A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to immediately slash the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by about two-thirds, delivering a setback to the White House’s protracted efforts to shrink the consumer watchdog.
The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in response to a revised plan the Justice Department submitted in late March following repeated legal defeats over its plans to decimate if not eliminate the CFPB.
The appeals court had been reviewing the administration’s appeal of a March 2025 injunction by a federal district court judge which temporarily barred the mass terminations.
The Justice Department, which previously tried to cut up to 90% of employees, had argued that it should be permitted to carry out its new plan immediately.