CFPB: Judge stops Trump’s mass layoff plans at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Washington blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The judge ruled that the bureau cannot proceed immediately with its plans to terminate hundreds of employees.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson expressed significant concerns about the Trump administration’s lack of compliance with her previous order. This order mandates the preservation of the bureau’s operations until she makes a final ruling on the lawsuit challenging its existence.

Judge Jackson emphasized during a hearing that she will prevent officials from executing any mass layoffs or restricting employees’ access to the bureau’s computer systems as of the specified date.

Jackson scheduled a hearing on April 28 to hear testimony from officials who were working on the reduction in force, or RIF, procedures.

“I’m willing to resolve it quickly, but I’m not going to let this RIF go forward until I have,” she said.

Roughly 1,500 employees are slated to be cut, leaving around 200 people.

Trump, a Republican, has sought to reshape the federal government, saying it’s rife with fraud, waste and abuse. Conservatives and businesses have often chafed at the bureau’s oversight and investigations, and Trump adviser Elon Musk made it a top target of his Department of Government Efficiency.