Stop the “humility pledge” — Protect the CFPB

The CFPB is forcing its own examiners to recite a humility pledge to banks — a shocking move that signals a coordinated effort to weaken the agency and roll back vital consumer protections.

This new pledge, set to take effect in early 2026, tells examiners to present supervision as cooperative rather than rigorous. Reporting from Bloomberg Law and the New York Times confirms it would limit the scope of bank exams and pressure staff into softer, less effective oversight — exactly what Wall Street lobbyists have long pushed for. Meanwhile, CFPB workers are publicly protesting the mandate, calling it a disturbing attempt to restrain and intimidate the agency’s own workforce.

And it’s only one piece of a larger plan. Earlier this year, the CFPB shifted its enforcement strategy to focus almost entirely on narrow cases of fraud with individually identifiable victims, abandoning broader investigations into abuses in student lending, digital payments, credit reporting, and medical debt. At the same time, the agency is preparing deep staff cuts that would gut its enforcement capacity. These steps, taken together, form a roadmap to hollow out the CFPB — and ultimately shut it down.

We need immediate public pressure to stop this. When tens of thousands of people speak up, key decision-makers — including CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, the White House, and members of the Senate Banking Committee — will be forced to confront public outrage and reverse course. Public pressure has stopped harmful rollbacks before; it can again.

Our demand is clear: rescind the humility pledge requirement, restore full investigative authority, halt plans for layoffs, and recommit to the CFPB’s mandate under Dodd-Frank. Congress must also reject any legislation that aims to weaken or defund the agency.

Sign now and share widely. We must act before the pledge goes into effect. If we stay silent, this could be the moment the nation’s consumer watchdog is permanently muzzled.