The appeals court’s three-judge panel issued the ruling in a split decision, with one judge dissenting.
A federal appeals court on April 28 lifted its previous order that had allowed the Trump administration to carry out workforce reductions at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
On April 11, the appeals court partially
stayed a preliminary injunction issued by a district court, allowing the CFPB to proceed with laying off workers if a “particularized assessment” determined their roles were not essential to the agency’s statutory duties. However, the court barred the administration from enforcing a stop-work order at the agency.
In a divided
ruling, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted the partial stay amid arguments over the meaning of the “particularized assessment” requirement.
“The parties vigorously dispute whether this language permits judicial review of the questions whether the assessment at issue was ‘particularized’ and whether the employees subject to the RIF are ‘unnecessary to the performance of defendants’ statutory duties,’” the order stated, referring to the acronym for reduction in force.
According to the order, a “particularized assessment” is defined as a determination—made by an official responsible for the workforce reduction—that each division or office within CFPB will be able to perform its statutorily required duties without the employees who are subject to termination.
Judge Neomi Rao dissented, saying the district court’s injunction raises concerns about the “separation of powers” and that it interferes with the government’s management of federal agencies.
“The district court overstepped our stay. Rather than remedy the judicial error, today’s order hamstrings the Executive and prevents the CFPB from downsizing until the merits of the appeal are resolved,” Rao stated in her dissenting opinion.
The Epoch Times reached out to CFPB for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
In February, the National Treasury Employees Union
sued Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the CFPB. The union accused the Trump administration of violating the nation’s separation of powers by moving to dismantle the agency without congressional approval. Several other groups joined the suit in an
amended complaint days later.
On March 28, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson
issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the administration from laying off CFPB employees and from enforcing a stop-work order at the agency.
“If the defendants are not enjoined, they will eliminate the agency before the Court has the opportunity to decide whether the law permits them to do it, and as the defendants’ own witness warned, the harm will be irreparable,” Jackson wrote in her
opinion.
The CFPB was
established by a 2010 law in response to the 2008 financial crisis. According to the agency’s
website, CFPB “implements and enforces federal consumer financial law and ensures that markets for consumer financial products are transparent, fair, and competitive.”
President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Elon Musk previously
stated on the social media platform X that the agency is “duplicative” and should be eliminated.
Jacob Burg and Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
