Firing Treasury’s CDFI Fund Staff Threatens Native and Rural Economies

By Staff Cherokee411

October 21, 2025

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) warned Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to terminate all employees at the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund could unravel decades of bipartisan investment in underserved communities — including Native nations that rely on the fund’s Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program.

(Photo: Sen. Mark Warnervia CC BY 2.0)

Speaking on a press call, Warner said the order appeared to come from the White House Office of Management and Budget and “goes completely against the law and the purpose of the law.” He described the move as “chaotic,” arguing that the fund cannot legally or practically function without staff.

“You can’t fire all the people and then continue the program,” Warner said. “They couldn’t kill the program through the front door, through a legal process. Now they’re trying to do it by excluding Congress.”

Created by Congress in 1994, the CDFI Fund supports about 1,400 community lenders nationwide, including 65 federally certified Native CDFIs that deliver affordable capital where traditional banks are scarce. Native lenders use NACA grants to expand homeownership, small-business development, and financial education in tribal communities.

Warner, who co-chairs the Senate CDFI Caucus with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), said the pair is working to rebuild bipartisan backing for the fund and oppose the layoffs. Earlier this year, 24 senators from both parties urged the administration to release $324 million in congressionally appropriated CDFI Fund awards, including $28 million for Native lenders.

Warner linked the firings to what he called a broader pattern of disruption across Treasury programs that sustain rural and tribal economies. He warned that the layoffs could jeopardize other initiatives overseen by CDFI Fund staff, including the $5 billion-a-year New Markets Tax Credit program recently made permanent by Congress and a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would create a secondary market for CDFI debt.

The senator also questioned the economic rationale, noting that Treasury has long reported that every federal dollar invested through the CDFI Fund attracts roughly eight dollars in private capital.

“It’s baffling and damaging,” Warner said. “This goes against an eight-to-one return on federal investment and against the spirit of the law.”

Jim King, CEO of Fahe, a CDFI network serving Appalachia, said the layoffs could discourage private lenders from partnering with local CDFIs. “Our bank partners need it to meet their CRA obligations,” King said. “Communities have to have it to attract private capital, and CDFIs like mine use it to create strong partners that are on the ground.”

Warner said he has contacted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for clarification and expects a response soon. “It appears this didn’t come from Treasury,” he said. “It came from OMB.”

The Office of Management and Budget did not respond to a request for comment.

Impact on the Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma Tribes

The layoffs could have immediate effects in Indian Country, particularly among Cherokee-affiliated and Oklahoma-based CDFIs such as the Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority and Native American Community Development Financial Institution Network members that draw on NACA funding for small-business loans and credit-building programs.

In recent years, Cherokee-serving CDFIs have used Treasury support to back Native entrepreneurs, housing initiatives, and micro-lending programs across northeastern Oklahoma. Without CDFI Fund staff to process awards or technical assistance grants, those projects could face funding delays or cancellations.

Economic experts say that would ripple through local economies already working to reduce dependence on payday lenders and to expand Native-owned business opportunities. For Cherokee citizens seeking to start or grow small enterprises, the loss of federal support could mean higher borrowing costs, fewer credit options, and slower job creation within tribal communities.

For Cherokee 411 readers:The CDFI Fund’s Native Assistance Program has been one of the few consistent federal sources of affordable capital for tribal citizens. Its disruption could halt lending and training programs that have helped hundreds of Cherokee small-business owners and homeowners across Oklahoma.