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Suspect arrested in arson at Pennsylvania Governor's mansion; AZ universities thread needle to comply with Trump DEI order; National tally shows military arsenal among OH taxpayers' top expenses; Helicopter in Hudson River crash lacked flight recorders; Social Security cuts could impact one in six Coloradans.

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FEMA, other disaster preparedness agencies could face tough times due to budget cuts. Crop seed preservation in a precarious state under Trump administration. And new executive order undercuts states' powers on climate change.

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Trump's tariffs sow doubt and stress for America's farmers, rural Democrats want working class voters back in the fold, and a cancelled local food program for kids worries folks in Maine.

VA advocates chart new path without consumer rights watchdog

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Monday, March 10, 2025   

Consumer advocates in Virginia and around the country are trying to chart a new path forward as a federal consumer rights watchdog is being effectively "defanged."

In February, dozens of probationary employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were fired.

Between 2021 and 2025, the bureau gave $9.4 billion back to consumers but the Trump administration has pulled the agency off numerous consumer protection lawsuits, including against major bank Capital One for allegedly cheating millions of customers out of $2 billion in interest.

Jay Speer, consumer rights attorney and executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said consumers will feel the brunt of the decisions.

"People not going to get all this money back that they should be getting from these wrongdoers," Speer pointed out. "Basically, it's a message to big companies that they can do whatever they want. Nobody's going to stop them, so abuse of consumers is just going to get worse. There's no question about it."

Russell Vought, Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget, has posted on social media the bureau is "woke" and weaponized.

Advocates are putting up a fight. Speer pointed out his organization has joined a lawsuit to stop the bureau's closure. He argued administration efforts to disband the agency break the law and cut into Congress' power to create new federal agencies.

"Congress established this," Speer stressed. "It's not up to the executive branch to just do away with it by some executive order or whatever they claim they have the authority to do it. That's not right."

Conservatives called for the bureau's closure in Project 2025, which Vought helped author.

Disclosure: The Virginia Poverty Law Center contributes to our fund for reporting on Civil Rights, Housing/Homelessness, Poverty Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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