“[Trump and Musk] don’t want watchdogs protecting the people. They want predators and bad actors to run rampant and take people for a ride”

“These men just want to pillage the government and make themselves rich.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) at a rally with colleagues, workers and advocates to protest Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s unlawful takeover of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The rally comes after the Trump Administration and acting CFPB Director Russell Vought abruptly froze funding for the agency, halted all enforcement and supervision, closed the bureau’s headquarters for the week, and told staff to work remotely.

A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below and the full video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Rallies With Warren, Waters, Advocates to Save CFPB from Trump-Musk Takeover
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
February 10, 2025

Last week, I saw a sign in the crowd that said, “DOGE” stands for Dangerous Oligarchs Grab at Everything.” And I said it then, and I’ll say it again, that Elon Musk, he needs to keep his grubby hands, his greedy, grubby hands, off of our government. 

You know, I don’t know about all of you, but I’m having a hard time sleeping at night. My daughter is 16 years old and looking at colleges, and I’m so worried about the world that she’s living in now, in the world that she will inherit. And I ask myself, you know, how did we get here? How were working men and women convinced to believe that a failed businessman who is godless and lawless could lead them anywhere? Because he lied, because he’s a liar and a crook. But you know, he’s been given a lot of oxygen, I want to give you all some. 

You’re all here when you could have been anywhere else, because you give a damn. You give a damn about this country, you give a damn about our democracy, you give a damn about your neighbors. You are the true patriots. 

Now, you may not have an occupant in the Oval Office that cares about lifting your burdens and lightening your loads and harnessing your dreams to make them real, but know that the Democrats that stand behind me, they have got your back, and we will stand up and we will fight until they stand down, because we are going to match their energy.

Elon Musk and your muskrats. Elon Musk, I mean, Donald Trump, same thing at this point, right? Who really is the president, Donald? 

Donald Trump ran on a promise to bring down costs for everyday people. Didn’t have a plan for it, but said he would. Well, Donald, how’s that going? I’ll ask you all, how’s it going? Are your eggs cheaper? Is your housing more affordable? Tell me how letting Elon put his paws in the cookie jar is helping a single person who calls this country home. 

Families are struggling. The rent is too damn high. The cost of groceries is too damn high. The big banks and giant corporations are all too eager to nickel and dime hard working people, and you know what has been a saving grace for families trying to hold onto a buck? This small but mighty government agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Now look, those of you watching you may have never heard of them. You know, isn’t it just the truth that you don’t know how much you benefit from your government or your democracy until someone comes through with a wrecking ball and creates a constitutional crisis with an unprecedented power grab. 

You’ve never heard of them, but trust me, they’ve been working hard for you, the people, for over a decade. 

They are the same agency that got banks to cap overdraft fees. They take on scammers that are after our elders’ money. They stop the medical debt from digging your credit report. They go after banks that practice lending discrimination. 

This is what we’re gonna dismantle? What in the hell kind of “government efficiency” is that? No justice for scammed elders? 

Look, let me tell you something. I’ll take a bit of umbrage here. I’ll speak on behalf of my colleagues. I bet I can say, we are all willing to work with anyone who’s serious about doing the work of centering the American people and advancing progress. But they are not serious. 

This is not about government efficiency. What kind of efficiency makes people hungrier, poorer and less safe? 

The CFPB are watchdogs fighting for the people, so no wonder Elon and Donald want to gut it. They don’t want watchdogs protecting the people. They want predators and bad actors to run rampant and take people for a ride. 

These men just want to pillage the government and make themselves rich. 

Meanwhile, the CFPB, this essential agency that put $21 billion, that’s B with a billion, dollars back in people’s pockets. Now, if you’re Elon Musk with a net worth — are y’all ready? — of near $400 billion maybe that’s pocket change, but not for everyday people.

The good policies coming out of this place have been make or break for folks struggling to make ends meet in the midst of recessions, pandemics and much more. So I just want to take a moment, because I told some stories and profiles about people who’ve been protected and helped by this agency, but I don’t want this workforce to be faceless to you. 

Can we just thank this dedicated workforce at the CFPB [and] agencies across our government who have been doing this life saving work?

They take pride in this work.

[crowd chanting]

That’s right. That’s right.

They do life-saving work, and this is also about their lives and their livelihoods as well. So we’re grateful to them in the midst of this unprecedented assault on our democracy.

And I want to say to them, the uncertainty and fear that you are feeling today is real, but I want you to know that every single person here and then some has your back.

And we are going to litigate, legislate, agitate and resist, because you are worth it. So we will see you in Congress, in the courts, and in the streets.

And I’ll close it out here again as I think about my 16-year-old daughter. A movement sibling of all of ours, Cecile Richards, an incredible warrior for justice, recently transitioned, and in the midst of battling cancer, she was still out in these streets, organizing and resisting. 

And she was asked, What are you doing here? You’re still fighting when you’re in a fight for your life? And her response was, “the question will be asked when everything was at stake for the country, what did you do? And the only acceptable answer will be everything that I could.”

Thank you all.

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