A federal appeals court stepped in Friday to halt the Trump administration’s newest attempt to sharply reduce the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, dealing another blow to the White House’s ongoing push to shrink the agency.
The ruling came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which was examining the administration’s challenge to a March 2025 injunction issued by a federal district court judge. That injunction had temporarily blocked the mass layoffs from moving forward.
The latest plan, submitted by the Justice Department in late March, called for cutting roughly two-thirds of the agency’s employees. This followed earlier proposals that sought to eliminate up to 90% of the bureau’s staff — plans that had already been turned back in court multiple times.
The Justice Department had urged the appeals court to allow the new round of cuts to proceed right away. It also asked that the case be returned to the district court judge with a 45-day window to revisit the original injunction.
The appeals court agreed to send the case back to the district court, but refused to allow the staff reductions to resume in the meantime and declined to impose any deadline on the lower court judge.
The CFPB was established by Congress in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to serve as a watchdog over consumer financial products and services.
President Trump and other top administration officials have pushed to abolish the agency entirely, arguing it places an unnecessary and politically motivated burden on businesses. Supporters of the bureau, including Democrats and consumer advocates, counter that undermining it would benefit financial industry players at the cost of everyday consumers.
With the most aggressive moves blocked by the courts, the administration has pursued other avenues to weaken the agency. In May, the CFPB announced it would require all employees to relocate to its Washington headquarters — a step widely seen as a way to encourage resignations. Earlier this month, Trump put forward a prominent critic of the bureau to serve as its next director.
