Spencer Fane attorney Mike G. Silver was quoted in Capitol Account, Bloomberg Law, Inside Mortgage Finance, and Dodd-Frank Update where he shared his insights on recent staffing, policy, and legal developments at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that remain keen topics of interest for financial services clients and other stakeholders. Mike also addressed this topic at the Consumer Bankers Association’s CBA Live 2026 Conference, where he joined a panel of experts entitled “CFPB Crosswinds: Making Sense of a Shifting Regulatory Force.”
Mike, a founding member and 12-plus-year veteran of the CFPB Office of Regulations, weighed in on the Trump administration’s revised restructuring plan for the CFPB, which would scale back staffing to roughly one-third of its peak level rather than pursue the near-total layoffs that it attempted to execute in 2025. The agency and its policy agenda have been in flux for over a year as the CFPB’s new leadership and the employees’ union continue to litigate over the layoff plan and other major changes to agency operations. “In general, this is a much more rational, reasonable plan. If the court decides all we need is something that ensures the agency is going to continue to function, then I think this document will be compelling,” he shared with Capitol Account for their article, Trump Administration Retreats on Mass Firings at CFPB, but Still Wants Major Cuts.
In the Bloomberg Law article, Vought’s New CFPB Plan Leaves Opening for Agency Resurgence, Mike continued to discuss the implications of this revised staffing plan. He said the cuts may still be “draconian,” but the latest proposal “is almost the best result for the staff and the union that could be achieved under the circumstances.”
In the Inside Mortgage Finance article, Trump Administration Scales Back Planned CFPB Cuts, Mike said that despite the proposed reduction in force, the bureau would still be positioned to carry out its statutory duties, including new directives stemming from recent executive orders related to potential changes to mortgage rules under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
At the CBA Live 2026 Conference, Mike noted that the key takeaway is the revised plan indicates a growing recognition by the administration that it cannot simply abolish or defund the CFPB, or rely on a cursory “particularized” assessment of its functions. He added that a functional bureau is necessary not only for consumer protection, but also for industry certainty and to support the administration’s own policy objectives.
Additionally, in Dodd-Frank Update’s article, From Crisis Response to Regulatory Crossroads: 15 Years of Dodd-Frank and the CFPB, Mike reflected on his experience helping implement many of the CFPB’s foundational mortgage and consumer finance rules during the agency’s early years – experience that continues to inform his perspective on the bureau’s current restructuring and regulatory direction.
At the firm, Mike is a financial services and fintech advisor and thought leader who helps clients navigate regulatory labyrinths and uncertainties. Drawing on more than two decades of private and public sector experience in the nation’s capital, Mike counsels banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, fintech companies (from early-stage to established), and other financial services clients on regulatory compliance, product counseling, and policy advocacy.