PBS News Hour

GEOFF BENNETT: The Consumer Financial Protection# Bureau has been shut down by President Trump,## at least for this week and possibly# much longer, perhaps permanently.

The agency, which was created by Congress after# the 2008 financial crisis, has limited credit## card fees, made mortgage loans easier# to understand and returned billions of## dollars to consumers.

But it's also long been a# target by many who see it as overly aggressive.

Rohit Chopra is the former# director of the Consumer## Financial Protection Bureau and joins us now.

Thanks for coming in.

ROHIT CHOPRA, Former Dir.. GEOFF BENNETT: So this has been kn.. watchdog agencies.

Why?

What has typically# fallen under its purview since its creation?

ROHIT CHOPRA: Well we saw what happened in# the years leading up to the financial crisis,## mortgages that were setting people up# to fail, and it crashed the economy.

So what Congress did is created some real# law enforcement with teeth to take down## crimes against consumers.

And over the years, we# have recovered billions of dollars of funds that## were really taken from people.

They were# cheated.

And it's back in their pockets.

I don't think it makes any sense to defund# law enforcement that is policing Wall Street,## big tech companies and others who are taking# advantage of people who are just trying to get by.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the broad scope# of work is one of the reasons,## as you well know, why Republicans# have been targeting it for so long.

Russell Vought, who is the newly# installed acting head of the agency,## over the weekend, he tweeted this: "The CFPB# has been a woke and weaponized agency against## disfavored industries and individuals for a long# time.

This must end," to which you would say what?

ROHIT CHOPRA: Well, I don't# know what on earth that means.

The actions that have been taken by the CFPB in# the past few years are against debt collectors## who are illegally collecting on medical# debt against companies like Capital One,## which have been withholding# billions of dollars in interest,## credit reporting companies who have tarnished# credit reports improperly due to errors.

These are things that people of every political# stripe want to protect themselves against.

And## often consumers do not have much power# against some of the most -- the biggest## corporations in America.

And that's what# the CFPB does to level the playing field.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, apart from those who view# the agency as being too aggressive, there are## people who wonder if the functions could be# carried out in another way.

Every state has## a consumer protection office.

Why can't states# do this work?

Why can't the DOJ do this work?

ROHIT CHOPRA: Well, we tried that,# and it was an enormous failure.

That's one of the reasons why there was a# mortgage crisis.

There was not a dedicated## group of law enforcers focused on this.

If people# want to play some sort of game of musical chairs,## that feels like pretext for actually# wanting to sweep crime under the rug## by some of the most powerful people in# America, and that's just totally wrong.

GEOFF BENNETT: During the first Trump term,# the agency at one point requested a budget## of zero dollars.

This was back when Mick# Mulvaney was the interim head of the agency,## and this was done as a way to# defang its enforcement actions.

What was the impact then and what's the# comparison between what was done then## and what Republicans, what the Trump# administration is trying to do now?

ROHIT CHOPRA: Well, when I took over as director# of the CFPB, there was not much oversight over big## companies.

And in some ways, there was concerns# that it was just focused on small-scale actors.

But just take a look in the last few weeks of the# last administration.

We saw the CFPB sue Capital## One, sue Experian, one of the biggest credit# reporting conglomerates, get $120 million back## from Cash App, one of the biggest payment# apps, and the list goes on and on and on.

And I really think defunding this# type of oversight is just begging## for another financial crisis,# and it's a complete giveaway to## many of these big tech companies who# increasingly want to become a bank.

GEOFF BENNETT: What are the implications of this# current shutdown?

What work is not getting done?

ROHIT CHOPRA: Well, that's what I want# to know, and we have to figure out, are## all of the investigations that were in advanced# stages, is all of that going to simply be deleted?

And that means all of those consumers who might# have been cheated and all of the companies and## their executives, who's really winning# in that?

And it's clearly not consumers.

GEOFF BENNETT: Rohit Chopra,# former director of the Consumer## Financial Protection board, thanks so much.

ROHIT CHOPRA: Thanks.