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A sweeping effort by the Trump administration to fire more than 1,500 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been paused by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who expressed “deep concern” over the legality of the move and the administration’s apparent defiance of earlier court rulings.
The judge issued a restraining order on Friday halting the reduction in force (RIF) plan, which would have left the consumer watchdog agency with just 200 staff and severely compromised its ability to perform legally mandated duties.
Judge: Trump Officials May Be “Thumbing Their Nose” at the Courts
In a sharply worded decision, Judge Jackson warned that the White House’s efforts could “decimate the agency and render it unable to comply with its statutory duties.” She added that there is “reason to believe” administration officials are “thumbing their nose” at the judiciary.
“If the plan is allowed to proceed, there will be no agency standing by the time I render a decision,” she wrote.
The judge has scheduled a hearing for April 28 and ordered key personnel involved in the RIF—including Gavin Kliger, allegedly overseeing the layoff team—to testify about the decision-making process behind the firings.
Internal Strife and Allegations of Misconduct
Attorneys for the National Treasury Employees Union filed a sworn statement from a CFPB employee (under the pseudonym Alex Doe) describing intense pressure to expedite layoffs. The employee claimed that Kliger forced the team to work 36 hours straight, screamed at staff he deemed too slow, and ignored legal concerns.
“Leadership would assume the risk,” Paoletta allegedly told team members when concerns were raised over required legal assessments.
The Trump administration has claimed the CFPB has exceeded its legal mandate, and officials—including Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—have pushed for a streamlined, limited agency.
CFPB’s enforcement division was set to shrink from 248 to 50 employees, and supervision from 487 to 50, along with a relocation to the Southeast.
Legal and Political Ramifications
This latest confrontation adds to ongoing tension between the executive and judicial branches, with Trump pushing to reshape the federal bureaucracy amid accusations of fraud, waste, and abuse.
“We’re not going to decide what happened until we know what happened,” Jackson said, referencing conflicting claims from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) about Kliger’s role.
The outcome of this court battle could have wide-reaching implications not only for the future of the CFPB, but for how aggressively a future administration can attempt to dismantle federal agencies.
As of now, the fate of the CFPB—and potentially thousands of jobs—rests on the April 28 hearing.
