The Trump administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delivered its first major blow against Biden-era regulatory weaponization, terminating a spectacularly flawed case against Citigroup that forced the bank to pay $25.9 million in settlements—including payments to over 100 people who weren’t even harmed by the alleged discrimination.
The case, which one Trump CFPB official described as evidence that “Biden-Chopra CFPB didn’t know an Armenian from an Irishman,” represents everything Americans rejected about progressive governance in November. Under Rohit Chopra’s leadership, the CFPB transformed from a consumer protection agency into a ideological weapon that punished American banks for the crime of actually fighting fraud.
The facts are stunning in their absurdity. Citigroup had identified and was combating what the bank described as “large-scale fraud perpetrated by a much-publicized organized crime ring” in Southern California. Rather than praise the bank for protecting consumers, Biden’s regulators launched a discrimination investigation that ultimately forced Citi to pay settlements to people with Irish surnames like “Bryan” and “Christian”—simply because their names ended in similar letters to Armenian surnames.
This wasn’t justice; it was bureaucratic incompetence weaponized against American business. The CFPB’s own settlement documents reveal that the alleged discrimination affected so few people that “the impact was never detectable in any statistical analysis.” Yet Chopra’s team demanded nationwide monitoring, statistical reporting, and millions in penalties for what Citi characterized as “isolated incidents.”
The constitutional implications run deeper than regulatory overreach. The Biden administration systematically corrupted civil rights enforcement, turning legitimate anti-discrimination law into a revenue-generating operation. Of the $25.9 million extracted from Citigroup, $24.5 million flowed directly into the CFPB’s “victims relief fund”—a regulatory slush fund that operates with minimal oversight or accountability.
This represents the antithesis of constitutional governance. The Founders designed our system with clear boundaries between branches of government and explicit protections for private enterprise. They never envisioned federal agencies that could simultaneously serve as prosecutor, judge, and beneficiary of their own enforcement actions.
President Trump’s swift action to terminate this case signals a broader restoration of constitutional principles across the federal bureaucracy. Unlike his predecessor, Trump understands that American prosperity depends on partnership between government and the private sector, not adversarial relationships designed to extract maximum penalties.
The economic implications extend far beyond one bank’s settlement. When regulatory agencies punish financial institutions for fighting crime, they create perverse incentives that ultimately harm consumers. Banks facing the threat of discrimination lawsuits for fraud prevention will naturally become more cautious about identifying suspicious patterns—exactly what organized crime rings want.
Trump’s CFPB is restoring common sense to financial regulation. Banks should be encouraged to identify and stop fraud rings, not punished with multi-million dollar settlements when bureaucrats can’t distinguish between legitimate crime-fighting and discrimination. This correction protects both American financial institutions and the consumers they serve.
The broader message resonates beyond banking. Across federal agencies, Trump appointees are systematically dismantling the weaponized bureaucracy that characterized the Biden years. From the Department of Justice to regulatory agencies like the CFPB, constitutional governance is being restored after four years of ideological warfare against American business.
Patriots should expect more victories like this as Trump’s team continues draining the swamp. The Citigroup case termination represents more than regulatory correction—it’s a signal that America is returning to its founding principles of limited government, constitutional boundaries, and economic freedom.
The era of bureaucratic shakedowns is ending. The era of American prosperity is beginning again.
