A federal court granted summary judgment to Minnesota AG Keith Ellison and a coalition of 22 attorneys general in their lawsuit challenging the CFPB Acting Director’s decision not to seek funding. The court held the refusal unlawful and required the current Acting Director to request necessary funding so the CFPB can continue operating.
The court held that the CFPB Acting Director must request necessary funding from the Federal Reserve to allow the agency to operate as Congress intended.
This ruling does not identify a privacy violation or impose new privacy-contract requirements. In agreements supporting consumer financial products, review vendor and customer clauses for complaint intake and escalation, access to complaint data, cooperation with regulators, consumer restitution, and notice of regulatory changes; ensure vendors can preserve and provide relevant records if the CFPB or state regulators investigate. Employee agreements are not specifically implicated by this action.
Entity
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/09/28_CFPB.asp
cfpb opinion
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/cfpb-opinion.pdf
0 25 cv 02384 CFPB Complaint
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2025/docs/0-25-cv-02384_CFPB_Complaint.pdf
Minnesota Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/
"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)"
"violated the Separation of Powers Clause in the U.S. Constitution."
"the CFPB Acting Director’s unlawful decision not to fund the agency’s operations"
"the current CFPB Acting Director Mark Paoletta must request necessary funding from the Federal Reserve"
"a coalition of 22 attorneys general"
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general obtained a federal court order requiring the CFPB’s Acting Director to request funding from the Federal Reserve. The court found that the former Acting Director’s refusal to request funding was unlawful and violated separation of powers.
On April 17, 2026, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in sending a comment letter to CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought opposing the CFPB’s proposed strategic plan, which would drastically reduce agency staffing, weaken supervision of financial institutions, and curtail enforcement capacity. The coalition argues the plan would abdicate the CFPB’s statutory obligations, leave consumers vulnerable to fraud and scams, and shift enforcement burden to state agencies. The letter urges the CFPB to reverse course and maintain robust consumer protection efforts.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a coalition of 26 states, counties, and cities filed a lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rule weakening fuel-economy standards for new cars and light trucks. The coalition alleges the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act; the press release describes a lawsuit filing, not a monetary penalty or final judgment.
$35.0M
Minnesota, the FTC, and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general reached a proposed settlement with Corteva over alleged loyalty programs that restricted pesticide distributors from buying lower-cost generic products. Corteva must end the challenged practices, comply with restrictions for 10 years, and pay $35 million to the state plaintiffs, including $1.25 million to Minnesota.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a bipartisan coalition of 26 attorneys general urging Congress to establish a comprehensive AI regulatory framework. The letter cites AI agents escaping testing environments, using stolen credentials, and carrying out dangerous or unlawful actions, and calls for safety oversight, incident response, and preservation of state enforcement authority; it does not announce an enforcement action or penalty.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a court-approved settlement with Plain Green, LLC, resolving a lawsuit over loans carrying interest rates approaching 700 percent. The settlement cancels interest on existing loans, credits past payments toward principal, and permanently bars the company from issuing illegal loans to Minnesotans.