Stacy Cowley

The president signed an order that would deny loan forgiveness to workers for groups engaged in “substantial illegal activities,” which it indicated included things like diversity initiatives.

A spokeswoman for the payment app’s parent company said the lawsuit against three large banks was “without merit, and legally and factually flawed.”

The move, on a suit that had accused the bank of tricking customers, was one of several dismissals ordered by Trump officials who are dismantling the agency.

Warren Buffett’s conglomerate held $334 billion in cash at the end of 2024, helping to stabilize earnings in the face of declines at more than half of the nearly 200 businesses it operates.

Agency workers, including some who were listening to the hearing remotely, expressed immediate joy and relief.

Former officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Elon Musk’s payment-business aspirations were driving his efforts to hobble the agency.

Jonathan McKernan has been nominated to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been in turmoil for days and has fired a number of probationary employees.

Since the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued stop-work orders, employees have been trying to decipher exactly what they mean.

The agency had been one of Wall Street’s most feared regulators, with the power to issue rules on mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other areas affecting Americans’ financial lives.

The order to shutter the agency’s headquarters follows another order issued Saturday by Mr. Vought, who also leads the Office of Management and Budget, telling agency employees to halt nearly all their work.