WASHINGTON—The Trump administration's dismantling of the CFPB has been put on hold.
The Trump administration on Friday agreed to temporarily pause layoffs and firings at the Bureau, and to not take further steps to shut down the agency.
The agreement was reached with approval from Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
As CUToday.info reported, the CFPB laid off 70 to 100 additional employees Thursday, bringing the total number of people let go at the Bureau to about 170. The agency employed 1,755 people.
The order will preserve the current conditions at the CFPB for at least 17 days after a union representing its employees claimed the agency was planning to soon implement a staff-wide reduction, Government Executive reported.
The National Treasury Employees Union and the Justice Department mutually reached the agreement after the government lawyers told Jackson they could not confirm whether or not CFPB layoffs were coming. Russell Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director who is also serving as CFPB’s acting director, has instructed employees at the Bureau to cease all of their work and has closed its Washington headquarters. Vought also sought to zero out CFPB’s funding, though that decision is also currently paused due to a separate legal battle, Government Executive reported.
The Trump administration has agreed not to reallocate any funds or “delete, destroy, remove, or impair any data, databases, or other CFPB records,” according to Government Executive.
Jackson will hold a hearing on March 3 to decide whether to impose a more extended preliminary injunction on the Trump administration's actions, Government Executive reported.