WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court has declined to give the Trump administration immediate permission to move forward with plans to eliminate roughly half of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s remaining workforce, instead sending the dispute back to a lower court for further review. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit leaves in place, for now, barriers to implementing the proposed staff reductions, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the Administration had asked the appeals court to allow the layoffs to proceed immediately and to require U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to rule within 45 days on a revised workforce reduction plan. The appeals court rejected both requests, directing Jackson to evaluate the proposal first.
The revised plan would reduce CFPB staffing to 556 employees from approximately 1,174 current workers, a reduction of about 53%, according to court filings previously reported by Banking Dive. The Administration has argued the downsizing is necessary following a reduction in the Bureau’s funding cap and represents a retreat from earlier efforts that would have cut nearly 90% of CFPB employees.
The case stems from a March 2025 injunction issued by Jackson that blocked mass layoffs while unions and consumer advocates challenge what they contend is an unlawful effort to dismantle the agency. Reuters reported the Trump Administration has continued pursuing other measures to shrink the CFPB, including relocating regional employees to Washington, while maintaining that it does not intend to eliminate the Bureau entirely.