Judge stops Trump administration from dismantling federal consumer bureau

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and ordered the reinstatement of terminated employees.

The order comes after the same judge ruled the agency cannot fire employees without cause, dealing a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce. Both stem from a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union, which sued CFPB acting director Russell Vought, over the mass firings.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told the agency to stop its work to dismantle the agency, including firing employees. She also told the CFPB not to destroy records and ordered the rescission of any “wholesale” contract cancellations issued on or after Feb. 11, according to The Hill. 

"The Court cannot look away or the CFPB will be dissolved and dismantled completely in approximately thirty days, well before this lawsuit has come to its conclusion,” Jackson wrote in her ruling.

The Trump administration has stated that it does not intend to eliminate the bureau, but employees have claimed they were told the agency is planning to shut down. 

Jackson on Friday said it appeared the administration was trying to dismantle the bureau, and that it was likely the attempts were unlawful. However, she said the administration can try to get Congress to close the agency.

“While the President is free to propose legislation to Congress to accomplish this aim, the defendants are not free to eliminate an agency created by statute on their own, and certainly not before the Court has had an opportunity to rule on the merits of the plaintiffs’ challenge," the judge wrote. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.