CFPB To Begin Transferring Remaining Litigation To DOJ Amid Funding Collapse

The  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is preparing to move almost all of its active court cases over to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) because the Bureau expects to run out of money under its current funding mechanism.​

What is happening

On or around November 20, 2025, CFPB leadership told staff that the Bureau will begin transferring its remaining enforcement lawsuits and other pending litigation in federal district and appellate courts to DOJ in the coming weeks. These transfers cover the relatively small number of active enforcement actions and several lawsuits challenging CFPB rules, while ongoing investigations are expected, for now, to stay with the CFPB.​

Why funding is “collapsing”

The move follows a new legal opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluding that the CFPB may not lawfully request additional funds from the Federal Reserve because the Fed has had no “combined earnings” (profits) since 2022. Acting Director Russell Vought has accepted that opinion and has declined to draw down remaining reserve funds, leading the Bureau to forecast that it will exhaust its available funding in late 2025 or early 2026 unless Congress provides new appropriations, which appears politically unlikely.​

What it means for cases and staff

Reports indicate that DOJ will assume responsibility for CFPB’s active litigation, but it is not yet clear whether every case will survive the transition or whether schedules and strategies will change once DOJ lawyers take over. Inside the Bureau, officials have discussed furloughing roughly 100 or more enforcement attorneys and issuing broader furloughs by year‑end as operations wind down in anticipation of a shutdown.​

Broader legal and policy context

This funding crisis comes even though the Supreme Court upheld the CFPB’s basic funding structure as constitutional in 2024; the new dispute is narrower, focusing on whether the statutory phrase “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System” allows any funding when the Fed is operating at a loss. The administration’s position and the transfer of cases to DOJ are widely viewed as steps toward a de facto dismantling or severe curtailment of the CFPB unless Congress intervenes or courts reject the new funding theory in ongoing litigation.​

Key practical implications

For companies, supervised entities should expect that any active CFPB court cases may soon be handled by DOJ trial teams, potentially changing negotiation dynamics, litigation posture, and timelines. For consumers, the main risk flagged by CFPB employee groups and advocacy organizations is that a hollowed‑out Bureau with mass furloughs and no fresh funding could leave some consumer protection issues under‑enforced or dependent on DOJ and state regulators to fill the gap.​

Most reporting indicates that essentially all of the CFPB’s active court litigation—13 remaining cases in total—is slated to be transferred to the Department of Justice, but the agencies have not publicly released a full, case‑by‑case list.​

Scope of the transfers

• The transfer covers all of the CFPB’s active enforcement lawsuits that are still being litigated in federal district and appellate courts, after the Bureau dismissed roughly 20‑plus other enforcement actions earlier in 2025.​

• It also includes several lawsuits challenging CFPB regulations, including at least one case attacking the agency’s new open banking rule and other rulemaking‑challenge suits.​

What is not being transferred

• Ongoing CFPB investigations and supervisory work are expected to remain with the Bureau for now, at least until the funding situation or any shutdown is resolved.​

• Internal employment‑related litigation involving CFPB staff is being handled separately and is not described as part of the enforcement‑to‑DOJ transfer.​

Why there is no public “list” yet

• Public and trade‑press accounts consistently say there are 13 active cases and that all active litigation is moving to DOJ, but they describe the matters only in general categories (enforcement actions and rule challenges) without naming every defendant or docket number.​

• Absent a formal joint announcement, the most reliable way to identify the specific cases is to cross‑check the CFPB’s enforcement actions page and PACER/docket records and see which cases show DOJ attorneys substituting in for CFPB counsel over the coming weeks.​