Why does the administration see the FTC’s consumer protection efforts as ok but not the CFPB’s?

I hope some reporter will ask that question of someone in the Trump administration but I’m not sure who the person to ask would be. OMB Director and CFPB Interim Director Russell Vought? We have written at length about the administration’s attempts to shutter and shatter the CFPB. The FTC has certainly taken some hits, including the firing of its Democratic commissioners, but nothing like the CFPB. Why the difference? Is it because the banks are so powerful in Washington? Is it because the FTC has a long history while the CFPB is still only a teenager? Is it because their missions are different (e.g., the CFPB supervises financial institutions while the FTC has antitrust responsibilities)? On the other hand, their missions overlap (e.g., FDCPA enforcement). Is it because of Musk’s hostility to the CFPB (remember his call to delete it)? If so, will the messy Trump-Musk divorce change anything? Personally, I don’t think it’s because of Musk; Vought’s Project 2025 called for the elimination of the CFPB long before Musk married then-candidate Trump, at least publicly.  Or is there some other explanation?

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