Second CFPB union member placed on administrative leave 

• Key insight: CFPB union leader Stephen Wheeler was placed on administrative leave last Thursday amid an investigation whose scope and allegations have not been disclosed, according to the union 
• Supporting data: The CFPB has 1,071 employees as of July, down from roughly 1,750 at the start of the Trump administration.
• Forward look: The union is alleging retaliation for Wheeler's union activity and public advocacy, while a grievance over the firing of another union member, Alexis Goldstein, remains pending.

Stephen Wheeler, a union leader at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was placed on administrative leave last week amid an ongoing investigation, according to a union release issued Tuesday.

The agency, now led by acting director Mark Paoletta after his appointment earlier this month, did not disclose the allegations against Wheeler, a data scientist who has worked at the CFPB since 2022 and leads the union's organizing committee. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

"Wheeler is a visible and active member of the National Treasury Employees Union and is recognized by his colleagues nationwide as a reliable presence at union pickets in DC and as the leader of virtual 'phone zaps' at union town halls," the union wrote in a press release. "In July, Wheeler wore his CFPB Union T-shirt to witness outgoing Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought testify to Congress, and helped union members decorate their cubicles with NTEU signs at the CFPB's new DC headquarters."

"Days before CFPB placed him on leave, NPR quoted Wheeler in their coverage of the ongoing illegal and chaotic forced relocation at the CFPB," they continued.

The union argues the investigation may constitute retaliation for Wheeler's public advocacy about working conditions at the CFPB, whose size has been significantly reduced under the Trump administration. The agency had 1,071 employees as of July, down drastically from the 1,750 it employed in early 2025 at the start of the administration. The agency has also directed 450 regional employees to relocate to Washington, D.C., or face removal, but has delayed that order until after a permanent director is confirmed by the Senate. Brian Johnson, deputy CFPB director during the first Trump term, is currently under consideration for the post and had a confirmation hearing in July. 

Wheeler called the investigation a "fishing expedition" and suggested the move was meant to intimidate him. 

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"An investigation with no stated scope or scale is no investigation – it's a fishing expedition," Wheeler said in response. "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."

Wheeler is the second union member removed from a post in this administration, after Alexis Goldstein was placed on leave in February 2025 and fired in March this year after confronting what were suspected Department of Government Efficiency employees. The union has filed a grievance challenging her removal and argument over the matter is pending. Following her administrative removal, Goldstein, formerly a program manager at the bureau, announced a run to represent Maryland's 6th congressional district in February, but lost the primary election.

Goldstein criticized the CFPB's latest move, saying Wheeler's placement on administrative leave represents retaliation. 

"Steve is a caring advocate who is responsible for some of the core infrastructure that helps protect consumers from scams," Goldstein wrote in a release. "Whether it's Mark Paoletta or Russell Vought, the Trump CFPB is hell bent on causing harm."