The Trump administration has ordered work stoppages and layoffs and has tried cutting off funding to effectively dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The attorney generals say the Trump administration is refusing to accept funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could hurt consumers in their states.
In declarations to federal court, CFPB employees describe a hasty process to eliminate most of the agency's staff. "[A]ll that matters is the numbers," one employee said they were told by leaders.
The temporary injunction issued by Judge Berman Jackson seeks to preserve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a lawsuit filed by the agency's union proceeds.
The ruling from a federal court in Washington, D.C., is — for now — a reprieve for CFPB staff who had been bracing for mass layoffs as early as Friday.
The edict comes as Russell Vought takes over at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Vought has ordered work to halt at the consumer finance watchdog, and is cutting off new funding.
The staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was instructed by email to cease much of its work. Bessent, a wealthy Wall Street investor, replaces Rohit Chopra, who was fired on Saturday.
Rohit Chopra had led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2021. Consumer groups praised his leadership, while Republicans have frequently attacked the agency.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to move ahead with a long-stalled rule to protect borrowers from repeated attempts to collect loan payments from bank accounts with insufficient funds.
