The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been left with a gaping hole in its oversight of financial institutions and tech firms venturing into financial technology after the termination of around 20 technologists on Thursday evening. This move follows an earlier round of layoffs of mostly contractors and probationary employees on Tuesday, as reported by Wired.

The CFPB's technology team, which specialized in understanding Big Tech's entrance into financial products, received termination notices in their personal emails around 7 PM Eastern Time on Thursday. One member of the team reported that the email didn't come until about 20 minutes after they noticed they were locked out of Teams and Outlook on their work phone.

The terminations are attributed to President Donald Trump's executive order instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, to help cull the federal workforce. The CFPB acting chief human capital officer, Adam Martinez, referenced the executive order in a copy of a termination letter obtained by The Verge.

The loss of expertise from the technology team has sparked concerns over the agency's ability to investigate and supervise firms, particularly those in the tech industry. "We can't investigate firms or supervise firms if we don't understand the technology we're investigating," said Erie Meyer, who served as chief technologist at the CFPB during the Biden administration. Meyer, who hired technologists to the CFPB, emphasized the importance of having experts who can embed across the agency and lend their expertise in everything from research to enforcement.

The technology team's backgrounds in the private sector also helped them understand where to look for information in technical systems. This expertise is crucial in pushing back against companies that may try to obscure information or misrepresent their practices. With the team's departure, consumer complaints may go unanswered, and companies may be able to get away with shady practices by exploiting technical complexity.

The CFPB's data, which includes enforcement actions, investigations, market research, and sensitive consumer information, is now at risk of being accessed by DOGE staff. A recent lawsuit by a federal workers' union claims that Trump administration official Russell Vought demanded DOGE be given access to non-classified systems at the agency. This level of access is unusual and concerning, as it could create unfair competitive advantages for companies like Musk's X, which plans to move into payments services.

Consumers will likely feel the impact of the technology team's departure, as the portal for consumer complaints is likely no longer being monitored. The agency would receive complaints when consumers were locked out of their bank accounts after data breaches, for example, and could often get their issues addressed within days. With the team gone, consumers may have nowhere else to turn, and state attorney generals may not have the capacity to fill the gap.

Despite the slashing of the government workforce, some former staffers remain hopeful that they can continue to make a positive impact. "I took this job because it was by far the best opportunity I had to help as many people as possible, as much as I possibly could," said one former technology worker. "It's such an impactful job that, yeah, I would definitely take it, provided I felt that I had the capacity to continue helping people."