In 'Blatant Gift' to Musk's X Money Scheme, Republicans Move to Further Gut CFPB

Republicans in the U.S. Senate are expected to vote Wednesday to rescind a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule aimed at safeguarding the public from scammers on digital payment apps, a move that would directly benefit billionaire Elon Musk's effort to transform his social media platform into a virtual wallet as well as Trump Media's foray into financial services.

"Musk wants to cripple consumer protections for digital payment apps and the U.S. Senate is doing his bidding," Emily Peterson-Cassin, corporate power director at Demand Progress, said in a statement ahead of the vote, which is expected late Wednesday afternoon.

"Not only does Musk want X, a platform swarming with bots and crypto scams, to be able to reach into your bank account, he also wants to defang and 'delete' the agency responsible for ensuring that X Money follows federal standards for data security and fraudulent payment disputes," Peterson-Cassin added. "Senators must side with American consumers, and not online scammers, by voting 'NO' on this dangerous bill."

The vote will come as Musk and President Donald Trump work to gut the CFPB by firing much of its staff and halting its work to protect consumers from corporate abuses.

On Tuesday, the CFPB—currently under the control of far-right ideologue and Project 2025 architect Russell Vought—dropped its lawsuit against the digital payment platform Zelle and major Wall Street banks, which were accused of "failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud."

Demand Progress said Wednesday that the vote on the GOP-led Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, which requires just a simple-majority vote to pass both chambers of Congress, is "the latest in a damning and telling chain of events benefiting Elon Musk."

The group laid out the timeline:

• November 21, 2024: The CFPB finalizes a rule enabling the agency to proactively supervise digital payment apps;
• November 27, 2024: Musk tweets 'Delete CFPB';
• January 28, 2025: X CEO announces that X Money will debut with a partnership with Visa;
• February 7, 2025: Musk's DOGE staffers enter the CFPB and kick off an effort to shut it down; and
• March 5, 2025: The Senate is set to vote on legislation to revoke the CFPB's digital payments rule.

"Every step of the way, Musk has gotten closer to launching X Money without a watchdog to ensure that the platform adheres to federal rules mandating data security standards, disputes for fraudulent payments, consumer protections against debanking, and more," said Demand Progress.

During floor debate on Senate Republicans' attempt to revoke the CFPB's digital payment rule, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said sardonically that he is "sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Elon Musk wants to start a payment app."

The New York Times noted last month that "at X, one of the most promising ways Mr. Musk can increase profits is through a payments business, which could charge fees for transactions."

"Building out that business would be easier without having to contend with a regulator like the consumer bureau, which has a recent track record of bringing cases against payment companies," the Times added.

Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog group Accountable.US, said in a statement Wednesday that the Republican push to rescind the CFPB rule "only serves Big Tech and the personal finances of Trump and Musk themselves."

"This is a blatant gift to industry donors and the wealthy, allowing companies like Apple, PayPal, and X Money to avoid federal laws designed to protect consumers from fraud and abuse," said Carrk. "Payment apps are no longer a novelty; these companies process over 13 billion transactions a year. Users deserve a safe and secure experience, but they won't get that if Republicans get their way. Today's vote is the latest, glaring example of Trump and Republicans undermining consumer protections all in service of making things easier for big corporations and worse for everyday Americans."