Barely two days after Russell Vought, the brand new performing director of the Client Monetary Safety Bureau, ordered the company to shut its workplace and halt all its work, workers spent Monday in a state of deep confusion about what they need to — or shouldn’t — be doing.

Mr. Vought, the not too long ago confirmed director of the Workplace of Administration and Funds, whom President Trump put in late Friday as the patron bureau’s non permanent chief, despatched an all-staff e-mail on Monday reiterating the directions he issued over the weekend: Cease every part.

“Stand down from performing any work process,” Mr. Vought wrote. “Staff shouldn’t come into the workplace.” Staff had been instructed to contact Mark Paoletta, named within the e-mail because the company’s chief authorized officer, for approval earlier than doing something in any respect.

On encrypted chat apps and an instant-message platform run by the patron bureau’s union, workers tried to decipher what, precisely, Mr. Vought’s directions meant. Might they discuss to at least one one other on the bureau’s Microsoft Groups messaging system? Might they learn their e-mail, or would that be a violation of the stop-work command? Might they use their sudden down time to finish required on-line coaching packages?

No solutions had been forthcoming, stated a number of company workers, who requested to not be named as a result of employees had been ordered to not converse publicly. Division leaders had been left to subject questions from alarmed workers with none steering from their new bosses on what to say. Bureau representatives and Mr. Paoletta didn’t reply to requests for remark.

An e-mail on Monday from Mr. Paoletta to the bureau’s enforcement legal professionals instructed them that the performing director would quickly be establishing “new enforcement priorities.”

A sudden, full halt to the work of a prudential regulator — businesses just like the Client Monetary Safety Bureau, that are assigned to supervise the security of America’s establishments and guard towards systemic dangers — has no precedent. Examiners who sometimes work on website at banks and different lenders they oversee stayed dwelling, and company legal professionals scrambled to determine easy methods to deal with court docket deadlines this week on a number of high-profile enforcement circumstances.

Richard Cordray, appointed by President Barack Obama because the company’s inaugural director after its creation in 2011, stated he thought-about Mr. Vought’s stop-work order unlawful.

“President Trump and his folks, lots of whom usually are not even correctly members of the federal government, are taking a wrecking ball to our authorities,” stated Mr. Cordray, who left the bureau in 2017. “He dislikes the regulation, and he’s attempting to disregard it and act as if it doesn’t exist. That’s not his position. We don’t have a king in our society like that, and that’s deliberate on the a part of our founding fathers.”

The buyer bureau’s workers union sued Mr. Vought on Sunday evening, difficult the legality of his stop-work order. A number of workers stated they hoped the courts would act quickly to make clear a scenario that a number of folks described as “surreal.” With none steering from above, colleagues turned to at least one one other for intel and gallows humor.

One in style dialogue matter was the rising variety of folks from Elon Musk’s authorities effectivity group who had gained entry to the patron bureau’s pc techniques. Mr. Musk’s group arrived Friday morning, and by Monday had grown to incorporate half a dozen folks whose names appeared in latest days within the bureau’s inner workers listing.

“Like with U.S. A.I.D., it’s been fairly a bonding expertise,” stated one of many company workers who requested to not be named. “It’s fascinating to observe folks step into management roles to attach folks and share info.”

Bureau employees, client advocates and a number of other Democratic lawmakers staged a rally Monday afternoon exterior the patron bureau’s closed headquarters.

Waving placards bearing slogans together with “Cease the Billionaire Grift!” and “No one Elected Elon!,” attendees cheered as audio system pledged to battle what many described as an unlawful try to dismantle the company.

“We’re going to close down the Elon Musk operation,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, instructed the group.

Describing Mr. Musk as “the co-president now of the USA of America,” Consultant Maxine Waters of California denounced him as a “gangster” and used a profanity in her invitation to Mr. Musk to “come right here and face us.”

“He’s not going to kill the Client Monetary Safety Bureau,” Ms. Waters stated. “We is not going to enable it.”

Jess Bidgood contributed reporting.