, and military families.
- Julie Margetta Morgan, former associate director (Research, Monitoring, and Markets) at the CFPB. At the CFPB, Morgan oversaw the agency’s market monitoring, rulemaking, and research agenda. Prior to that role, she was the Assistant Director of the office of Policy Planning and Strategy, where she led the agency’s policy development and served as a senior advisor to then-Director Chopra. Under Julie’s leadership, the agency furthered its agenda on curbing medical debt, reducing costly junk fees, and promoting a fair and competitive financial marketplace.
- Erie Meyer, former chief technologist at the CFPB. At the CFPB, Meyer led a team of expert technologists, all of whom were recently dismissed by new CFPB leadership. She recently filed an affidavit in federal court concerning the CFPB’s records, data management practices, and the threat that mass data deletion would pose to the consumer protection work of the CFPB. Meyer served on the implementation team that launched the CFPB, and became a founding team member of the Bureau’s Office of Technology and Innovation. Before rejoining the CFPB in 2021, Ms. Meyer served as Senior Advisor to Chair Khan for Policy Planning and Chief Technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, and as then-Commissioner Chopra’s Technology Advisor. Before serving at the FTC, she launched the U.S. Digital Service in the White House.
- Mike Pierce, former CFPB deputy assistant director (Office for Students and Young Consumers); SBPC co-founder and executive director. Pierce is an attorney, advocate, and former senior regulator who co-founded SBPC after more than a decade fighting for student loan borrowers’ rights on Capitol Hill and at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Before he left government service to start the SBPC, for seven years, Mike was the CFPB’s lead subject-matter expert on higher education and consumer protection. He advised all aspects of the Bureau’s work related to student lending, servicing, debt collection, and oversight of for-profit colleges. From 2015 to 2017, Mike also served as a Deputy Assistant Director of the Bureau, leading the day-to-day operations of the Bureau’s Office for Students and Young Consumers.
Background
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the nation’s top watchdog protecting Americans against predatory lenders and corporate fraudsters. In recent days, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took over the CFPB. According to news reports, Musk’s team has worked to access sensitive data and confidential supervisory information that the CFPB gathers from companies in order to keep consumers safe.
Created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress gave the explicit directives to establish offices and programming dedicated to protecting vulnerable consumers, issue regulations to govern particular industries, and ensure transparent access to information about consumer financial products. Since opening its doors, the CFPB has directly obtained over $21 billion in relief for more than 205 million people from companies that illegally cheated consumers. This includes more than $5 billion in relief for Americans with student debt, and uncovering evidence that led to the U.S. Department of Education cancelling $188.8 billion of student debt for 5.3 million borrowers. The CFPB has been hard at work over the last decade and is broadly popular among both Democratic and Republican voters, and the agency has received support across many different sectors.
Further Reading
SBPC and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) memo identifying 87 congressionally imposed mandates Director Vought is refusing to perform: Advocates Applaud Lawsuits Challenging Trump and Vought’s Corrupt and Unlawful Attempt to “Delete” Consumer Watchdog Agency, CFPB
SBPC memo on Twitter/X payments: Twitter/X Payments: Public Corruption Poses Risks for Consumers and Competition
SBPC blog on Musk and DOGE illegal attempt to “delete” CFPB: Elon and DOGE Are Attempting To Illegally “Delete” the CFPB, Here Is Why This Matters To Student Loan Borrower
SBPC press release on CFPB Director Chopra’s firing:CFPB Director Chopra’s Firing Tops Oligarchs’ Wishlist, Foreshadows Swing in Consumer Agency Priorities to Benefit Big Banks and Billionaires
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.