House passes budget bill that would slash CFPB funding cap; CFPB sharply reduces consent order fine; CFPB moving forward with ICBA testing for revised loan disclosures; FTA defends open banking rule.

President Trump plans to nominate Jonathan McKernan as undersecretary of domestic finance at the Department of the Treasury. The news comes as a surprise as McKernan was slated to be the next director of the CFPB.

The appeals court later this month will consider the separation of powers and other arguments raised by the parties involved.

If passed by the full House and Senate, the CFPB would only have around 30% of its current funding availability.

Moving forward, the bureau will issue guidance only when necessary and if compliance burdens will be reduced.

At one point, the bureau appeared to consider firing only around 648 employees, which would leave the agency with more than 900 employees, according to newly filed internal emails.

According to industry insiders, there is room for state and federal regulators while also supporting the independence of federal agencies.

The move continues a recent pattern of withdrawing the bureau from lawsuits under new leadership at the CFPB.

Several state AGs seeking answers from the CFPB regarding restitution; CFPB won’t prioritize BNPL enforcement; Pennsylvania kickstarts new consumer complaint tools; CSBS wants preemption regulations rescinded; GAO to investigate CFPB activity; CFPB won’t focus on enforcement actions regarding the small-business lending final rule.

Two operators of peer-to-peer lending platforms, Block and Early Warning Services, saw an unusual surge in consumer complaints filed with the CFPB during the first quarter. (Includes two data tables.)