CFPB Union Leader Suspended Amid Probe, Alleges 'Bullying'

A labor union leader at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been suspended and placed under investigation, prompting accusations that the Trump administration is using "bullying and intimidation" tactics against a vocal critic.

Stephen Wheeler, a data scientist at the agency since 2022 and chair of the CFPB union organizing committee, was placed on administrative leave effective immediately earlier this month. The National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 335, which represents CFPB workers, said it was not given any specific violations or details about the investigation.

Wheeler had been an outspoken presence at union pickets, sat behind CFPB overseer Russell Vought during his July congressional testimony, and recently spoke to NPR about the forced relocation of agency staff.

"An investigation with no stated scope or scale is no investigation — it's a fishing expedition," Wheeler said. "I have nothing to hide, and when the facts are examined this will be seen for what it is: bullying and intimidation for union activity and protected speech."

The CFPB, created after the 2008 financial crisis at the urging of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has long been targeted by Republicans. Vought, an architect of Project 2025, has called for the agency's abolition and halted most of its work in February 2025.

Another union member, Alexis Goldstein, was placed on leave in February 2025 and fired in February 2026 after confronting staff from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency over their access to sensitive data. "CFPB is illegally retaliating against me for trying to do my job," Goldstein said at the time. The union's grievance over her firing is awaiting arbitration, which it says has been delayed by the agency.

Other CFPB workers condemned the investigation into Wheeler. "Our union will not be cowed by these bush league tactics to silence us," said Doug Wilson, a union member and agency employee. Colleagues Tyler Creighton and Ravisha Kumar issued similar statements, with Kumar saying, "Yet again, we'll just get louder."

The union has noted that for every dollar spent on the CFPB, it returns $2.80 to consumers, having reimbursed at least $21 billion since 2010 to victims of corporate scams. The CFPB did not respond to requests for comment.