The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) Feb. 24 heard arguments on whether the Trump administration may proceed with plans to lay off nearly the entire workforce of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), placing the agency’s future in doubt as the court considers its decision.
The full court agreed to rehear the case after a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit ruled last year that a lower court had overstepped its authority by issuing an injunction that blocked the administration from reducing the agency’s staffing and functions. A decision from the full court is not expected for several months.
Regardless of how the court rules, the CFPB’s long-term operational status remains uncertain. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), signed into law last July, reduces the agency’s funding by nearly half. Unlike most federal agencies, the CFPB is funded through a percentage of the Federal Reserve’s combined earnings. The Dodd-Frank Act originally capped that amount at 12 percent, but the OBBA lowered the cap to 6.5 percent.
