Judge Halts Trump-Appointed Push to Dismantle CFPB
Federal court blocks mass firings, restores agency operations, and rebukes Elon Musk-linked effort to shut down consumer watchdog
“The CFPB has been a woke and weaponized agency against disfavored industries and individuals for a long time. This must end.”
Russell Vought – February 8, 2025
“That was a very important thing to get rid of.”
President Donald Trump – February 10, 2025
Well, That Didn’t Go as Planned
In what can only be described as a buzzkill for Trump-era appointees and their dreams of agency demolition, a federal judge on Friday told acting CFPB director Russell Vought to knock it off. His grand plan to fire nearly everyone at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (because who needs consumer protection, right?) was stopped cold by a lawsuit from the agency’s employee union.
Vought, reportedly flanked by efficiency warriors from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (yes, that’s a real thing now), was moving fast to send the whole agency packing. Fortunately, Judge Amy Berman Jackson wasn’t buying it.
She barred any firings without actual cause—because apparently “just felt like it” doesn’t count—and ordered Vought to reverse the layoffs, bring back canceled contracts, protect government data (you know, the basics), and keep the consumer complaint system working. Oh, and she gave him homework: a full compliance report due by April 4. Can’t wait to see the quality on that one.
In a delightfully long 112-page opinion, Berman even referenced Musk’s tweet that read “CFPB RIP,” as if blowing up a federal agency on social media is how governing works now. She warned the agency would be dead in 30 days without court action.
“The Court cannot look away,” she wrote—because apparently someone has to be the adult in the room.
